/ɡrəˈveɪmɛn/

noun LAW
noun: gravamen; plural noun: gravamina

  • the essence or most serious part of a complaint or accusation.
    “a constitutional violation may comprise the gravamen of a plaintiff’s complaint”
  • a grievance.

Origin: early 17th century (as an ecclesiastical term denoting formal presentation of a grievance): from late Latin, literally ‘physical inconvenience’, from Latin gravare ‘to load’, from gravis ‘heavy’.

Admitted in 2008, James d’Apice is the founder and principal lawyer of Gravamen.

James’ specialty is resolving disputes between co-owners; people who own assets with other people, and people who own assets controlled or managed by other people.

Practising in this area has seen James develop an expertise in the law relating to shareholder disputes, partnership disputes, and disputes between trustees and beneficiaries. James is nationally renowned as a specialist in some subsets of these areas, such as corporate oppression, derivative actions, and the just and equitable winding up of companies.

James’ method combines approachability and rigour.

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Areas of Practice

Gravamen is a boutique commercial law firm specialising in shareholder disputes, partnership disputes, and disputes between trustees and beneficiaries.

When co-owners disagree, Gravamen can assist.

  • Shareholders in companies who feel unfairly prejudiced by the way the company’s affairs are conducted might seek our help launching a corporate oppression suit.
  • Partners whose business relationship has broken down might seek our help dissolving the partnership, and dealing with the consequences.
  • Beneficiaries of a trust of any kind – commercial, discretionary, testamentary – might approach Gravamen to protect, and project, their interests.

Coffee and a Case Note

James is also the creator, founder and presenter of ‘Coffee and a Case Note’, a successful and influential series of online videos and podcast episodes that sees James summarise up to the minute cases in his specialty area and present them to camera over a cup of coffee.

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Gravamen practises principally on lands of the Gadigal and Darkinjung people. Gravamen acknowledges sovereignty of this land was never ceded, but was taken by force. It is retained by force. Gravamen acknowledges and respects the traditional owners of the land on which we practise, live, and work. We pay our respects to Elders past, present, and emerging.

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Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation.