Gisela practises in commercial and regulatory matters which focus on building and construction.

Commercial matters

Gisela’s commercial practice focusses primarily on building and construction matters. She regularly acts for owners, contractors, subcontractors, consultants and insurers in construction disputes and has experience across a spectrum of domestic and commercial building matters. Her experience includes advising on claims relating to defective building works, non-compliance with building regulations, and time and cost issues arising under construction contracts. Gisela has significant experience in running multi-party claims and managing complex expert evidence.

Recent matters in which Gisela has been briefed include:

• acting for homeowners and builders in VCAT and the Supreme Court in matters relating to defective building works;
• acting for owners’ corporations in VCAT to recover damages for substantial defects in apartment buildings;
• acting for contractors and subcontractors in payment dispute claims;
• acting for insurers in claims relating to defective building works, including cladding rectification;
• acting for a subcontractor in County Court proceedings involving claims of defective glazing work;
• acting for a leaseholder in County Court proceedings involving various issues relating to the fit-out of a commercial building; and
• acting for one of Victoria’s largest residential home-builders in proceedings relating to defective building works.

Regulatory matters

Gisela also advises and appears in regulatory matters. Gisela frequently acts for the Victorian Building Authority and various local councils in prosecuting offences under the Building Act 1993 (Vic). She also has extensive experience as a defence counsel, representing builders and homeowners charged with offences under the Building Act.

Previous experience

Prior to joining the Bar, Gisela was the Associate to the Honourable Justice Terry Forrest in the Victorian Court of Appeal. She also practised as a solicitor in construction litigation at Clayton Utz in Melbourne.

Qualifications

Gisela holds a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws (Hons) (First Class) from Monash University.

Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards legislation.