Current practice
Graeme is a partner in Freehills’ Sydney office. His expertise lies in the use and misuse of government powers and commercial dispute resolution. He has acted and advised in a number of complex commercial disputes in the High Court of Australia, Federal Court of Australia, state and territory superior courts and tribunals including the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.
Experience
Use of government powers
Graeme regularly advises corporations in relation to their dealings with State and Federal Governments. This includes advising on:
- government tendering and contracting including about limitations on executive and administrative discretions
- constitutional limitations on power – eg freedom of trade and commerce; compensation for acquisition of property and interference with property rights, and
- Freedom of (Government) Information access requests and resisting the disclosure of commercially sensitive information.
Graeme represented:
- Airservices Australia in its dispute with Hughes Aircraft Systems International relating to the tender for Australia’s air traffic control system. This case changed the way Australian governments approach the tendering process
- the Northern Territory Government to protect its interest in the development of the Jabiluka uranium mine. The validity of the mining lease was upheld and there was no remaining legal impediment to uranium mining commencing
- TAB in its successful challenges in 2009 to the thoroughbred and greyhound race fields licensing scheme in the Supreme Court of Victoria, and
- United Group in 2010 in maintaining the revocation of a TCO for double deck electric passenger trains.
Complex commercial litigation
Graeme:
- was part of the team engaged by the National Australia Bank in defending the AUSMAQ IT litigation. He was responsible for the development of the expert evidence which involved preparing reports from over 50 experts from Australia, the United States, Japan, Hong Kong and Europe
- represented CSR in obtaining the definitive ruling from the High Court of Australia on anti-suit injunctions. This resulted in CSR continuing litigation in its jurisdiction of choice, the United States of America, and
- assisted CSR in 2010 in relation to the sale of its sugar assets / demerger Full Federal Court appeal.
Professional background
Graeme has been a commercial litigation partner for over 18 years, having been appointed on 1 July 1992. He joined the firm as an articled clerk in 1986.
Graeme holds a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws (First Class Honours) degree from the Australian National University. Graeme was the university medallist in law at ANU in 1983. His Honours administrative law thesis was on the subject of natural justice and legitimate expectations. Following completion of his undergraduate degree, Graeme became associate to Justice Davies of the Federal Court of Australia, when Justice Davies was also President of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.
Graeme was chairman of the Administrative Law Committee of the Law Council of Australia between 1995–2006 and is a continuing member of that Committee. In this role Graeme assisted the Federal Court Judges in the development of their April 2004 administrative law workshop. Graeme is a member of the Australian Association of Constitutional Law.
Graeme is author of the original chapter on parliamentary elections law in Halsburys Law of Australia, a chapter on Australian consumer protection laws in an International Consumer Protection Comparative Text, and (jointly) the Australian analysis in a text on international commercial litigation.
