Current practice
Richard has been a partner at Freehills since 1 July 1995. His expertise is in stamp duties. Richard is the head of the firm's stamp duties section in Sydney. He has extensive experience in advising on the Australia-wide stamp duties implications of large commercial transactions and in structuring those transactions from a stamp duties perspective, and plays a pivotal role in working with other lawyers within the firm.
Experience
Richard acts for Australian and international financial institutions, financial packagers, investment and merchant banks, telecommunications and media organisations, insurance companies, funds managers, property developers, and other large corporate organisations.
Professional background
Richard holds a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws (Honours) degrees, and a Master of Laws degree from the University of Sydney. When Richard joined Freehills in 1992, he had already had numerous years of general commercial experience in another law firm and an accounting firm.
Richard is a lecturer at the University of Sydney in the Stamp Duty and Land Tax course offered under the Master of Laws degree. He has authored numerous articles and papers, and has had his work published in the Australian Law Journal, the New South Wales Law Society Journal and The University of New South Wales Law Journal. He regularly speaks at seminars, including the IBC Stamp Duties Symposium. Richard is responsible for in-house continuing legal education in the stamp duties area. He is a member of the Office of State Revenue/Law Society Liaison Committee and in that capacity makes submissions on new legislation and rulings.