Despina Priala has practised in property and commercial law on the Gold Coast for over 28 years and has extensive experience in this area having been appointed the legal counsel for prominent Gold Coast property developer, Sunland Group from 2004 to 2006. At this time Sunland was in a period of rapid growth with its extensions into the Middle East being established, which included the second Palazzo Versace Hotel in Dubai, as well as undertaking marquee developments such as Q1.
Despina was substantially involved with, and supervised the settlement of Q1 – The World’s Tallest Residential Tower, Palazzo Versace, as well as many other noteworthy projects.
Despina holds a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from Bond University. She is an Inaugural Law Graduate of Bond University from the Class of 1989 and maintains ties with the Alumni Bond University Association. Despina is also an original Alumni Graduate from Somerset College, the Class of 1987, a very prestigious and reputable school on the Gold Coast.
Despina was admitted to the Supreme Court of Queensland in 1994 and is also admitted to the High Court of Australia. Despina has been a member of the Queensland Law Society since 1992 and is also a member of the Hellenic Australian Lawyers Association, the Southport Chamber of Commerce and the Gold Coast District Law Association. In 2021 Despina achieved the milestone of being a member of the Qld law Society for 25 years and received her 25 year pin from the QLS in recognition.
In 2022 Despina was invited to become a member of the QLS’s Property and Development Law Committee, which is an honorary position held. As a committee member, Despina is able to contribute to significant law reform in Qld relating to all facets of property and development law in Qld. This included the changes to sunset date laws impacting off the plan land subdivisions pursuant to the Land Sales Act in Qld. She is extremely proud of this appointment and accedes the role quite seriously.
In 2023 Despina was invited to become an author for LexisNexis, a leading provider of legal research & technology solutions to law firms, governments & universities and in-house corporate lawyers in Australia and overseas for the Qld Property Modules Practical Guidance for all things property related in Qld, including off the plan sales.