Raini Zambelli is a barrister specialising in corporate and commercial law. She acts for financial institutions, government agencies, corporate entities, directors, joint ventures and partnerships. Raini has a core focus in insolvency, financial and cross-border disputes.
Raini also specialises in class actions, in particular in corporations and securities law including market misconduct provisions of the Corporations Act, ASIC Act, and financial services laws generally. She has extensive experience in the financial services sector (having spent two years seconded as in-house counsel to the Royal Bank of Scotland and to Royal Sun Alliance) and across a wide variety of general contractual and property disputes.
Raini holds a Masters of Law (with First Class Honours) majoring in insolvency and international arbitration and was dux of her year in ARITA’s Insolvency Education Program (RITP). She is called to the English Bar as a member of the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, is qualified as a mediator in Australia (NMAS) and in the United Kingdom (ADR Group), and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCiArb). Raini is additionally appointed as an Advanced Mediator of the Victorian Bar (VBAM) and AMDRAS.
Raini has conducted significant litigation involving large-scale corporate collapses in the Supreme Court of Victoria, Federal Court of Australia and in the High Court and the Court of Appeal of England and Wales. Raini has over 24 years’ litigation experience in Australia and internationally and before coming to the Bar practised as a solicitor in Melbourne and in London.
Raini is recognised by the following publications:
- Chambers & Partners, as a leader in the field of Restructuring & Insolvency (2017–2026);
- Doyle’s Guide, as the Market Leader of Victorian Insolvency & Restructuring Junior Counsel in 2024 (and as pre-eminent Junior Counsel 2022–2023 and 2025–2026 and as leading Junior Counsel 2018–2021);
- Doyle’s Guide, as pre-eminent Commercial Litigation & Dispute Resolution Junior Counsel in 2022–2026 (and before that as leading Junior Counsel 2018–2021);
- Doyle’s Guide, as a leading mediator in 2023; and
- The Best Lawyers in Australia for her work in International Arbitration, Alternative Dispute Resolution, Litigation and Insolvency and Reorganisation Law (2021–2027 editions).
Raini is a long standing member of Bar Council and is currently serving as Vice President of the Victorian Bar (having completed the prior term as Honorary Treasurer of the Victorian Bar and Chair of the Audit Finance and Risk Committee). Raini also served as a member of the Executive Committee of the Commercial Bar Association from 2019 to 2025.
*Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards legislation
