The Legal 500

Work Department

Technology group.

Position

Head of the firm's contentious intellectual property group; specialises in all forms of intellectual property litigation, including patents, designs, trade marks, passing off and branding, copyright, confidential information actions and domain name disputes; represents clients across a range of industries, including fashion, packaging, computer games, medical technology, novelty toys and products, agriculture, household and garden products and retail. He also acts or has acted for a number of patent and trade mark attorneys in defending claims of professional negligence. He has represented clients in substantial intellectual property cases both here and in Australia, including multi-national litigation involving dual proceedings in the UK and US; represented defendants in the 'One in a Million' domain name litigation.

Career

Trained Robyn Croydon, Adelaide; qualified 1982; various positions, Adelaide and London 1983-1990; assistant Pettman Smith, London 1990-95; assistant Wilde Sapte, London 1995-97; partner Finers Stephens Innocent 1997-2000; special counsel Minter Ellison, Melbourne 2001-02; partner Hewitsons 2002 to date. Publications include: 'Passing off and Image Marketing in the UK' (with Margaret Lewis, EIPR vol 4 issue 8, 1992); 'Summary Judgment in UK Copyright Cases: LA Gear v Hi-Tech Sports' (EIPR vol 14 issue 11); 'Disclosure requirements in UK litigation - the Ziff case' (EIPR vol 15 issue 9); 'The New UK Trade Marks Bill' (EIPR vol 16 issue 3); 'The One in a Million case - Opinion' (Entertainment Law Review vol 11, 1998); 'Threats Actions in UK Trade Mark Cases' (Managing Intellectual Property, September 1999); '"Clarity Lost" The Arsenal and Reed case' (Trademark World, February 2003); author (with Simon Portman of Hewitsons) of 'Intellectual Property: The Lifeblood of Your Company' (Chandos Publishing I, 2006). Regularly writes and speaks on all aspects of intellectual property law, particularly litigation.

Education

Kings College, Adelaide; University of Adelaide (1981 LLB); University of London (1994 LLM).

Leisure

Music, swimming, golf, wine.