There are a number of things to which I am passionately committed. One of those is the law. Another is my family and a third is the Arts. I have the typical sub-nuclear family of a wife and a dog. We (other than the dog) are often out at the theatre, at concerts or at the opera - and of course the footy (Go Bombers). Every second year, my wife, Jenni and I spend our holidays at the University of Cambridge studying Shakespeare.
Introduction
There are three aspects to my practice:
General Commercial
Much of my practice involves the negotiation and drafting of commercial agreements, including:
I regularly advise clients on the selection, appointment and termination of dealers and distributors and on questions of contract law, including enforceability, restraints of trade, pricing clauses and retention of title clauses.
Clients in this field have recently included:
Commercial Litigation
I have acted in the following cases.
Courtenay Polymers Pty Ltd v Deang & Ors [2005] VSC 318 (11 August 2005) was an action against a former director and a competitor, Asia Pacific Consolidated Pty Limited, under contractual restraints of trade, breaches of directors' duties and economic torts.
Pacific Hydro Group Two Pty Ltd v Argyle Diamond Mines Pty Ltd & Ors [2003] VSC 443 (28 November 2003) concerned the enforceability of a contractual pricing clause.
Pacific Hydro Limited and Ors and Office of the Renewable Energy Regulator [2005] AATA 752 (8 August 2005) and the appeal [Pacific Hydro Limited & Ors v Office of the Renewable Energy Regulator [2006] FCAFC 39 (28 March 2006)] involved a challenge to the determination of the Office of the Renewable Energy Regulator regarding the baseline setting for the Ord River power station.
In terms of trade practices litigation, between 2001 and 2002, I represented FILA Sport Oceania Pty Limited, defending an ACCC prosecution over that company's restrictive distribution policy, ACCC v FILA Sport Oceania Pty Ltd (Administrators Appointed) (2004) ATPR 41-983.
I was one of the lead lawyers on the defence of Simsmetal, in a prosecution by the ACCC for misusing market power and entering into a collective boycott in the scrap metal industry, ACCC v Simsmetal Limited (2000) ATPR 41-764.
Finally, I also represented the State and Regional Managers joined in the ACCC prosecution of George Weston Foods for price fixing biscuits in Tasmania, ACCC v George Weston Foods Limited (2000) ATPR 41-763.
Competition and Trade Practices Law
My competition and trade practice work covers the entire ambit of the Trade Practices Act, including the following:
