Expertise
Alternative Dispute Resolution | Appellate | Commercial Law | Criminal Law | Government Law | Inquests, Inquiries, Tribunals & Commissions | Public Law & Administrative Law | Tax Law & Revenue Law |
Profile
Dean has a broad practice and accepts briefs to appear and advise in commercial, public, regulatory, and international law matters.
Dean represents clients across a range of industries in contract, corporations, debt recovery, employment, insolvency, merits/judicial review, property, shareholder and trade practices matters. Dean has acted for Australian and foreign companies, government entities and individuals, in matters involving complex issues of law and fact.
Dean also has a busy civil interlocutory practice, and appears regularly in disputes concerning default judgements, discovery, security for costs, strikeout/summary judgment, suppression orders, applications under the Corporations Act 2001 and other applications.
Dean has particular expertise and extensive experience in matters involving Australian and international trade and investment law. His experience includes customs matters (including tariff classification and concessions), free trade agreements, dumping and countervailing measures, WTO dispute settlement, and international investment arbitration.
Recent matters in which Dean has been briefed include:
- Infrabuild Pty Ltd v Anti-Dumping Review Panel (Federal Court) – anti-dumping, judicial review (led by Stephen Lloyd SC, with Edwina Smith)
- BSL Australia v Comptroller-General of Customs (Administrative Appeals Tribunal) – customs / anti-dumping (unled)
- World Brand Importers v ATO (Administrative Appeals Tribunal) – excise duty (led by Zoe Maud SC)
- Sackl v ASIC (Administrative Appeals Tribunal) – director disqualification, merits review (unled)
- Minogue v State of Victoria (Supreme Court of Victoria) – judicial review of certain search powers (unled)
- Platinum Delight v Formosa Group Pty Ltd & Ors (Supreme Court of Victoria) – debt, contract, guarantee, negligence (led by Theo Alexander)
- SupplyAus Pty Ltd v Path DX Pty Ltd (Supreme Court of Victoria) – statutory demand (unled)
- Al-Sharea v Jazzp Investments Pty Ltd & Ors (County Court) – real property (with Brett Harding)
- Al-Sharea v Bhaktan Ltd (County Court) – real property (with Brett Harding)
- Biznerve Consulting and Accounting Pty Ltd v Candra Innovations Pty Ltd –statutory demand (unled)
Prior to joining the Bar, Dean was an Account Director in Deloitte’s Indirect Tax team, focussing on international trade matters. Dean joined Deloitte after spending several years as a lawyer at the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva where, among other matters, he was counsel to the Panel adjudicating the legality of Australia’s tobacco plain packaging laws.
Dean has a Master of Laws from the University of Barcelona, a Juris Doctor from Melbourne Law School and a Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) from the University of Melbourne. Dean is the current Deputy Chair of the Customs & International Transactions Committee of the Law Council of Australia. He is a regular sessional lecturer at Melbourne Law School, specifically in the area of international economic law.
Dean has published articles in Australian and international journals, as follows:
- Andrew Mitchell & Dean Merriman, ‘Indonesia’s WTO Challenge to the European Union’s Renewable Energy Directive: Palm Oil & Indirect Land-Use Change’ (2020) 12(2) Trade, Law and Development 548.
- Tania Voon & Dean Merriman, ‘Incoming: How International Investment Law Constrains Foreign Investment Screening’, (2022) Journal of World Investment and Trade (forthcoming).
- Tania Voon & Dean Merriman, ‘Is Australia’s Foreign Investment Screening Policy Consistent with International Investment Law?’, (2022) 23(1) Melbourne Journal of International Law 62.
Dean read with Kateena O’Gorman. His senior mentor is Penny Neskovcin KC.
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Alternative Dispute Resolution
+61 3 9225 7222
clerkb@greenslist.com.au