Matthew Darke SC
Appointed Senior Counsel: 2014
Admitted to Bar: 2001
Floor Member Since: 2001
Arbitration
Banking
Class Actions
Commercial
Commissions of Inquiry
Competition (Antitrust)
Consumer Protection
Corporate Reconstruction & Insolvency
Corporations
Equity
Insurance
Intellectual Property
Real property
Matthew appears in and advises on a range of complex commercial, regulatory, insurance, and intellectual property matters. He has significant experience in class actions and civil penalty proceedings.
Matthew is recognised by:
- Chambers & Partners, in Band 1 of their Asia-Pacific senior counsel rankings for 2023;
- The Legal 500, in Band 1 as a leading silk in commercial disputes;
- Doyle’s Guide 2023/2024, as a Leading senior counsel in Commercial Litigation & Dispute Resolution, Intellectual Property litigation, and Class Action litigation;
- Best Lawyers Australia 2025, in its lists for Class Action Litigation, Commercial Law, Insurance Law, Intellectual Property Law, and Litigation; and
- Who’s Who Legal: Commercial Litigation, as a leading litigation legal figure.
Matthew’s past and current clients include Westpac, NAB, IOOF, KPMG, Qantas, Virgin, AMP and Nuix.
Notable recent and current matters include:
- representing Nuix in a $183 million claim by its former CEO, Eddie Sheehy, in relation to certain share options: Sheehy v Nuix Pty Ltd [2023] FCA 56;
- representing insurers in resisting a claim for indemnity by SunWater in relation to its liability in the Queensland Floods class action: Liberty Mutual Insurance Company v SunWater Ltd (No 2) [2021] NSWSC 1582 (first instance); SunWater Limited v Liberty Mutual Insurance Company [2022] NSWCA 273 (appeal);
- representing Virgin Australia Holdings in ongoing class action proceedings brought on behalf of purchasers of unsecured notes: Matheson Property Group Pty Ltd (Trustee) v Virgin Australia Holdings Limited [2022] FCA 1243;
- representing JLT Risk Solutions in class action proceedings brought on behalf of NSW local councils alleging breaches of contract, negligence and breaches of fiduciary duties: Richmond Valley Council v JLT Risk Solutions Pty Ltd [2022] NSWSC 1761;
- representing Westpac in ongoing regulatory proceedings brought by ASIC alleging insider trading and unconscionable conduct;
- representing Meta in ongoing class action proceedings alleging anti-competitive conduct in connection with Meta’s cryptocurrency advertising ban;
- representing Katy Perry in ongoing trade mark proceedings brought by an Australian designer styled Katie Perry (judgment reserved);
- representing Jaguar Land Rover Australia in ongoing product liability class action proceedings concerning the diesel particular filter on certain Jaguar and Land Rover model vehicles sold in Australia.