Past Chairs & Directors
Past Chairs
Immediate Past Chair
Justice Markovic was UNCCA Chair between 2021 and 2024.
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Justice Markovic was appointed a judge of the Federal Court of Australia on 24 August 2015.
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Prior to her appointment to the Court, Justice Markovic practised as a solicitor at a national Australian law firm. She was appointed a partner in 1997 and for a period of 4 years (2010 to 2014) was national managing partner of the firm’s litigation and dispute resolution department.
As a solicitor and partner, Justice Markovic practise`d in the areas of insolvency, corporations including in relation to regulatory inquiries, commercial and administrative law for a range of clients including in a number of high profile insolvencies and significant proceedings in the superior courts in Australia.
The Hon. Justice Brigitte Markovic
Past Chair
Justice McKerracher was UNCCA Chair between 2018 and 2020.
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Justice McKerracher was appointed to the Federal Court on 15 October 2007.
Prior to his appointment to the Court, Justice McKerracher practised in commercial and civil disputes . He took silk in 1997. He was actively involved in several professional bodies and served for 15 years as a Director, Chairman and Deputy Chairman of WA Bar Chambers Ltd.
He also served as an acting Commissioner of the Corruption and Crime Commission (the CCC), a Senior Sessional Member of the State Administrative Tribunal and as a Commissioner of the Supreme Court of Western Australia. He has chaired a number of educational and sporting institutions.
The Hon. Justice
Neil McKerracher KC
Founding Chair
Tim Castle SC
Tim founding Chair of UNCCA and was UNCCA Chair from 2013 to 2018.
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In 2013, Tim, alongside co-founder Lisa Spagnolo, established the first UNCITRAL National Coordination Committee in Australia. Tim has spoken at a number of UNCITRAL and other international conferences on CISG and cross-border insolvency, and provided high level advice on a cross-border insolvency issue. Tim has also represented LAWASIA at UNCITRAL Working Group I in relation to the development of a simplified company law for Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises. 
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From 1992-2007, Tim was a barrister at Seven Wentworth Chambers for over 15 years and appeared in a number of leading corporate disputes including the Superleague case, Hungry Jacks v Burger King, and the C7 Dispute for Telstra. Prior to that, Tim was a commercial litigation solicitor at Mallesons Stephen Jaques, now King & Wood Mallesons.
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Prior to returning to the Bar in 2013, Tim practiced as a partner at specialist corporate law firm Atanaskovic Hartnell, was a Senior Executive Leader in Financial Special Deterrence at ASIC, in-house Counsel at Competitive Foods Australia Pty Ltd, one of the largest restaurant franchisees in Australia, and had a range of other roles whilst acting as a solicitor in his own practice.
Tim has received mediation training with LEADR. ​
Past Directors
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Co-Founder & Past Director
Dr Lisa Spagnolo
Associate Professor Lisa Spagnolo is a co-founder, Director and Fellow of UNCCA, and a member of faculty at Macquarie Law School in Sydney. She was educated at Deakin University (BCom and LLB) and Monash University (PhD). Previously a practitioner at Minter Ellison and an academic at Monash University Faculty of Law, she specializes in international sales law, domestic and comparative contract law, choice of law, Islamic finance, geographical indications, property law and advocacy. She teaches Contract Law and International Commercial law.
Her works have been cited by judges and government reports including the England and Wales Law Commission, Hong Kong Department of Justice and Australian Attorney-General’s Department. She was expert advisor to the New York State Bar Association, Rapporteur for CISG Advisory Council Opinion No 16, consulted for law firms and UNCITRAL.
Lisa is a Member of the CISG Advisory Council, a Chief Investigator on a current ARC Linkage Grant and CLOUT National Correspondent for Australia.