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CENTRE for
CORPORATE LAW and SECURITIES REGULATION

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Academic Staff and Associates

The following academics in the Law School are members of the Centre:

Professor Ian Ramsay (Director)
Associate Professor Paul Ali
Hellen Blue
Andrew Godwin
Associate Professor Pamela Hanrahan
Associate Professor John Howe
Associate Professor Cally Jordan
Jurgen Kurtz
Professor Tim Lindsey
Associate Professor Christine Parker
Stacey Steele
Associate Professor Christian Witting

The following people are Associates of the Centre:

Helen Bird
Sally Sievers
Professor Geof Stapledon
Andrew White
Sue Woodward

Academic Staff
 

ian_ramsay   Professor Ian Ramsay
  (Director)
  Email: Click here

Ian Ramsay is the Harold Ford Professor of Commercial Law in the Melbourne Law School at The University of Melbourne where he is Director of the Centre for Corporate Law and Securities Regulation. He has practised law with the firms Sullivan & Cromwell in New York and Mallesons Stephen Jaques in Sydney. Other positions Ian currently holds or has previously held include:

  • Associate Dean, Melbourne Law Masters, Melbourne Law School, The University of Melbourne (2005 to date)
  • Dean, Melbourne Law School, The University of Melbourne (2002-2003)
  • Member of the Takeovers Panel (which is the main forum for resolving takeover disputes) (2000 to date)
  • Deputy Director of the Federal Government's Companies and Securities Advisory Committee where he wrote a number of reports which resulted in changes to the law including a report on directors' and officers' insurance (1991-1992)
  • Head of the Federal Government's inquiry on auditor independence (2001)
  • Member of the Corporations and Markets Advisory Committee (which is the Federal Government's main corporate law reform advisory body) (2002 to date)
  • Member of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission External Advisory Panel (2009 to date)
  • Member of the Federal Government's Implementation Consultative Committee for the Financial Services Reform Act (2001-2005)
  • Member of the Executive Committee of the Business Law Section of the Law Council of Australia (1990-1999)
  • Member of the National Law Committee of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (1995 to date) and the Corporations Law Committee of the Law Council of Australia (1995 to date)
  • President of the Corporate Law Teachers Association (2000-2001)
  • Member of the International Federation of Accountants taskforce on rebuilding confidence in financial reporting (2002-2003)
  • Consultant to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and author of the report for ASIC on disclosure of fees and charges in superannuation and other managed investments (2002)
  • Director of the Audit Quality Review Board (2006-2009) 
  • Member of the Federal Government's Companies Auditors and Liquidators Disciplinary Board (2004 to date)
  • Member of the Appeals Commission of the Federation of International Basketball Associations (2002 to date)
  • Consultant to the Australian Broadcasting Authority (ABA) and author of the report for the ABA on reform of the ABA's enforcement powers (2004)
  • Member of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission's Corporate Governance Roundtable (1998-2002)
  • Consultant to the Australian Law Reform Commission for its managed investments project (1992)
  • Member of the Australian Law Reform Commission's Advisory Committee for its civil and administrative penalties project (2000-2002)
  • Consultant to the Victorian Government on corporate law reform (2000, 2003 and 2007)
  • Consultant to the Scrutiny of Acts and Regulations Committee, Parliament of Victoria (2008)
  • Consultant to the Parliament of Australia House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics, Finance and Public Administration (2004)
  • Visiting Professor, Faculty of Law, The University of Paris (2008)
  • Distinguished Visiting Professor, Faculty of Law, The University of Toronto (1997)
  • Distinguished Visiting Professor and Professorial Fellow, Faculty of Law, The University of Hong Kong (2001)

Ian has published extensively on corporate law issues both internationally and in Australia. His books include Ford's Principles of Corporations Law - which is Australia's leading corporate law book - (co-author, 13th edition, 2007); Commercial Applications of Company Law (co-author, 10th edition, 2009); Varieties of Capitalism, Corporate Governance and Employees (co-editor, 2008); Commercial Applications of Company Law in Singapore (co-author, 3rd edition, 2008); Commercial Applications of Company Law in Malaysia (co-author, 3rd edition, 2008); Commercial Applications of Company Law in New Zealand, (co-author, 2nd edition, 2005); Company Directors: Principles of Law and Corporate Governance (co-author, 2005); Experts' Reports in Corporate Transactions (co-author, 2003);  Key Developments in Corporate Law and Trusts Law: Essays in Honour of Professor Harold Ford (editor, 2002); Company Directors' Liability for Insolvent Trading (editor, 2000); Securities Regulation in Australia and New Zealand  (co-editor, 1998); The Corporate Law Economic Reform Program Act Explained (co-author 2000); The New Corporations Law (co-author, 1998);  Corporate Governance and the Duties of Company Directors (editor, 1997); and Education and the Law (co-author, 1996).

In addition, he has published approximately 140 research reports, book chapters and journal articles.

His publications have been cited by the High Court of Australia, the Federal Court of Australia, the Courts of Appeal of the Supreme Courts of New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia, as well as by the Full Court of the Supreme Court of South Australia.

