Biography

After graduating at the University of Cape Town, South Africa in 1977, I commenced practice in a legal firm and was subsequently admitted as a partner. Some years later I completed a Master’s Degree in Commercial Law.

After emigrating to Melbourne in 1989 I was admitted as a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Victoria and was employed by a large national firm for 3 years during which time I conducted many large arbitrations. I left legal practice in 1992 to establish multi retail food businesses and over a period of 14 years successfully owned and operated five businesses, which I subsequently sold.

After re-entering the legal profession I was engaged as a consultant in a Melbourne legal firm practicing as a commercial lawyer, and because of my commercial retail experience, developed a following from the hospitality industry. I left that firm in 2012 to set up my own legal and mediation practice.

Having been accredited as a mediator under the National Mediator Accreditation System (NMAS) I was subsequently accredited by the Law Institute of Victoria as a Specialist in Mediation. I now serve on a variety of mediation panels and Law Institute committees and also attract private mediation appointments through various legal firms and the Law Institute of Victoria.

Although a commercial lawyer dealing primarily with transactional matters, I also have a special interest in the hospitality industry and write a monthly column (on legal issues in the hospitality industry) for foodService magazine, a national publication for restaurateurs.

Over the years I have conducted a range of seminars  and have co-authored an award winning article on mediation which was published in the May 2012 edition of the Law Institute Journal (Vic)