Current practice

Peter has been a partner of the Litigation section of Freehills since 1990, having joined the firm in 1984.

Industry experience

Peter has an active commercial litigation practice in a range of areas that reflects the strength of Freehills' client base. Areas in which Peter is predominantly involved include disputes concerning:

• product liability
• property transactions
• superannuation schemes
• the sale and purchase of business and business assets
• insurance
• contracts, in particular licenses
• Trade Practices, in particular Part V and Part VA
• arbitration, including international arbitration

Matters in which Peter is or has recently been involved include:

• the HIH Royal Commission
• product liability litigation in the Supreme Court of New South Wales concerning surgically implantable medical devices
• litigation in the Supreme Court of Victoria concerning alleged breach of warranties in a sale of business agreement
• an appeal to the High Court of Australia concerning section 46 of the Trade Practices Act, which involved a reconsideration of the landmark High Court decision in BHP v Queensland Wire
• litigation in the Federal Court concerning a dispute between a business operator and the Queensland Government
• litigation in the Supreme Court of Victoria concerning the interpretation of an "occurrence" based product liability insurance policy
• ICC arbitration in France relating to an international licensing agreement

Peter is also often engaged in forms of dispute resolution other than litigation, including mediations, arbitrations and expert determinations. Part of Peter's practice is also to advise clients as to their rights and obligations prior to them becoming involved in litigation.

Clients for whom Peter has recently acted or is currently acting include:

• Ansell
• Mayne Group
• Queensland Investment Corporation
• Crown Casino
• Cargill Australia
• Asea Brown Boveri
• Robert Hicks/Auto Fashions
• Coles Myer
• Commonwealth Properties
• Lend Lease
• Carter Holt Harvey
• Sancella
  
  

Professional background

Peter holds Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Commerce Degrees from the University of Melbourne. He is admitted in the Supreme Courts of the Victoria, New South Wales and Western Australia and in the Federal Court and High Court of Australia.