Sera Mirzabegian SC

Date of admission to the Bar
2006

Date of appointment as Senior Counsel
2021

Areas of practice

Sera has a broad commercial, class action, regulatory and public law practice, and appears principally in trial and appellate matters in the Federal Court and state and territory Supreme Courts.

Sera is regularly briefed to act for Australian and international corporates in various industries (including financial services, property, infrastructure, pharmaceutical, media and technology) in commercial and class action litigation. She has extensive experience in regulatory investigations and enforcement proceedings, having acted for regulators (ASIC, APRA, ACCC, ILGA) and against them (ASIC, APRA, AUSTRAC, ACCC). She has acted for independent statutory commissions and has been briefed in Royal Commissions including the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry and the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety.

Sera’s specific practice areas include:

• Anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing law
• Appellate
• Class actions
• Commercial law
• Commissions of Inquiry
• Corporations and insolvency
• Equity
• Financial services including superannuation
• Trade practices and competition law
• Mass torts and product liability
• Public law including administrative law and international law

Background

Sera is Chair of the NSW Bar Association’s Diversity and Equality Committee and is Co-Convenor of its Commercial Law Section. She was elected to serve as a Councillor of the NSW Bar Association in 2018-19 and 2020-21. In 2020-21, she was also the Honorary Secretary of the NSW Bar Association.

Sera graduated from the University of Sydney with a Master’s degree in International Law (2008) and Bachelor’s degrees in Law (2001) and Economics (Social Sciences) (1999). She received First Class Honours in Law on merit and was awarded several academic prizes and scholarships. In 2006, she received the Blashki Award for the highest marks in the NSW Bar exams. She is a published legal author in a range of areas including shareholder class actions, international trade and investment law, and civil dispute resolution. She has lectured at the University of New South Wales, the University of Sydney and Macquarie University.

Before coming to the Bar, Sera was a litigation solicitor at Herbert Smith Freehills and Gilbert + Tobin. She was admitted as a solicitor in 2002.

Qualifications

• B Ec (Soc Sc)/LLB (Hons I) (Syd)
• M Int Law (Syd)