About Michelle

Michelle Dixon is a partner and the CEO of the firm. She was appointed as CEO in 2014 after 13 years as a partner and eight years as leader of the firm’s commercial disputes team. She is a highly regarded litigation lawyer, having worked in a wide range of disputes with a particular expertise in corporations matters, competition claims and trusts disputes. Her experience spans both private sector companies and public sector clients, including government departments, state-owned businesses and statutory authorities. Michelle has been listed as a leading litigation lawyer in Best Lawyers each year from 2014.

Michelle’s leadership has seen the firm continue to grow and to lead the way on issues such as gender equality and diversity. Maddocks has been recognised as an Employer of Choice for Gender Equality by the Workplace Gender Equity Agency each year during her time as CEO. Michelle was named as one of the Australian Financial Review’s 100 Women of Influence in 2015. In 2016, Michelle was awarded the Victorian Award for Excellence in Women’s Leadership. She was also named Executive of the Year at the Lawyers Weekly Women in Law Awards in 2016. In 2019 she was named as NSW Women Lawyers’ Change Champion of the Year.

Experience

• Dispute resolution & litigation

  Acting for government respondents to Constitutional law proceedings commenced by Optus and Telstra challenging rates levied on their infrastructure in the Federal Court and the High Court.

• Dispute resolution & litigation

  Acting in cartel investigations and proceedings commenced by the ACCC.

• Dispute resolution & litigation

  Acted for Australia’s regulator of the .au domain name space in numerous consumer protection proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia.

• Dispute resolution & litigation

  Investigations and advice for a major Australian corporation in relation to claims against former directors. Investigations included tracing funds through offshore investment trusts

• Dispute resolution & litigation

  Acted in the defence of a class action brought on behalf of more than 800 residents’ in group action claims of negligence and nuisance against a major municipal authority.