Elisa Holmes SC

Date of admission to the Bar
2012 (NSW); 2003 (England & Wales); 1999 (SA)

Date of appointment as Senior Counsel
2024

Also admitted in NZ in 2019

Areas of practice

• Arbitration
• Commercial & equity
• Corporations
• Financial services
• Banking
• Insolvency & administration
• Class actions
• Insurance
• Trade Practices & competition
• Regulation
• Sport

Elisa has a busy trial and appellate practice, principally in the superior courts in commercial law and equity. She has been described in leading directories in Australia and England as follows:

“Elisa is an outstanding advocate and is always one step ahead of her opponent.”

“An approachable and charming manner with the steel of a gritty and determined advocate”.

“Enthusiastic and clever.”

“Elisa Holmes … has been instructed in several significant cases … She instils confidence as she provides acute legal     thinking and has an elegant style in court. High-profile clients such as the BBC and the MoD are anxious to employ her services.”

“Committed, analytical and combative.”

“A terrier-like desire to ensure that justice is done.”

She is a very experienced advocate, and has practised as a barrister for over 20 years, including 8 years in London before returning to the Bar in Sydney in 2012.

Elisa’s experience is extensive and broad. Whilst she has a particular focus on general commercial law and equity (in particular corporations, financial services, banking, insolvency, company, insurance, trade practices, contract, and competition law), she is also briefed in a wide range of other areas including public and administrative law, common law, and intellectual property. She has been counsel in several of the leading class actions and insolvency (including cross-border insolvency) cases in Australia. She has appeared in New Zealand and Vanuatu in complex insolvency cases. She is regularly briefed in commercial and international arbitrations. She is also regularly briefed in arbitrations.

Elisa is also a leading sports lawyer. She is an arbitrator on the National Sports Tribunal and sits on sporting tribunals, panels and judiciaries, as well as appearing as an advocate for players, sporting associations and clubs.

The majority of Elisa’s practice in the UK was in the High Court and the Court of Appeal., where she appeared in a large number of significant commercial and regulatory cases including most of the leading competition law cases of the time.

Background
Barrister, South Australia, 1999-2001
University of Oxford 2001-2003
Visiting Research Fellow, University of Columbia, NYC, 2004
Barrister, England & Wales, 2005 – 2015
Barrister, New South Wales 2012 –

Qualifications
Master of Philosophy (Distinction) (University of Oxford) 2003
Bachelor of Civil Laws (Distinction) (University of Oxford) 2002
Bachelor of Laws (Hons) (First) (University of Adelaide) 1997 (University Medalist)
Bachelor of Arts (University of South Australia) 1994