Moray & Agnew has hired Julien Castaldi as special counsel in its Newcastle office in a move that is set to strengthen its commercial practice. Castaldi joins Moray & Agnew after an 11-year career as a barrister.

At the bar he appeared in a number of landmark cases including the Bell Litigation in Western Australia and more recently in the Lehman Brothers litigation in the Full Federal Court in Sydney. Castaldi also advised on “front-end” commercial matters, which is an area of practice he will drive in his new role.

“When I thought about life and practice as a barrister, the prospect of practicing in a partnership and part of a bigger team it really appealed to me,” Castaldi said. “From a litigation perspective, I think that having had the benefit of literally running the cases will be invaluable in advising and preparing in the stages leading up to the hearing.”

Castaldi also said that having seen commercial arrangements unravel in a court will be invaluable to his new position. Over the years, he has acted in commercial disputes involving trade practices, contract law, trade marks, copyright, banking and finance, professional negligence, insurance law, insolvency and defamation.