Jacob Uljans

Partner

Qualifications: LLB (Hons), BA, BMus

Industries

Practices

Jacob (Jake) is a member of Hall & Wilcox’s commercial dispute resolution team, practising predominantly in general commercial litigation.

Jake acts for clients in a wide range of contractual disputes, corporations and equity matters, insolvency proceedings, disputes with regulators, class actions, environment and sustainability disputes, trade practices and tax litigation. Jake specialises in legally and factually complex disputes and litigation, with a particular focus on disputes in the financial services and regulatory spaces.

As a co-founder and director of a Melbourne-based brewing and hospitality business, Jake has substantial business knowledge and experience, and has previously held roles as a director of the Craft Beer Industry Association and on the Board of Management of the Flemington and Kensington Community Legal Centre.

Experience

Advising and representing:

  • the independent ACCC-appointed auditor in respect of the compliance audit of Metcash’s compliance with its section 87B undertaking in respect of the acquisition of the Home Timber & Hardware Group;
  • non-executive directors of a failed regional non-bank lender (Banksia Securities Limited) in the defence of a class action proceeding and related litigation by special purpose receivers, public examinations by the company’s receivers, as well as ASIC investigations and examinations in respect of alleged breaches of directors’ duties;
  • a funds management trustee in connection with ASIC investigations concerning suspected breaches of ASX continuous disclosure obligations, including assisting with responses to and compliance with examination and statutory information-gathering notices and otherwise liaising with ASIC;
  • a statistical data provider in connection with an ACCC investigation into suspected contraventions of s 46 of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth);
  • a multinational chemical company (BASF Australia Ltd) in AAT proceedings against Customs concerning the tariff classification of certain goods;
  • various clients in relation to product liability issues and voluntary recalls of goods;
  • the respondents to civil penalty prosecutions by the ATO under ss 62, 65, 84 and 109 of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 (Cth);
  • Sauber Motorsport AG in high-profile Supreme Court and Court of Appeal proceedings concerning a dispute with one of Sauber’s former drivers in respect of the 2015 Melbourne F1 Grand Prix;
  • a multinational petroleum company concerning EPA investigations and compliance with clean-up and statutory environmental audit notices;
  • a securities trader in connection with ASIC investigations of suspected contraventions of ss 1041A and 1041B of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth);
  • a range of clients in relation to their participation in the Trade Union Royal Commission and the Financial Services Royal Commission;
  • receivers appointed by the Supreme Court of Victoria to a law practice upon the application of the Victorian Legal Services Board.

Awards and recognition

The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2024
Recommended – Dispute resolution: litigation
The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2022
Key lawyer – Dispute resolution: litigation and Recommended – Financial services regulatory
Best Lawyers in Australia 2022-2024
Recognised – Litigation

Latest thinking

Banking & Finance | 6 Mar 2024

ASIC pushes the envelope on litigation in 2024

ASIC’s greater appetite for riskier litigation, coupled with the prospect of more enforcement proceedings, raises the litigation risk for all financial services providers.