Richard Cowen

Richard Cowen Leading Lawyer in Brisbane image

CONTACT DETAILS

Brisbane mobile phone number image0438 400 346

Brisbane phone number image07 3210 3510

Leading Lawyer email address image[email protected]

Professional experience

Richard Cowen was admitted as a Barrister in Queensland in 1990. For more than 20 years he has practised as a solicitor exclusively in insolvency, commercial litigation and commercial negotiation, documentation and dispute resolution.

Richard has acted in many of Australia’s largest insolvencies, including Pyramid Building Society, Farrow Mortgage Services, Tri-continental, Bond Corporation, The Wattle Group (Dexter), Storm Financial, Kleenmaid and numerous others.

In addition, Richard has represented clients in a wide range of litigation matters, including securing Australia’s largest award of private exemplary damages for a client against a defendant who was found to be acting improperly.

Richard has considerable experience in asset structuring, corporate and commercial matters and related issues that affect our clients. He advises directors, shareholders and business owners on these matters before, during and after disputes arise.

Qualifications and memberships
  • Bachelor of Laws
  • Graduate Diploma in Finance & Investment (SIA)
  • Fellow of FINSIA (formerly the Securities Institute of Australia)
  • Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Queensland
  • Solicitor of the High Court of Australia
  • Solicitor of the Supreme Courts of Australian Capital Territory and Northern Territory
  • Queensland Law Society and Law Council of Australia Insolvency Committee Member
  • Member of the Queensland Law Society
  • Member of the Australian Restructuring Insolvency & Turnaround Association (ARITA)
  • Member of INSOL International
Recognition
  • Leading Lawyer in Restructuring & Insolvency – asialaw’s Leading Lawyers (recognised 2017 to 2021)
  • Leading Lawyer 2023 – Insolvency & Restructuring Lawyers – Doyle’s Guide (recognised 2012 to 2023)
  • Leading Lawyer 2023 – Litigation & Dispute Resolution – Doyle’s Guide (recognised 2015 to 2023)

David Schwarz

David Schwarz leading lawyer in Brisbane image

CONTACT DETAILS

Brisbane lawyer mobile phone number image0438 400 348

leading Brisbane lawyer phone number image07 3210 3506

leading lawyer email address image[email protected]

Professional experience

David joined Cowen Schwarz Marschke (formerly Tucker & Cowen) in 1999 and was appointed a Partner of the firm in 2007.
Since becoming a Solicitor in 1998, David has practised principally in commercial litigation, insolvency and commercial matters. David has extensive experience in commercial litigation in both State and Federal Courts in shareholder and partnership disputes, finance and contractual disputes, litigation concerning trusts and tax litigation for a range of clients from public companies to small and medium enterprises.

David’s insolvency experience includes acting for many of Brisbane’s leading insolvency practitioners, as well as advising individuals and directors of companies facing financial difficulties. He has conducted numerous claims on behalf of liquidators and trustees for the recovery of voidable transactions, claims concerning breaches of duties owed by directors and provided advice in relation to various issues arising in insolvency administrations. David has presented at a number of seminars to the Queensland legal profession on insolvency related topics.

David also has extensive experience relating to corporate matters, corporate structuring, business sales, trusts and other commercial matters.

Qualifications and memberships
  • Bachelor of Arts
  • Bachelor of Laws
  • Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Queensland
  • Solicitor of the High Court of Australia
  • Member of the Queensland Law Society
  • Life Member and Past President, Motor Neurone Disease Association of Qld Inc
Recognition
  • Leading Lawyer 2023 – Insolvency & Restructuring Lawyers – Doyle’s Guide (recognised 2015 to 2023)
  • Leading Lawyer 2023 – Litigation & Dispute Resolution – Doyle’s Guide (recognised 2015 to 2023)

Justin Marschke

Justin Marschke leading lawyer in Brisbane image

CONTACT DETAILS

Brisbane mobile phone number image0410 096 815

leading lawyer phone number image07 3210 3542

leading lawyer email address image[email protected]

Professional experience

Justin brought his practice to Cowen Schwarz Marschke in 2013, after:

  • 5 years as a Partner at an international firm based in Brisbane/Melbourne;
  • 5 years with a magic circle firm based in London; and
  • more than 5 years including his training at a leading first-tier Australian firm.

He stays at the cutting edge, taking the lead on novel legal issues, high-risk regulatory issues and high-stakes domestic and international disputes and transactions such as the examples below. This is why clients including listed companies, banks, governments, multinational household names and insolvency firms around the world and locally ask for Justin. And it is why third parties continue to recognise him as a leader in his field as you can see from his recognition set out below.