Ian is one of Australia's most successful academic lawyers in terms of competitive research grants.

Ian is a respected commentator in the media on corporate governance and corporate law. He is regularly interviewed in the financial press and has been interviewed for international newspapers including the New York Times. His research has been reported in international newspapers including the Financial Times and the Wall Street Journal. Ian has been interviewed on major TV programs such as the 7.30 Report and Lateline, as well as radio programs including the Law Report and various current affairs programs.

For a detailed list of Professor Ramsay's publications click here.

Many of Professor Ramsay's publications are available on the Social Science Research Network (SSRN) website.

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  Associate Professor Paul Ali
  Email: Click here

                       
Dr Paul Ali is an Associate Professor in the Melbourne Law School. Before becoming an academic, Paul worked as a finance lawyer in Sydney, in the Banking & Finance and Corporate groups of two of the leading Australian law firms and also in the securitisation team of a US bank. Paul has published widely on banking and finance law, corporate governance and institutional investment law, securitisation law, and structured finance law. Paul's most recent publications include books on credit derivatives (The Credit Derivatives Handbook: Global Perspectives, Innovations and Market Drivers, 2008) and synthetic securitisation (Expansion and Diversification in Securitization, 2008). Paul’s other books include International Corporate Governance after Sarbanes-Oxley (2006), Opportunities in Credit Derivatives and Synthetic Securitisation (2005) and Securitisation of Derivatives and Alternative Asset Classes (2005). Paul is the Editor of the Company and Securities Law Journal.

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     Hellen Blue 
   Email: Click here

Hellen Blue is an Associate Director of the Centre for Corporate Law & Securities Regulation. She joined Melbourne Law School and the Centre for Corporate Law & Securities Regulation in 1998. Hellen is responsible for the Centre’s seminar and conference program. She teaches Corporate Law.

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  Andrew Godwin
 
Email: Click here


  

Andrew Godwin is a Senior Lecturer in the Melbourne Law School and Associate Director (Asian Commercial Law) of the Asian Law Centre. He is also Director of the Graduate Program in Banking and Finance Law at the Melbourne Law School. Prior to joining the Law School in 2006, Andrew was in private practice for 15 years, 10 of which were spent in Shanghai where he was a partner of a major international law firm. During his time in practice, Andrew acted for commercial and investment banks in a wide range of finance transactions, including secured lending, structured finance, derivatives and debt restructuring. He was also actively involved with financial institutions and multinational companies in the area of cross-border merger and acquisition projects and investment funds management. His research interests include securities regulation, Chinese law, property law, financial and insolvency law and professional training.

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hanrahan   Associate Professor Pamela Hanrahan
  Email: Click here

Pamela Hanrahan is an Associate Professor in the Melbourne Law School. Pamela is currently on leave from the University and is working at the Australian Securities and Investments Commission as Senior Executive Leader - Investment Managers. She joined the academic staff of The University of Melbourne as a Senior Lecturer in February 1997, having previously practised corporate law and securities law as a Senior Associate with Arthur Robinson & Hedderwicks in Melbourne. She holds Honours degrees in Arts and Law from The University of Melbourne and a Master of Laws degree from Case Western Reserve University, Ohio USA. In 2005 Pamela completed an SJD at The University of Melbourne.

Pamela teaches Corporate Law and Regulation of Managed Investments.

Her research interests include management accountability in corporations and public unit trusts, securities law and derivatives regulation. Pamela was Special Counsel with Allens Arthur Robinson from 2001-2004 and was on leave from the University during this time. She returned to the University in 2004 as Associate Professor.

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howe   Associate Professor John Howe
  Email: Click here


Dr John Howe is an Associate Professor in the Melbourne Law School. He joined the Melbourne Law School and the Centre for Corporate Law and Securities Regulation in 2005. His research interests include regulatory theory, corporate accountability and labour law, and he teaches in the areas of corporate law, administrative law and labour law.

John received a PhD in law from the University of Melbourne in 2004 for his thesis ‘Government Promotion of Job Creation in Australia: Regulatory Objectives, Instruments and Law’. He also holds undergraduate degrees in Law and Arts from Monash University, and an LLM (Summa Cum Laude) from Temple University in Philadelphia, USA.

John is also a member of the Centre for Employment and Labour Relations Law. Prior to commencing an academic career, John worked in private legal practice, and also as a researcher for public policy and advocacy organisations in Washington DC.

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    Associate Professor Cally Jordan
  Email: Click here

Cally Jordan is an Associate Professor in the Melbourne Law School and Deputy Director of the Centre for Corporate Law and Securities Regulation. She joined the Law School in 2007. She has degrees in both civil law and common law (LLB/BCL McGill University; DEA Université de Paris I (Panthéon-Sorbonne)) and has practised law in Canada, New York, California and Hong Kong. She spent several years in the New York office of Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton practising international finance. She was previously an Associate Professor at the University of Florida where she taught International Securities Regulation and Corporations.

Cally has worked with the World Bank as an advisor on corporate governance, corporate law and capital markets in a number of countries (Indonesia, Vietnam, Tunisia, China, Chile, Korea, Slovakia, Armenia, Macedonia, Lithuania, Egypt, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania).

