Julien Castaldi
National Practice Group LeaderAbout Julien
Julien is a senior commercial litigator with more than 20 years’ experience advising on and acting in complex commercial matters involving contractual disputes, equity, defamation, trade practices matters, insolvency, partnership disputes, and property disputes. Julien's expertise spans strategic and succession advice as well as dispute resolution. Julien also focusses his practice on corporate and commercial law including acting regularly on buy/sell transactions and structuring advice for unlisted companies.
What he does
Julien is well-known for having wide expertise in all aspects of commercial dispute resolution, insolvency and corporate and commercial law. As well as providing advice and representation in the traditional role of solicitor, Julien has substantial experience acting on the frontline in contested proceedings and representing clients in mediation and arbitration. Julien regularly advises on shareholder and partnership disputes and matters relating to the conduct of company directors. Whilst Julien is a skilled and experienced litigator, having trained in mediation, he aims to encourage commercial outcomes through negotiation that allow businesses to avoid the cost and reputational risk often associated with litigation. He is more interested in achieving a commercial deal than draining resources in a time consuming and expensive fight.
Julien deploys his years of experience and understanding of both corporate law and dispute resolution to maintain a focus on achieving the best commercial outcome for his clients. In Julien's view there is no "one size fits all" approach to dispute resolution and a lack of commercial focus can sometimes exacerbate rather than resolve problems.
Who he works with
Julien works with SMEs, larger private companies, high net worth individuals, partnerships, insolvency practitioners and charitable organisations. Julien has a substantial referral practice working with financial service providers in Newcastle and Sydney.
Qualifications
Julien is a graduate of Arts (first class honours) and Law from the University of Sydney. He is also a current member of the NSW Law Society and NSW Bar Association.
Life before Sparkes
After graduating in 1996, Julien was admitted to the NSW Bar in 1998 and WA Bar in 2001. As a barrister he was junior counsel in significant commercial litigation including the Bell litigation and the Lehman Brothers litigation. He also practiced in equity and defamation as a barrister. In 2009 Julien moved to private practice and was appointed a partner in a national mid-tier firm in Newcastle. In 2015, with Seamus Burke, he established Laycock Burke Castaldi Lawyers, a successful property, commercial and employment law practice in Newcastle. In 2020, Laycock Burke Castaldi merged with Sparke Helmore.
Life outside of Sparkes
Julien enjoys outback travel into remote Australia and coastal camping with his family as well as skiing trips to New Zealand and Japan. He has a passion for provincial cooking and Italian wine. Julien enjoys getting immersed in a Scandi Noir thriller and is a keen follower of politics and current affairs. Julien is past President of the Hunter Junior Rugby Union and is an avid follower of the game in both hemispheres.
