Dimitri Viatos
Senior SolicitorAbout
After completing a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Arts from Victoria University, Dimitri joined the Litigation team at Gibson Sheat in 2023 as a Solicitor.
Prior, Dimitri spent three and a half years at a boutique litigation firm specialising in construction law and class actions where he:
- Acted in claims at Court of Appeal, High Court and District Court level;
- Acted for clients in "leaky homes" claims;
- Handled contract and construction disputes, including private arbitration via building disputes tribunals;
- Worked on bankruptcies and debt recovery;
- Multi-party and class action claims and;
- Resolutions through private mediation.
The specialist areas that Dimitri usually works with in the Litigation team deal mostly with, are:
- Debt recovery, insolvency & liquidation;
- Estate litigation;
- Insurance disputes;
- Injunctive and other interim relief;
- Criminal defence for land transport offences; and
- Dispute resolution (back end).
Dimitri has also had the chance to work on many challenging and interesting pieces of work since joining Gibson Sheat Lawyers in Wellington. Recent highlights include:
- District court appearances on civil and criminal matters;
- Assisting clients to self-represent their claims in the Disputes Tribunal;
- Successful orders for substituted service and summary judgment;
- Acting for clients in both enforcing and defending personal liability under guarantees; and
- Advising widely on matters including trust and estate disputes, solicitor-client duties and EQC claims.
While at university, Dimitri received the Victoria Employment Law scholarship at University (first in class for employment law).
Outside of work Dimitri is a member of the Greek Mytilenian Association of New Zealand, he really enjoys both watching and participating in football and he hasn't missed a Wellington Phoenix match since 2009.