Home Institutional Abuse Claims
To speak with one of our friendly and compassionate legal professionals, you can contact us anytime on 1800 21 22 23
There is no amount of compensation that can ever undo the suffering and trauma caused by abuse.
It is an incredibly courageous act for survivors to step forward and tell their story. We stand with survivors and understand that this is an area of the law that is sensitive and calls for compassion and understanding.
Experienced, Compassionate and Supportive
We have extensive experience in pursuing abuse cases and can support you through the process by making it as simple as possible.
Our founding partner Peter Gordon brought the first mass legal challenge to the tort immunity that was once claimed by the Catholic Church and Christian Brothers’ Orders – we are informed by this history and remain a firm committed to pursuing justice for survivors.
Our lawyers who handle abuse claims have valuable experience dealing with various religious institutions such as Christian Brothers, Marist Fathers, Uniting Church, Anglican Dioceses as well as cases involving the State of Victoria.
We can help you to pursue compensation to help support you in whatever way it might be meaningful for you – be it for medical or related costs, to help support you if you have difficulty working, or to achieve some sense of justice through the legal system.
If you or someone close to you has been affected by abuse, please contact us here at Gordon Legal. Our compassionate, committed and experienced lawyers are ready to fight for you.
Important changes to legislation
Institutional abuse was brought into focus by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
Coming to terms with the impact of abuse can be a lifelong process, yet until recently there were time limitations restricting the ability of survivors to bring a claim forward. In June 2019, the Victorian government announced welcome changes to legislation which make it fairer for survivors of abuse to seek compensation without these time restraints.
Additionally – many survivors were previously pressured by institutions to accept inadequate settlements. These changes will allow some survivors to have their claims reassessed.
If you wish to discuss any of the above, we encourage you to get in touch with us today on 1800 21 22 23 to make an appointment with one of our friendly staff. We have offices in Melbourne, Geelong and Dandenong and can come to you if necessary.
Team
Abuse Experts
Peter Gordon
Peter Gordon
Senior Partner
Peter is one of Australia’s most prominent class action lawyers. He has an unrivalled record of fighting for justice for working people, and has conducted many history-making class action cases, as well as a large number of individual actions. He established Gordon Legal to provide an unprecedented legal service to those who need it most.
Andrew Grech
Andrew Grech
Partner
Andrew is a respected senior lawyer with over 30 years of experience in law and law firm leadership and management. His work in complex litigation spans commercial, environmental, personal injury and financial loss group and class action cases. A litigation lawyer since 1989, and later an accredited specialist, it was Andrew’s formative work as a young partner in the 1990s that saw him work on some of the most important class and group action settlements in Australian history. Becoming CEO and managing director of Slater & Gordon in 2001, he continued his role as a litigation lawyer for some years. He left the firm in 2017 after its decades-long growth and change under his leadership. He joined Gordon Legal as partner in September 2019, where he continues to work on a complex and diverse range of class actions such as the Robodebt class action, Junior Doctors Class Action and the BHI Student Pilot Class Action. Andrew also provides business consulting and advisory services to small to medium size professional service firms on strategic development, organisational change, leadership development and innovation.
Daina Kyriacopoulos
Daina Kyriacopoulos
Lawyer
Daina joined Gordon Legal in 2021 whilst completing her Practical Legal Training, the final studies before being admitted to practice. Daina has now taken on a role as a Lawyer. During her time at Gordon Legal, Daina gained experience in legal processes, class action litigation, and commercial law matters. Daina is passionate about achieving positive outcomes for clients on both a small scale and through the vehicle of class action litigation. Daina attained a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Arts double degree and, whilst completing her studies, worked at a boutique law firm in South Yarra and in a communications agency as a public relations account coordinator.
Patrick Gordon
Patrick Gordon
Principal Lawyer
Patrick Gordon is an experienced lawyer, now specialising in criminal defence advocacy at Gordon Legal. Between 2017 and 2022, Patrick was a barrister at the Victorian Bar, with a busy criminal law practice. During this time, he regularly appeared in: contested hearings and committals in the Magistrates’ Court and the Children’s Court; appeals against conviction and sentence in the County Court; pleas in all types of criminal offending (violence, drugs, sexual offending, complex frauds); bail applications; compulsory examinations in IBAC; contested intervention order proceedings; sporting disciplinary tribunal proceedings. Prior to his time as a barrister, Patrick worked as a solicitor for several years across a range of legal fields, including several major class actions. Most notably, between 2009 and 2013, he worked at Gordon Legal on the landmark ‘Thalidomide’ class action in the Victorian Supreme Court. He also worked as a criminal defence solicitor at a major criminal defence firm, conducting appearances across all Victorian courts and instructing barristers in multiple criminal trials. He completed a Bachelor of Laws at Latrobe University in 2009 and completed the Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice from the College of Law in 2010.
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