Current practice

Duncan is a special counsel in the Corporate Technology group in the Sydney office of Freehills. His practice focuses on technology, media and communications regulatory issues, outsourcing and procurement, including:

• advice on the Radiocommunications Act 1992 (Cth); Broadcasting Services Act 1992 (Cth); Telecommunications Act 1997 (Cth); Interactive Gambling Act 2001 (Cth); Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), all state privacy and health records legislation; and Spam Act 2003 (Cth)
• negotiation and documentation of public and private sector outsourcing and procurement agreements and processes (including inviting expressions of interest/tendering, ongoing contract management and relationship contracting)
• copyright and software licensing
• website and web hosting terms and conditions
• EFTPOS, ATM, electronic banking and foreign exchange service provider contract negotiation
• relationship contracting, including network service provider agreements and transitional services agreements
• telecommunications interception
• privacy and spam lobbying, policy, review, auditing, advice and training
• privacy due diligence and privacy review project management.

Duncan completed a Master of Laws majoring in information technology, media and communications in 1999, and joined Freehills in 2002.

He has written and presented papers at seminars in Australia, Asia and the United States on many aspects of privacy, information technology, media, communications, security and e-commerce.

Industry experience

Duncan's experience includes:

• leading privacy policy and solutions development and implementation strategy for Andersen Worldwide
• acting for a major international ISP and portal on all aspects of its business, including licensing, trade practices, employment and lobbying
• conducting a detailed privacy due diligence for a major insurance company and for an international data aggregator
• negotiating and drafting agreements for the provision of transitional services between international corporate groups following their separation in 2003’s largest global IPO
• advice to a major government department on the online implementation of BPay services
• advising on legal and regulatory aspects of telecommunications international points of presence initiative
• developing innovative online learning solutions to deliver ‘just-in-time’ legal and compliance training to employees
• development of procedures and software to analyse bulk email correspondence in litigation.

Professional background

Duncan is the Chair of  the Law Council of Australia Business Law Section’s privacy working group and a member of both the Advisory Committee to the Australian Law Reform Commission’s current review of privacy law.  He is also a member of the Federal Attorney General’s Core Consultative Group on Privacy, Vice President of the Communications and Media Law Association and Chair of Internet Industry Association’s (IIA) Privacy Code Development Taskforce.

He was also a member of the Federal Privacy Commissioner’s reference groups for the development of the Guidelines on the National Privacy Principles, and the Guidelines for Privacy Code Development. Duncan was also co-author of the Andersen Legal Privacy Survey Series the CCH 2002 Master Business Guide Information Technology Section, and Associate Editor-in-Chief of the Lawbook Company's publication eLaw Practice.

Before joining Freehills, Duncan was head of Andersen Legal’s global privacy practice and responsible for Andersen Legal’s online training excellence project.

Duncan holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Adelaide and a Master of Laws degree from the University of New South Wales.