People & Culture
Our Team
William James is founded on the vision that there is a better way to do law. Provide great clients with access to talented, passionate and, most importantly, happy lawyers and then sit back and watch magic happen. Clients constantly tell us we aren’t like other lawyers and we love that. Our team are truly some of the best in the market. Easy to say but we back it up. No one joins this firm without first sitting a practical test to show us they have what it takes. Clients love it and the team know their colleagues are amazing.
We believe in growing & keeping our lawyers. A big part of work is great relationships with interesting and engaging people. Our lawyers pride themselves on sharing the same vision for the firm. We only hire people who get this. We are passionate in our approach and committed to building a great firm culture. We take what we do very seriously but don’t take ourselves that seriously – there is no point if you can’t have a laugh and some fun along the way.
Partners
Brendan Wyhoon
Co-Founding Partner
Brendan leads William James, acting for lenders, insolvency practitioners, corporates and high net worth individuals in restructurings, enforcement matters and high-stakes litigation. His clients trust him to deliver focused advice and innovative solutions in distressed situations and contentious disputes.
He has extensive experience in high-value disputes across commercial contracts, corporate and shareholder matters, securities enforcement, construction, trusts, trade practices and commercial property. He is frequently engaged to take control of difficult or entrenched disputes where strategy and decisive action are critical and regularly advises on contentious insolvency matters for external administrators and creditors in recovery, enforcement and restructuring scenarios.
Prior to founding William James in 2014, Brendan was the national practice group leader of a global firm’s Banking and Disputes practice, where he led one of the largest teams in Australia. He established the firm to provide sophisticated, top-end legal service to clients he observed were often underserved by larger firms.
Brendan is recognised for his expertise in restructuring, insolvency and commercial litigation, and has been ranked in leading legal directories including Asialaw and Doyle’s Guide, with recognition for his client service and litigation excellence.
Michael Forrest
Co-Founding Partner
Michael is a leader in complex commercial litigation, restructuring and insolvency, advising lenders, insolvency practitioners, corporates and private clients in disputes, restructuring and external administrations. He is widely known as a genuine specialist who is relied upon to deliver clear advice in novel and complex situations, with a particular emphasis on resolving difficult, multi-party disputes and protecting stakeholder positions.
He has extensive experience in disputes across finance, equity markets, trusts, fund management and corporations matters. He also has particular expertise advising large corporates and boards through restructures, drawing on his experience acting for major banks to manage competing stakeholder interests and drive decisive outcomes.
Michael regularly acts for receivers, administrators and liquidators on all aspects of external administrations and associated litigation, including recovery actions, enforcement strategies and contested appointments.
Prior to founding William James, he was a partner in the Banking, Insolvency and Disputes team at an international law firm, where he built a practice focused on disputes and restructuring. He is recognised as a recommended lawyer in restructuring and insolvency in Doyle’s Guide and is regularly engaged to take control of difficult situations and deliver outcome-driven results.
Bishoy Genday
Partner
Bishoy is an experienced commercial litigation and insolvency lawyer. He delivers clear, strategic advice in technically demanding and high-value matters, with significant expertise in complex disputes involving equity, trusts, corporations, securities and insolvency law. Having acted for listed and privately held companies, high net-worth individuals, private lenders, property developers, litigation funders and insolvency practitioners in most jurisdictions, Bishoy works closely with his clients to align legal strategy with commercial objectives. He is a professional member of the Australian Restructuring, Insolvency and Turnaround Association, the Turnaround Management Association and INSOL International.
Bishoy practised at national and specialist boutique firms for more than a decade before joining William James, where he established a strong market reputation, gaining recognition in the industry as a multi-award-winning lawyer, and placing first in NSW/ACT in Advanced Insolvency and second in Australia when obtaining his specialist accreditation. Since joining the firm, Bishoy has made a significant impact – leading complex matters, delivering outstanding results for our clients, and demonstrating exceptional expertise and leadership. His contribution to the continued growth of the firm was recognised through his appointment as Partner in January 2026.
