Philippa O’Dea BA, LLB (Hons), GAICD Accredited Mediator AMDRAS
Philippa O'Dea brings over 25 years of dispute resolution experience to her practice as a commercial mediator.
A nationally accredited mediator since 2010, Philippa has mediated thousands of disputes including commercial, insurance, property, wills & estates and common law matters. She has conciliated disputes for the Australian Human Rights Commission and has facilitated restorative justice conferences and mediations for various government departments. She is currently a panel mediator for the NSW Small Business Commission and the Personal Injury Commission of NSW, and mediates matters progressing through the Supreme Court of NSW and the District Court of NSW.
Philippa brings a commercial and interest-based approach to the resolution of disputes. She demonstrates patience and persistence as she assists the parties to achieve commercially effective, timely and cost-effective solutions.
Areas of Mediation Practice
Experience
As a mediator, Philippa draws on her extensive experience advising and representing clients as a solicitor and as a barrister, including managing and appearing in complex litigation in the High Court of Australia, Supreme Court of NSW including the Court of Appeal, Federal Court of Australia and District Court of NSW. Early in her career she was Associate to his Honour Justice Burchett in the Federal Court of Australia.
Philippa has a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) from the University of Sydney. She has trained in negotiation at Harvard Law School. As a Teaching Fellow at UNSW Law she taught Skills in Dispute Resolution at a post-graduate level.
In the area of governance and regulation, Philippa is an experienced company director and board / council member. She is currently the Australian Lawyer member and Deputy President of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practice Council of NSW and the Australian Lawyer member of the Psychology Council of NSW.
Philippa is a member of the Law Society of NSW, a member of the NSW Bar Association, a professional member of the Resolution Institute and a graduate member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Appointments & Qualifications
Professional Appointments
- Panel Mediator for the Personal Injury Commission, formerly the Workers Compensation Commission of NSW (2014 – present)
- Panel Mediator, Office of the NSW Small Business Commissioner (2015 – present)
- Panel Mediator, Farm Debt Mediation Act 1994 (NSW) (2018 – 2023)
- Panel Mediator, Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman (2018 – 2022)
- NSW Bar Association Panel Mediator for District Court of NSW (2013 – 2022)
- NSW Bar Association Panel Mediator for Supreme Court of NSW (2014 – 2022)
- Personal Injury Commission, formerly Workers Compensation Commission of NSW – Committee member, Mediator Reference Group (2017 – present)
- Member, NSW Bar Association’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee (2021-22)
- Deputy President, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practice Council of NSW (2024 – present)
- Member, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practice Council of NSW (2022 – present)
- Member, Psychology Council of NSW (2023 – present)
- Company Secretary, Cancer Council of NSW (2018 – 2019)
- Admitted as a barrister to the NSW Bar (2013 - 2022)
- Accredited as mediator NMAS, now AMDRAS (2010 - present)
- Admitted as a legal practitioner to the Supreme Court of NSW (1993 - present).
Qualifications
- Bachelor of Laws (Hons) – University of Sydney
- Bachelor of Arts – University of Sydney
- Certificate in Governance Practice – Governance Institute of Australia
- Company Directors course - Australian Institute of Company Directors
- Barrister admission and readership course - NSW Bar Association
Teaching Appointments
- Teaching Fellow at UNSW Law: Skills in Dispute Management taught to post-graduate students (2017 - 2019); Private Law (2016) taught to undergraduate student
- Regularly asked to conduct workshops at College of Law NSW in Negotiation and Dispute Resolution (2011-24), Advocacy (2015-16) and Ethics and Professional Responsibility (2015-18).
In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity
- Albert Einstein