Recent high-profile matters include:

  • Searches and investigations by regulatory bodies including the ACCC and the ASIC into issues such as insider trading and other regulatory issues (having acted in the seminal case in relation to penalty charges against the UK OFT);
  • Anti-corruption and similar investigations and defence of claims for clients in industries including oil & gas, construction & engineering, logistics and local governments (having introduced world-first anti-corruption measures for clients, including government contractors, around the world);
  • Data protection including successfully recovering losses from cyber fraud (phishing scams) against Queensland SMEs (having advised Queensland government bodies on compliance since the introduction of information privacy regulation in Queensland in the late ‘90s);
  • Disputes arising from world-first infrastructure such as oil & gas facilities and tunnels in Australia including analysis of the application of the existing Queensland legislation and regulatory framework to such infrastructure, and to parties with interests in the infrastructure and associated land and petroleum tenures (having acted in various project disputes from defects to contamination and the drawing down of bank guarantees and freezing of assets around the world);
  • Royalty disputes in relation to natural resources in Australia including acting for a party in the first dispute about such subject matter in the Queensland Supreme Court;
  • Joint venture, shareholder and partnership disputes including in relation to large scale property and resources developments in Queensland (having acted in one of the seminal cases in Queensland involving Anton Pillar orders and jurisdiction challenges as well as international arbitrations and enforcement of awards arising from various natural resources ventures and transactions around the world);
  • One of the first combustible cladding disputes in Queensland including advising on the application of the existing and changing legislation and regulatory framework including self-reporting and rectification measures (having acted in various construction and engineering disputes in Queensland);
  • Disputes in relation to the largest domestic insurance claim in Australia’s history arising from suspected arson in relation to a property in Queensland (having acted with and against most major insurers);
  • Defending a local Queensland business in the first prosecution for infringement of registered designs and related intellectual property (having done commercial intellectual property work for start-ups and multinationals as well as enforcement of intellectual property rights throughout Australia);
  • The fall-out from collapses of cutting-edge tech start-ups like Queensland-based Guvera and household names like Robin’s Kitchens, as well as headline-grabbing insolvencies around the world for directors, insolvency practitioners and creditors (having previously acted in relation to some of the largest insolvencies in Australia such as the Emmanuel Group);
  • Defending various State government bodies in the first class actions in relation to natural disasters in Australia including acting and advising a Queensland Government-owned corporation in the 2011 Queensland floods class action proceeding in the Supreme Court of NSW as well as acting in relation to the Queensland Right to Information legislation and regulatory framework and the Queensland class action legislation subsequently introduced (having acted in the seminal case on litigation funding in Australia);
  • Professional negligence including claims and disciplinary action by regulatory bodies against accountants, lawyers, engineers, valuers and other professional in Queensland and around the world (having successfully defended a international audit firm from the largest money judgment at that time in the High Court of England and Wales);
  • Anti-suit injunctions and actions restraining parties bringing proceedings for issues already commenced or decided in other jurisdictions (having made submissions to the European Parliament and Council which changed the law in the European Union);
  • Claims to native title over bodies of water to the north of Queensland.

Justin is always on call for a number of national and multinational clients to enforce restraints and breaches of confidentiality and intellectual property rights and in case of defamation as well as to recover debts.

With his vast experience of contracts, regulatory regimes and resolving issues that have led to litigation in Australia and around the world, you can see why clients also come to Justin to manage their domestic and international M&A transactions, project finance, commercial property transactions, general business deals and operational issues.

Justin also lectures and speaks regularly on a broad range of dispute resolution and regulatory issues.

Qualifications and memberships
  • Bachelors of Science/Laws
  • Solicitor of the High Court of Australia
  • Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Queensland
  • Member of the Queensland Law Society
  • Member of Transparency International
  • Chairman and member of Topology Inc (since 2017)
Recognition
  • Best Lawyers Australia – Litigation – Best Lawyers® International (recognised 2013 to 2024)
  • Best Lawyers Australia – Regulatory – Best Lawyers® International (recognised 2017 to 2023)
  • Best Lawyers Australia – Dispute Resolution – Best Lawyers® International (recognised 2013 to 2024)
  • Recommended Lawyer 2023 – Insolvency & Restructuring – Doyle’s Guide (recognised 2016 to 2023)
  • Leading Lawyer 2023 – Litigation & Dispute Resolution – Doyle’s Guide (recognised 2012 to 2023)
  • “Outstanding litigation lawyer” – Dispute Resolution – Legal 500 Asia Pacific (recognised 2013 to 2014)

Please contact us using the web form below or you are welcome to call 07 300 300 00.

  • Your enquiry will be kept in the strictest confidence.