Our Directors
Partner-led from first instructions.
Senior lawyers, direct contact, no layered handovers. Our directors are the people you'll deal with, from initial advice through to settlement, hearing, or completion.
Director
Dion Manca
Liquor & Gaming · Litigation · Commercial · Planning & Development
Dion Manca leads LAS Lawyers' liquor and gaming practice, the specialist area on which the firm was founded in 1989 and for which it remains widely recognised.
Admitted in 2004, Dion has more than two decades of experience advising hotels, registered clubs, bottle shops and hospitality groups across the full liquor and gaming regulatory lifecycle. His work includes new licence applications, licence transfers, variations to licence conditions, gaming machine entitlements, threshold increases and complex regulatory approvals.
Dion also acts on significant hotel and hospitality transactions involving the simultaneous acquisition or disposal of the freehold, operating business, liquor licence and gaming entitlements. He coordinates the legal, commercial and regulatory components of each transaction, including liaison with Liquor & Gaming NSW, to ensure settlement occurs on time and disruption to venue operations is minimised.
He is widely regarded within the NSW liquor, gaming and hospitality sector for his ability to navigate complex, multi-party transactions and bring them to completion efficiently.
Dion also leads the firm's litigation and dispute resolution practice, appearing in court and before NCAT, and conducting the negotiations through which many disputes are resolved before reaching a final hearing. His approach combines rigorous preparation with commercial judgement: knowing when a matter should be contested, when it should be resolved, and how best to protect the client's operational and commercial interests.
Director
Justin Sammut
Property · Conveyancing · Commercial · Liquor & Gaming · Planning & Development
Justin Sammut leads LAS Lawyers' property and conveyancing practice.
Admitted in 2017, Justin acts for purchasers, vendors, investors, developers, hotel operators and owner-operated businesses across a broad range of residential, commercial and hospitality matters. His practice spans conveyancing across multiple Australian jurisdictions, commercial acquisitions and disposals, property development, planning, liquor licensing and gaming regulation.
Much of Justin's work sits at the intersection of property, commercial law and liquor and gaming. He regularly manages transactions involving multiple interdependent components, including acquisitions where the property, operating business, liquor licence, gaming entitlements and finance arrangements must all proceed within a coordinated settlement structure.
Justin works closely with brokers, lenders, accountants, agents, planning consultants and regulatory authorities to keep each component of a transaction aligned. His approach is practical and commercially focused, with an emphasis on clear advice, disciplined transaction management and identifying issues before they delay settlement or disrupt operations.
His planning and development work includes development applications, modification applications and the property and regulatory aspects of redevelopment projects. He also advises hotels, clubs, restaurants, bars and other hospitality operators on liquor licence applications and transfers, licence conditions, extended trading authorisations, gaming-related approvals and broader regulatory compliance.
Justin's combined experience in property, planning and liquor licensing enables him to identify and address the operational, regulatory and transactional issues that commonly arise when licensed premises are acquired, developed, refinanced or restructured. A significant proportion of his practice is repeat work, with clients returning to him for subsequent acquisitions, developments, refinances and sales.
Speak with a director
Initial conversations are free.
If we are the right fit for the matter, we will tell you. If we are not, we will tell you that too.
Or call (02) 9280 4599