Julian Wyatt

Julian Wyatt has 20 years’ experience as a disputes lawyer, acting predominantly in commercial disputes.  He trained and worked as a solicitor in the commercial disputes department at Minter Ellison’s Melbourne office, before moving to Switzerland, where he worked for a Geneva-based international law firm in international commercial arbitration and investment arbitration.

Julian holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) and a Bachelor of Laws (with Honours) from the University of Melbourne, a Postgraduate Certificate in Legal Practice, Skills and Ethics from Monash University, a Master in International Studies (International Law & International Economics) from the Graduate Institute in Geneva and a PhD, summa cum laude, in international law from the University of Geneva.  He is globally recognised as an academic in the field of international law, having lectured several courses, presented at numerous conferences and published several articles, book chapters and a 2019 book on the interpretation of treaties by international courts and tribunals.  He advises clients from around the world in relation to these issues, particularly as regards the merits of claims potentially brought under bilateral or multilateral investment treaties.

Dr Julian Wyatt offers clients in Australia and around the world substantial expertise in a wide range of fields and systems of law. He has particular experience advising on — and acting in disputes centring on — contract law issues arising under Australian, English and US law, including for the benefit of lawyers and clients more accustomed to the civil systems of law of which he has substantial knowledge and experience.

Julian has represented clients in numerous mediations, conducted litigation in courts and tribunals in multiple countries and acquired expertise in disputes regarding construction, franchising, the division of assets, real estate, trade practices, intellectual property, insurance and financial instruments. He has acted as counsel for States in several investment treaty arbitrations and annulment proceedings (under ICSID and UNCITRAL rules), for Australia in the Whaling in the Antarctic (Australia v Japan) case before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and for companies and high-net-worth individuals in transnational disputes and commercial arbitrations (ICC, LCIA, AAA and Swiss Rules). 

He has also acted as an assistant to arbitral tribunals and is a fully qualified mediator. He frequently acts as a co-counsel with disputes lawyers from other jurisdictions, in particular in the context of international arbitration proceedings.  Since 2019, Julian has been recommended by Who’s Who Legal as a “Future Leader” in Arbitration and, in 2020, was included in Who’s Who Legal Australia.

A native English speaker, Julian is also fluent in French and has advanced German-language skills, having worked on disputes and published in all three of these languages.