Thomas Dewar

Consultant

Tom’s practice covers:

• Commercial and personal dispute resolution;
• Personal injury law;
• Workplace law (including unfair and unlawful dismissal matters);
• Criminal law; and
• Family law.

Tom holds bachelor’s degrees in Law (with Honours) and International Studies from the University of Adelaide along with a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice from the Law Society of South Australia. He is currently completing a master’s degree in law at the Australian National University.

Chris Dziemborowicz

Lawyer

Chris holds a Bachelor of Laws (with Honours) and Bachelor of Commerce (Corporate Finance) from the University of Adelaide, along with a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice from the Law Society of South Australia.

Charles Gillam

Director

Charles Gillam is the director of von Doussas. He has a Masters Degree in Commercial Law, has sat on a number of committees of the Law Society of South Australia and is the South Australian editor of Butterworth's Australian Forms & Precedents.

David Hepenstall

Senior Associates

David has more than 20 years of legal experience and is able to assist you with most areas of law.

David holds a bachelor’s degree in Law with First Class Honours from the University of Adelaide along with a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice. In addition to his work in private legal practice, David has also worked as a senior national manager in the banking and finance industry. In that role he was responsible for the supervision of five teams of legal professionals and regularly dealt with complex commercial matters.

Henry Ringwood

Solicitor

Henry practices extensively in the areas of:

• estate planning;
• trusts;
• deceased estates and administration;
• commercial and corporate law;
• property law;
• taxation; and
• structured settlements (for property settlements arising from separations).

Henry holds a bachelor’s degree in Law from the University of Adelaide. He is a member and former Chair of the Corporate, Commerce and Tax Committee of the Law Society of South Australia, and is a member of the Taxation Institute of Australia.

Ben Siegmann

Ben joined von Doussas in 2002 and has been a partner since 2008. He heads our Personal Injury, Industrial Law, and Inheritance Dispute sections.

Ben also practices within other areas. He has a particular interest in assisting local businesses. He is able to assist business owners or those considering opening a business with—

• selecting the most appropriate structure in order to maximise profit and minimise personal risk;
• franchising matters;
• negotiating and entering into commercial leases;
• all aspects of retaining staff including—
• selecting the most appropriate manner of retaining staff;
• the preparation of documents such as employment contracts, independent contractor agreements and consultancy agreements;
• complying with state and federal employment law;
• WorkCover issues;
• resolving disputes with employees; and
• lawful termination of employment;
• contract preparation and the resolution of disputes regarding contracts;
• intellectual property matters;
• joint venture agreements;
• mediation, arbitration, and litigation of disputes;
• taxation matters;
• business succession and sale of business; and
• winding up and liquidation.

Ben holds bachelor’s degrees in Law and Legal Practice (with Honours) and Arts from Flinders University and a broad-ranging master’s degree in Law from the University of Adelaide. Ben’s master’s studies concentrated upon commercial law including wine law, insurance law and international business law. Ben is a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of South Australia and of the High Court of Australia.

In addition to his private legal practice, Ben is a Lieutenant in the Australian Navy Reserve and a member of the South Australian Navy Reserve Legal Panel. In that capacity he is responsible for providing legal advice, assistance and support to the Navy.

Terese Wacyk

Lawyer

Terese has been practicing law since 1975 and is one of our most experienced solicitors. Terese conducts a broad practice and is able to assist you with most areas of law.

Trish Westlake

Lawyer

Trish has been a Lawyer with von Doussas since 2003. She practices exclusively in the area of Family and Domestic Partnership Law.

Prior to specialising in Family and Domestic Partnership Law at von Doussas, Trish conducted a busy general practice including civil and commercial law along with Family and Domestic Partnership Law from a number Adelaide-based law firms.

In addition to her Honours Degree in Law, Trish also holds an Honours Degree in Biotechnology, a field in which she researched and worked before coming to the law.