David litigates, manages and resolves disputes for a wide range of Australian and international clients in all Australian jurisdictions.
Practising primarily in complex corporate, commercial and regulatory matters, David’s expertise extends to practice in corporations law, intellectual property, competition and consumer law, franchising, agribusiness and education.
Inducted as a Distinguished Fellow of the International Academy of Mediators in May 2014, David has been an accredited mediator since 1993 and regularly acts as a mediator in a wide range of commercial disputes. David is a member of the panel of mediators maintained by the Law Society of SA, Resolution Institute and the Commonwealth Office of the Franchising Mediation Advisor.
David is current Chair of the Law Council of Australia’s national Federal Court Liaison Committee and its Federal Circuit Court Liaison Committee. He is a former Chair of the Federal Litigation and Dispute Resolution Section of the Law Council and continuing member of the Section’s Executive. David is also a member of various competition and consumer law, franchising, and intellectual property law organisations, including the Franchising Council of Australia, the Licensing Executive Society (Australia and New Zealand) and the Communications and Media Law Association.
David is a fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and an honorary life member of the Institute of Managers and Leaders.
Recent experience includes:
- Successfully acting for major Australian private higher education provider in having a decision of the Commonwealth regulator (TEQSA) to deregister the Australian business overturned and the client’s accreditation was renewed for a further six years.
- Conducting a range of trademark, breach of confidence, misuse of trade secrets, registered design and patent litigation in the State and Federal Courts and in the High Court.
- Advising and acting in State and Federal Courts of a range of franchising matters (and the mediation of numerous franchise disputes on appointment from the OFMA), development of franchising documents and compliance systems.
- Acting in arbitrations and litigation in relation to grain supply defaults and related trade issues and the resolution of a wide range of disputes arising in the course of the operation of various agribusinesses including disputes relating to forward contracts and financial products, grain pools, port and supply train operation and access and infrastructure management and condition.
- Advising and acting on numerous joint venture disputes in diverse business sectors including oil and gas projects, gold and other mining projects, port terminal development, international grain marketing and higher education.
- Advising on and resolving numerous regulatory matters and related applications for administrative review for private higher education and VET providers arising out of compliance audits, decisions on applications for registration or accreditation and other action by the Australian regulators including TEQSA and ASQA.
- Advising on and resolving issues with DET for clients in matters arising from decisions including a decision to refuse to grant approved authority status to an entity operating a private college, the denial of commonwealth funding to an approved authority and an application for removal of conditions.
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