Special Counsel
Anna Vetrova
Special Counsel
Anna specialises in complex disputes (particularly in relation to financial services, insolvency, fraud, consumer protection, reputation and crisis management), security enforcement and restructuring. Anna’s experience includes acting for corporations, major organisations in the financial services industry and high net worth individuals and her focus extends to risk management advice to those clients. During her career, Anna has practiced at major Australian law firms where she successfully resolved a number of complex commercial disputes through court processes as well as alternative dispute resolution. Anna has completed her Australian Restructuring Insolvency and Turnaround Association’s Advanced Certification.
Monika Harrington
Special Counsel
Monika has over 12 years local and international experience across a broad range of complex civil and commercial disputes. Monika specialises in complex litigation, with a focus on contractual disputes, shareholder disputes, contentious insolvency and matters involving directors duties. Prior to joining William James, Monika worked at a leading specialist dispute resolution law firm in Hong Kong and at a large Australian national firm. Admitted to practice in both NSW and Hong Kong, Monika has extensive experience working for high profile institutional, corporate and private clients providing specialist litigation advice and successfully managing litigation proceedings and international arbitrations.
Leonard McCarthy
Special Counsel
Leonard has been practicing since February 1999, he specialises in insolvency and restructuring, domestic and cross-border, contentious and non-contentious matters. Leonard has worked on some of Australia’s biggest insolvencies. He also practices in the area of secured and unsecured recoveries, commercial litigation and fraud recovery. Leonard has been an INSOL Fellow since 2013 and is a member and Fellow of the Australian Restructuring, Insolvency and Turnaround Association, the Turnaround Management Association of Australia, and INSOL International.
Senior Associates
Ceilidh Darvill
Senior Associate
Ceilidh holds a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Auckland and is admitted to the High Court of New Zealand and the Supreme Court of New South Wales. Ceilidh’s career as a lawyer began in 2019 in her home country of New Zealand, where she worked at a general practice firm on estates, trusts and commercial matters, with experience across both transactional and litigious work. She relocated to Sydney in 2023 to further develop her practice in commercial litigation, where she joined the team at William James. Ceilidh isn’t afraid to think outside the box and particularly enjoys developing case strategies for clients that balance immediate objectives with long-term outcomes.
Associates
Ashley Johns
Associate
Ashley joined William James in May 2025 after relocating to Sydney from Auckland, New Zealand, bringing experience across trusts, public law, and commercial disputes. With a pragmatic mindset and strong analytical skills, she enjoys tackling complex disputes and is committed to delivering clear, strategic, and commercially sound outcomes for clients. Ashley was admitted to the High Court of New Zealand in October 2021 and to the Supreme Court of New South Wales in July 2025. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce and a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) from the University of Auckland.
Lauren Davis
Associate
Lauren is a litigation lawyer at William James, with a focus on complex commercial and insolvency-related disputes. Lauren joined William James in April 2023 following her admission as a solicitor in Queensland. She holds a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) from the Queensland University of Technology and is admitted to practise in New South Wales.
She has experience working with secured creditors and insolvency practitioners, assisting with security enforcement, receiverships, voluntary administrations and company liquidations. She also has experience assisting with significant commercial disputes in state and federal court proceedings and arbitrations across various Australian jurisdictions including Queensland, NSW, Victoria and even South Australia.
Dhriti Morris
Associate
Dhriti joined the firm in December 2021 as a paralegal, marking the commencement of her legal career. She completed her Bachelor of Laws at Macquarie University in 2023 and was admitted as a lawyer to the Supreme Court of New South Wales and the High Court of Australia in 2024.
Since then, Dhriti has progressed her practice within the firm, working across large-scale commercial litigation and complex insolvency matters involving high-value and multifaceted disputes. She is currently undertaking the ARITA Advanced Certification in Restructuring, Insolvency and Turnaround, reflecting her strong interest in, and commitment to, developing specialist expertise in the insolvency space.
