Adam Vainauskas is the Principal Lawyer of Stephen Wawn & Associates. He runs the firm’s civil litigation and estate disputes work and oversees its conveyancing, probate, estate planning and commercial matters.
Adam joined the firm as a paralegal in 2015 and was admitted as a lawyer in NSW in 2016. He became a senior associate in 2019 and has led the firm as principal since July 2022. He is also admitted to practise in the High Court of Australia.
Adam’s practice centres on disputes. In civil litigation, he acts in contract, business, property and co-ownership disputes. In estates, he acts for claimants, executors and estates in family provision claims, will validity disputes, executor and trustee disputes, and informal will applications.
Over his career, Adam has worked on more than 150 estate disputes, more than 100 civil disputes and more than 500 conveyancing matters. He appears in person and briefs counsel in the Supreme Court of New South Wales, including the Court of Appeal, the District and Local Courts, the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal, the Federal Court, the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 2) in its general federal law jurisdiction, and the High Court of Australia.
In one matter, a dispute over which of two wills was valid, with an alternative family provision claim, Adam’s clients stood to lose their home. The matter went to hearing. After cross-examination, the other side withdrew its claim, the will in the clients’ favour was upheld, and the clients recovered their costs.
Adam gives practical, commercial advice. He starts by working out what the client wants and expects, and is frank about what the law can realistically achieve. He then negotiates towards that result. Before recommending litigation, he gives clients an estimate of the likely costs against the likely outcomes, so they can decide with a clear view of the risk.
Adam supervises the firm’s graduate lawyers and paralegals and writes the articles published on this website.
Adam holds a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Commerce with Distinction (Finance) from the University of Wollongong, where he was named on the Dean’s Merit List for Law in 2012. He also holds a Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice from the College of Law. He studied commerce expecting a career in finance, but work placements during his law degree, including one at ASIC, drew him to legal practice. What he values most is helping people through disputes that matter deeply to them and can change their lives.
Adam is a member of the Law Society of NSW, the Law Council of Australia’s Legal Practice Section, and the Australian and New Zealand Sports Law Association.
Adam has refereed football since he was 12, reaching the NSW NPL and the National Youth League. He has coached referees for Football NSW and the Macarthur District Football Referees Association, and since 2025 he has volunteered as the Association’s Disciplinary Chairperson. He lives in the inner west with his wife, Katie, and their sons, Henrikas and Louis, and enjoys nature walks and barbecues with family and friends.
