His Honour Philip G Misso

Philip Misso practises as a mediator in general litigation matters, with a particular expertise in common law, personal injury disputes and testator family maintenance matters.

He is a former judge of the County Court of Victoria, having served on the Court for 15 years. He retired from full-time judicial service in December 2022 and continues to serve as a Reserve Judge.

During his time on the County Court, he served twice as Judge in Charge of the Common Law Division, and was also Judge in Charge of the Rules Committee and the Family Property Division. He represented the judges on the Chief Judge’s executive.

He was the first County Court judge to undertake structured forms of alternative dispute resolution, work that led to the development of judicial settlement conferences. His expertise saw him sent by the Attorney-General to the United States and Canada to consult with Superior and Appellate Courts, and later to Pepperdine University to study ADR.

Before his appointment, he practised as a barrister appearing across the Magistrates’, Family, County, Supreme and Federal Courts. His practice evolved from general common law and industrial law to a strong focus on personal injury litigation, including transport accident, industrial accident, medical negligence, public liability and product liability matters. For around 12 years, he served as preferred counsel on the Geelong County Court circuit.

He was appointed an Adjunct Professor of Law at Victoria University, where he designed and taught a course in trial practice, and also lectured at Monash University, Deakin University and at legal conferences on common law practice, trial work and ADR.

He graduated from Monash University with degrees in B Juris and LLB and was admitted to practice in 1979.