Known for her driven and disciplined approach, Dhriti brings the same mindset outside the office, where she is often training for her next marathon.
Lawyers
Callum Forbes
Lawyer
Callum is a commercial litigation and insolvency lawyer involved in disputes, restructurings and enforcement matters. He assists lenders, insolvency practitioners and corporates in contentious and distressed situations. Callum graduated from Macquarie University with a Bachelor of Laws (Distinction) and was admitted as a solicitor in June 2025. He brings a strong academic foundation and a practical, detail-focused approach to supporting complicated litigation and insolvency matters.
Luke Malacco
Lawyer
Luke joined William James in October 2024 as a paralegal, the first step of his legal career after over 4 years in professional services as a taxation accountant. He completed his Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Commerce (Finance) at the University of Sydney in 2024, was admitted as a lawyer in the Supreme Court of New South Wales in 2025 and entered in the Register of Practitioners of the High Court of Australia in 2026. Luke is passionate about delivering responsive, commercial, and approachable solutions to complex legal issues.
Ryan Blakley
Lawyer
Ryan is a lawyer at William James, where he commenced as a law graduate in December 2024. He was admitted as a solicitor in NSW in September 2025, having graduated from UNSW at the end of 2022. Prior to legal practice, Ryan worked in EY’s Infrastructure Advisory team for three years, contributing to policy, infrastructure, and service initiatives for government and non-government clients. This background provides him with a strong commercial lens, and he is equally as comfortable approaching legal issues with a practical and commercially-grounded mindset as he is with a Lord of the Rings rewatch.
Jared Port
Lawyer
Jared joined William James as a lawyer in April 2025 after being admitted in NSW in February 2025. He graduated from the University of New South Wales with a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Commerce (Business Strategy and Economic Management). Prior to admission, Jared worked for a year as a paralegal at a criminal law firm, where he developed a strong foundation in legal practice, advocacy and procedural work. That experience sharpened Jared’s ability to analyse complex factual scenarios and approach legal issues with precision and clarity. Outside of law, Jared has served as a volunteer firefighter since 2020 and enjoys doing anything outdoors.
Daniel Rockoff
Lawyer
Daniel joined the team as a paralegal in late 2024, graduating from UNSW with a BCom and LLB at the end of 2025 and was admitted to practise in the Supreme Court of New South Wales in June 2026.
Daniel assists the senior team on a wide range of disputes, including complex commercial matters and insolvency-driven litigation. He has recently worked on matters involving lenders, insolvency practitioners, and corporate directors, further developing his practical understanding of how legal strategy intersects with commercial realities.
Daniel generally takes a laid-back approach to the less serious things in life, but approaches his career with gravity and determination. He places a strong emphasis on building and maintaining relationships, and he is known for being approachable, analytical and detail-oriented. He enjoys most the dynamic problem-solving that diligent advocacy requires, and finds the journey from problem to resolution to be an exciting and engaging process.
When he isn’t in the books or at a café, you might find Daniel taking ankles (or getting blocked) at your local basketball court.
Genevieve Ball
Lawyer
Genevieve began her legal career when she joined William James as a paralegal in 2024. She graduated from the University of Technology Sydney with a combined degree of a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Communications (Strategic Communication) with Distinction. She was admitted as a solicitor in New South Wales in June 2026.
Operations
Christina Isaias
Business Operations Manager
Christina is the Business Operations Manager at William James. She brings over 14 years experience assisting legal teams achieve exceptional results with a strong commitment to driving operational excellence and achieving business objectives. She encompass’ the unique combination of technical, managerial, and interpersonal skills to manage the team, develop strategies, and ensure the firm is running efficiently and effectively. She oversees all things finance, people & culture, recruitment, marketing, systems & processes, matter management, monitors and maintains compliance and ensures client satisfaction is met. Christina works closely with Brendan and Michael on fine tuning and perfecting practices within the firm and upholding its high performance, high energy, growth and authenticity.
Join The Team
Our people are our strongest assets. We’ve built a company based around experience and specific expertise. We are always looking for likeminded people.