With my background in competition law, I am passionate about anticipating and helping to manage risk for clients from emerging sources, including regulatory investigations and defending enforcement action under competition, consumer and securities laws.

Specialties include: ESG, risk & regulatory, antitrust, competition law, governance frameworks, securities regulation, executive accountability frameworks.

Career highlights

• Working with one of Australia’s largest retailers to identify and manage greenwashing risk arising from its extensive and disparate range of products;
• Working with one of Australia’s largest listed integrated infrastructure and facilities providers to make the jump from voluntary to mandatory climate related financial reporting;
• Helping Australia’s largest bank, Commonwealth Bank of Australia on regulatory investigations (ASIC & ACCC) in foreign exchange trading activity and alleged interest rate benchmark manipulation (BBSW), as well as its implementation of Australia's Banking Executive Accountability regime (known as BEAR/ FAR).
• Working with Australia’s largest general insurer, IAG on a variety of issues arising under the CCA, including successful ACCC clearance of its $1.45bn acquisition of Wesfarmers Insurance and helping it to navigate the ACCC's Northern Australia Insurance Inquiry.
• Defending Singapore Airlines Cargo in its prosecution by the ACCC for alleged airfreight cartel conduct and acting for it and Singapore Airlines in related class action proceedings.
• Working with companies like oOh!Media on its AU$570m acquisition of competitor Adshel, CIMIC on its $524m acquisition of UGL; and Linfox Armaguard on its acquisition of the cash logistics business of Brink's Australia and authorised merger with Prosegur.

Directories and awards

• Leading Individual, Competition and Trade - The Legal 500 Asia Pacific: 2020 to 2024. Clients said “world-class expert and one of the smartest practitioners in his field, providing commercial and practical advice”, "a seasoned veteran and master strategist" and "he has the full set of expertise and technical skills one would expect from a top-tier market leader, but differentiated by particularly high levels of emotional intelligence...amazingly easy to deal with and very confidence inspiring, so I am comfortable putting him before the Board".
• Leading Individual, Competition and Market Regulation - Chambers Asia Pacific: 2008 to 2024. Paul is "able to quickly grasp the commercial and technical drivers of any transaction and (is) very adept at identifying the regulatory risks and providing creative solutions to work around them".
• Recognised as Most Highly Regarded and a Thought Leader in Who's Who Legal – Competition 2019 to 2023. Clients describe Paul as a "creative and smart lawyer" with a "deep understanding of competition law".
• Recommended – Competition Law, Best Lawyers: 2014 to 2023
• Recommended – Regulatory Practice, Best Lawyers: 2014 to 2023
• Recommended – Telecommunications Law, Best Lawyers: 2009 to 2023