Peter Ross Hayes, QC (30 October 1948 – 21 May 2007), was a prominent barrister in Melbourne, Australia.
[2] Hayes was involved in a number of high-profile cases, including defending Steve Vizard's bookkeeper, Roy Hilliard, who was subsequently convicted of falsifying accounts, sentenced to three years imprisonment,[3] and ordered by the Supreme Court of Victoria to repay over $2 million of misappropriated funds.
[4] Other work included defending suspects in the drug-related death of Dianne Brimble and counsel for Perth socialite Rose Porteous.
[5] In 2005, Hayes was subject to a professional complaint made by solicitor Isaac Brott to the Ethics Committee of the Victorian Bar.
He was discovered by Tony Sobey, whom Hayes was representing, as a victim of the Mercorella Ponzi Scheme in relation to claims against the liquidators.