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Andrew Cunningham |
| Managing Partner |
| BEc, LLB (Hons) |
| Sydney |
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Biography
Andrew is the Managing Partner of the Sydney office and is a partner in the Human Resources and Industrial Relations Division (HR&IR). He joined Minter Ellison in 1988 and was appointed a partner in 1994. Andrew was head of the HR&IR Division's Sydney team from 2001 until his appointment as Sydney Managing Partner in January 2007.
Andrew has developed a strong practice advising and representing employers on all aspects of employment and industrial relations law in a range of industries, including banking and finance, media, tertiary education, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, transport and logistics.
He has extensive experience dealing with strategic and very sensitive issues at the Board or head office level.
Andrew develops long term relationships with clients and provides the full range of advice to those clients, including Westpac Banking Corporation, News Limited, Campbell's/Arnott's, Pepsico Inc/Smiths Snackfood Company, Weight Watchers, Multiplex and a number of universities in New South Wales.
Andrew provides the full range of industrial relations, human resources and employment advisory services including:
- providing strategic human resources and industrial relations advice including change management
- negotiating, drafting and advising about collective agreements and AWAs
- issues arising in mergers, acquisitions and outsourcing
- representation in proceedings before specialist industrial tribunals and courts
- advising about employment terminations and acting in relation to unfair dismissals and other termination proceedings
- preparing and advising about contracts of employment and policies
- restraints of trade and protecting confidential information
- advising about and implementing large scale restructures
- anti-discrimination law
- dealing with industrial disputes
- arrangements with independent contractors, and
- advising about and acting in relation to occupational health and safety issues.
Andrew has advised Westpac in relation to many transactions which have raised significant employment issues including the outsourcing of the bank's core banking technology operations and telecommunications systems, the outsourcing of the bank's mortgage processing operations, the outsourcing of the bank's cheque processing operations and the integration of the bank's wealth management operations into the BT business. He has also advised Westpac about strategic employee relations matters including collective bargaining arrangements, remuneration arrangements and various head office matters.
Andrew advises the News Limited group, nationally, on all aspects of industrial relations and employment law including its national collective negotiations with unions representing newspaper employees.
Andrew has represented employers in a range of proceedings before the Australian Industrial Relations Commission, Industrial Relations Commission of New South Wales, Federal Court and Administrative Decisions Tribunal (Equal Opportunity Division).
Andrew's expertise is recognised by publications such as Chambers Global 2006 (where he is named as a leading Australian employment lawyer) and Asia Pacific Legal 500 (2006/2007 edition) with clients describing him as 'fantastic for bouncing ideas off because he is so knowledgeable and understands us' and 'well rounded and a good bloke to deal with'.
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