VICTORIA CHYLEK
Senior Lawyer
vchylek@simpsons.com.au
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Victoria is a Senior Solicitor at Simpsons, specialising in litigation and defamation. She developed expertise in defamation litigation while a Senior Associate at a large international law firm. She worked on large scale litigation in all jurisdictions of Australia on instructions from multi-national corporates and Australian and overseas insurers. She has run a wide range of cases, including high profile defamation and unfair dismissal suits involving Australian Rugby League Clubs and NSW councils, trade practices breaches involving ASIC and the ACCC, contractual disputes and professional negligence claims.
Victoria has represented directors and officers in the Supreme Court and the IRC for breaches of director’s duties and unfair cartel competition, and regularly advised underwriters in relation to claims under defamation, professional indemnity and directors and officers insurance policies. Her experience acting for publishers, start-up media organisations and large multi-nationals allows her to provide accurate and practical advice on running litigation and, where appropriate, investigating commercial settlements. She has experience in alternative dispute resolution, including court sanctioned arbitrations, mediations and informal settlement conferences.
Victoria has provided pre-publication advice on defamation, copyright, confidentiality and contempt to publishers, radio stations, insurers of media organisations and film underwriters. She is an advocate of free speech and has a keen interest in uniform defamation laws, privacy, censorship and the media. She is passionate about the arts, volunteers at the Arts Law Centre, and is a member of the Australian Corporate Lawyers Association and the Copyright Society of Australia.
Victoria joined Simpsons in 2007 from a boutique law firm providing commercial advice to the marketing and advertising industries in relations to contracts, privacy, trademarks, passing off and consumer protection laws. She has worked on share and asset purchases involving publicly listed media and technology companies.
Victoria graduated from Flinders University in South Australia with an Honours Degree in Law and a Bachelor of Behavioural Science.