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Damian Harriss

Partner

Melbourne

Damian has almost 30 years’ experience advising and acting for clients in all areas of family law, with particular expertise in complex property disputes involving businesses and trusts, complex parenting disputes and litigious and non-litigious matters.

Damian completed his Master of Laws degree (LLM) specialising in Family Law in 2004 and has a strong commercial focus with proven ability to work closely with clients to achieve prompt and fair outcomes. Damian has experience in very complex property and parenting cases. He is accessible, efficient, accurate and attuned to his clients’ desires for precise, practical and pragmatic advice.

  • +61 3 9605 0978

Memberships, Accreditation and Activities

  • Recommended Lawyer, Family Law, Doyle’s Guide
  • Member of the Family Law Section of the Australian Law Council
  • Legal Officer, Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) [rank of Squadron Leader] and experienced in military disciplinary proceedings and boards of inquiry
  • Member of the Law Institute of Victoria
  • Member of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts.

Expertise

Damian’s expertise includes:

  • Property settlements between married, unmarried (de facto) and same-sex spouses upon relationship breakdown
  • Litigious and non-litigious financial and parenting cases
  • Spousal maintenance and child support
  • The interstate and international relocation of children
  • The preparation of financial agreements (eg. pre-nuptial agreements) and deeds of settlement
  • Family violence applications (including obtaining and defending intervention orders)
  • The interaction of family law and bankruptcy.

Recent Matters

  • Successful settlement of a long running property case involving the concealment  internationally of substantial assets and royalty payments by a husband resulting in the setting aside of property orders made 10 years earlier, and a substantial payment to our client, the wife, who had previously received a very poor settlement by reason of the husband’s actions
  • International relocation of children cases (Singapore, Ireland, and the USA)
  • Obtaining a substantial final property settlement for the family of a deceased spouse in urgent circumstances where the surviving spouse who held all assets in his name was at serious risk of dying, requiring an urgent court determination
  • Numerous contested parenting and property court cases requiring high level representation.

Memberships, Accreditation & Activities

  • Recommended Lawyer, Family Law, Doyle’s Guide
  • Member of the Family Law Section of the Australian Law Council
  • Legal Officer, Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) [rank of Squadron Leader] and experienced in military disciplinary proceedings and boards of inquiry
  • Member of the Law Institute of Victoria
  • Member of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts.