Marian C Clarkin

Trial and appellate advocacy forms the basis of Marian’s practice and she has appeared in superior courts in Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia and Tasmania.

Outside of court, Marian also regularly represents clients to negotiate settlements and participate in mediations, as well as drafting and settling documents and providing advice.

Marian has a broad practice, which often involves complex matters where many areas of the law overlap and there are multiple related proceedings on foot.

Marian practises in the areas of:

• administrative law:
  • merits review in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (now the Administrative Review Tribunal) and the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, acting for private parties and the Victorian Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages; 
  • judicial review in the Supreme Court of Victoria and the Federal Court of Australia, acting for private parties and the Victorian Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages; and
  • statutory interpretation: advising on funding available to Aborigines pursuant to the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth).
• banking and finance law:
  • acting for and against banks and finance companies (including superannuation funds, insurance companies and financial advisors) in the County Court of Victoria and the Supreme Court of Victoria;
  • banking and finance complaints to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA); 
  • cross-border cryptocurrency in the Federal Court of Australia; and
  • advocating for banking and finance customers experiencing financial hardship.
• commercial law:
  • bankruptcy/insolvency law: acting for and against trustees in bankruptcy, administrators, receivers and managers – Supreme Courts of Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania, as well as parties resisting bankruptcy, bankrupts (discharged and undischarged) and former directors of insolvent companies in the Federal Circuit Court, the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 1) and the Federal Court; acting in family law property proceedings where a spouse is a bankrupt in the Federal Circuit Court and the Federal Circuit and Family Court (Division 1) and a trustee in bankruptcy and/or the liquidator is a party to the proceeding; acting in wills and estate matters where a beneficiary is a bankrupt;
  • building and construction: Building and Property List, Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, Supreme Court of Victoria and the Court of Appeal (Victoria) – Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995 (Vic) and Building Act 1993 (Vic);
  • contractual disputes: County Court of Victoria, Supreme Court of Victoria and the Court of Appeal (Victoria);
  • defamation: Supreme Court of Victoria;
  • general commercial: breaches of the Corporations Act 2001, including director’s duties and shareholder disputes: Supreme Courts of Victoria and South Australia;
  • international law: arbitration, particularly in relation to contracts where parties are located in different jurisdictions, and human rights law;
  • mining and resources law; and
  • property: caveats, constructive, resulting and implied trusts in the Supreme Courts of Victoria and South Australia.
• contempt: breach of an undertaking: Supreme Court of New South Wales.
• criminal law – prosecutions and defence (bail applications and pleas; breaches of community correction orders; breaches of intervention orders appealed to the County Court; traffic; drug offences; and white collar crime).
• employment law: acting for both employees and employers in resolving disputes.
• equity/trusts: constructive and resulting trusts relating to property in the Supreme Courts of Victoria and South Australia.
• family law: appearing on behalf of parents and the Independent Children’s Lawyer in parenting (relocation as well as matters involving the Victorian Department of Families, Fairness and Housing) and property proceedings (acting for Applicants, Respondents and Intervenors, including family members of spouses who are constructive trustees and companies who are judgment creditors in other jurisdictions; de facto matters) in the Federal Circuit Court of Australia and the Family Court of Australia, as well as the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 1 and 2).
• wills and estates: acting for beneficiaries (including a beneficiary who is a discharged bankrupt), executors and constructive trustees in the County Court of Victoria and the Supreme Court of Victoria; advice regarding conflict of laws/private international law.

Prior to coming to the Bar, Marian worked in a broad range of roles in litigation and banking and financial services spanning private (corporate and institutional) banking in one of Australia’s ‘Big Four’ banks, alternative dispute resolution in retail banking and regulatory (compliance and risk management for the regulator):

•Lawyer/Researcher, Commercial Court, Supreme Court of Victoria;

•Lawyer/Analyst, Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) in Financial Services Regulation – Licensing & Business Operations;

•Case Manager for the Australian Banking Industry Ombudsman Ltd (ABIO), which is now the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA), which was previously the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), investigating complaints between banks and retail customers (individuals and small businesses); and

•Solicitor for the Royal Automobile Club of Victoria (RACV) Ltd: overseeing the election for the Board of Directors and the AGM.  

Marian completed a Master of Laws (Commercial Law) at Monash University with a focus on banking and finance.   Marian has a keen interest in wine and was awarded a High Distinction for her research paper on the treaty between Australia and the European Community on wine towards her LL.M.

Marian was also the Law Institute Journal’s wine correspondent and wrote a monthly wine column, The Legal Limit.  

Marian was a Sessional Tutor and Examiner in Administrative Law at Monash Law School.

Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards legislation.