About Claire
Claire Southwell is a senior associate in the firm’s competition and intellectual property practices.
She works with clients from a range of industries on competition, consumer and intellectual property matters and disputes.
Claire joined the firm as a graduate in 2016 and was admitted to practice in 2017. She was appointed as a senior associate in 2021. Claire graduated from Monash University with a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws with Honours.
Practice focus
Claire’s practice focuses on the following areas:
- Competition and consumer law, including cartels, misuse of market power, misleading or deceptive conduct, unconscionable conduct, unfair contract terms and consumer protection
- ACCC approval of mergers, acquisitions and other transactions
- trade mark, copyright and patent infringement, and
- contractual disputes.
Experience
Claire has acted for clients on a range of matters, including:
Competition and consumer law
- Fonterra:
- successfully defended Fonterra, the largest dairy exporter in the world, in a high profile investigation by the ACCC, and
- in relation to a class action proceeding relating to contractual obligations owed to milk suppliers, concerning allegations of misleading conduct and unconscionability
- Tasmanian Ports Corporation: in Federal Court proceedings brought by the ACCC for misuse of market power – the first litigation brought by the ACCC pursuant to the amended misuse of market provision
- ME Bank: in relation to competition advice on its $1.325 billion sale to the Bank of Queensland, and
- an automotive manufacturer: in relation to competition advice in connection with the restructure of its network and implementation of a new business model.
Intellectual property
- Fonterra: in proceedings in the Supreme Court of Victoria against Bega Cheese Limited relating to a trade mark licence. The case concerned issues of alleged breaches of express and implied terms of a trade mark licensing agreement, licence construction, rectification, restraint of trade, and misleading and deceptive conduct.
