Richard Dammery |Partner

A member of the Law Council of Australia's Competition and Consumer Committee (since 1996), Richard has advised across a wide range of competition and consumer protection issues, including mergers, misuses of market power, infrastructure access, competition agency investigations, and strategic litigation. He has recently advised in relation to an ACCC investigation into possible cartel conduct by one of his clients, including the application for immunity from criminal and civil enforcement action.

Having worked on a day-to-day basis with boards as a General Counsel and Company Secretary of major Australasian public companies, Richard is regularly asked to provide strategic advice to directors on matters such as executive remuneration, senior executive terminations, corporate governance best practice, listing rule compliance, directors' duties and reporting requirements. Richard is a senior member Minter Ellison's national Corporate HQ advisory team.

Richard is a senior member of the Melbourne mergers and acquisitions team. He has more than 15 years experience working with and advising boards and executive teams on a wide range of transactional issues. He is a skilled practitioner and negotiator, with wide experience in relation to mergers and acquisitions and corporate law issues.

As a senior executive at Coles Group Limited, Richard was involved as project leader in two of the highest profile private equity processes to have taken place in Australia, namely:
• the $1.4 Billion sale of Myer Limited to TPG Capital in 2006 in a competitive auction process involving a number of private equity bidders; and
• the takeover defence by Coles Group of an unsolicited offer for the company in 2006/07 by a private equity consortium comprising Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, TPG Capital, Pacific Equity Partners, Carlyle Group, CVC Asia Pacific, Bain Capital and Blackstone Group.

Richard has a long history of providing strategic advice in regulated industries, including energy, communications, and ports.

He is one of the leading communications and technology lawyers in Australia, having worked for over 15 years in and around those sectors. In that time his clients have included Telstra Corporation, Telecom New Zealand, SingTel Optus, AAPT, Primus Telecommunications, Telecom Italia, China Telecom, Personal Broadband Australia (iBurst), Chilli Internet, Crown Fibre Holdings (NZ), as well as the Australian Government and the New Zealand Government.

Richard has also advised extensively in the energy sector, having been closely involved (at another law firm) in the reform of Victoria's electricity industry and the subsequent privatisation process. His clients at that time included generators, distributors, and retailers; transmission asset owners; regulators and policy makers.

Richard has advised on a wide range of commercial projects in the communications and technology industries, including whole of business technology transformation, procurement and supply arrangements, outsourcing, and disputes arising from major technology projects.

Richard has been actively involved in the communications industry for over 15 years. In that time he has been involved with or advised many national and international carriers including Telstra, Telecom New Zealand, AAPT, Personal Broadband Australia, Telecom Italia, China Telecom and other industry participants. He has also advised Governments, policy-makers and regulators in Australia and New Zealand.

His telecommunications practice encompasses advice on transactional issues, regulatory strategy, and procurement.