Between 1991 and 1996, she was an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Law at McGill University and a member of the Institute of Comparative and Private Law. She has taught as an adjunct at the University of Melbourne, Georgetown Law Center in Washington, DC and Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto, Canada. She is a frequent speaker on corporate governance, capital markets and corporate law. She is the author of proposals for the reform of Hong Kong companies law and spent nearly five years living in Asia.

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howe   Jurgen Kurtz
  Email: Click here

Jurgen Kurtz graduated in Law (Hons) and Arts from The University of Melbourne in 1993. He completed his articles of clerkship at Mallesons Stephen Jaques in 1994 and practised in corporate law until 1999. He was appointed a consultant in corporate law to Mallesons in 2000.

He has taught Corporate Law at the Melbourne Law School.

Jurgen completed his LLM by research thesis at The University of Melbourne. His main research interest is in international efforts to liberalise domestic investment laws and the impact of those efforts on the regulation of transnational corporations.

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Tim   Professor Timothy Lindsey
  Email: Click here

Tim Lindsey is a graduate of The University of Melbourne Law School and has a doctorate in Indonesian Studies.  He is Director of the Law School's Asian Law Centre. He teaches Insolvency Law and also Indonesian Law, Malaysian Law and Islamic and Traditional Customary Law.  He researches and teaches in Indonesian.  His books include Law and Society in Indonesia and How Companies Work.

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Christine   Associate Professor Christine Parker
  Email: Click here

Dr Parker is an Associate Professor and Reader at the University of Melbourne. In 1999, Oxford University Press published her first book Just Lawyers: Regulation and Access to Justice. In 2002, Cambridge University Press published Christine's second book titled The Open Corporation: Self Regulation and Corporate Citizenship. She has taught subjects dealing with ethics and professional conduct in the legal profession as well as corporate law and a subject dealing with corporate compliance issues. She has lead a major research project (in collaboration with the Centre for Competition and Consumer Policy at the Australian National University and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission) evaluating the compliance impact of ACCC enforcement activity.


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steele   Stacey Steele
  Email: Click here

Stacey Steele joined the Centre for Corporate Law and Securities Regulation in 2005. She joined the Asian Law Centre in 1997 as a research associate and was appointed Associate Director (Japan) for the Asian Law Centre in January 2002.

Stacey holds degrees from the University of Queensland (BA (Jap)), Monash University (MA (Jap)) and the University of Melbourne (LLB (Hons) and LLM (by thesis)) and has worked as a Senior Associate in the Financial Services Group at Blake Dawson Waldron.

Stacey has taught Insolvency Law, Law and Society in Japan and other subjects offered by the Law School and published a translation of the Law Relating to Recognition and Assistance for Foreign Insolvency Proceedings for the Ministry of Justice, Japan. Her research interests are in the areas of Japanese insolvency law, law reform and the Japanese legal system.

Stacey has a part time appointment in the Law School and she also works in the private sector.

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  Associate Professor Christian Witting
  Email:
c.witting@unimelb.edu.au

 

 

Christian Witting is an Associate Professor in the Melbourne Law School, Fellow of the European Centre for Tort and Insurance Law, and Barrister and Solicitor (Vic). He teaches Corporate Law and Torts at the University of Melbourne. His current research relates to corporate groups. Earlier research concerned the duty of care in tort and causation of economic losses. This culminated in publications including Witting, Liability for Negligent Misstatements (Oxford, 2004) and Van Boom, Koziol and Witting (eds), Pure Economic Loss (Vienna, 2004). His work has been cited in the House of Lords, the High Court of Australia, Federal Court of Australia and other appellate courts. Christian has presented many papers internationally and has spoken at professional training courses conducted, inter alia, for the College of Law for England and Wales, Munich-Reinsurance and Victorian Government Departments. 

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Associates of the Centre

Helen Bird

Helen Bird is a graduate in Law (Hons) and Commerce from the University of Queensland. After graduation, she completed her articles of clerkship and worked as a solicitor in the corporate, property and commercial litigation departments of Freehills. She joined The University of Melbourne in 1994 and has taught Contract Law, Corporate Law and Principles of Business Law. Helen resigned from the Law School in 2008. Her research interests are corporate governance, corporate regulation and enforcement, and legal theory. She is the co-author (with Susan Woodward and Sally Sievers) of Corporations Law in Principle (LawBook Co 7th ed, 2005). Helen is currently completing a PhD at the University of Melbourne.

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Sally Sievers

Sally Sievers (BA, LLB (Melb); LLM (Monash) is an Associate of the Centre for Corporate Law and Securities Regulation. She was previously a Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Law at Monash University. Her main research interests are corporate law, especially directors' duties and non-profit associations. She is the author of Associations and Clubs Law in Australia and New Zealand (2nd ed, 1996) and co-author of Corporations Law in Principle (7th ed, 2005). She is also the author of the chapter titled 'Voluntary Associations' in Halsbury's Law of Australia. Sally has taught Corporate Law. Sally is also a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Victoria. She was a member of the Corporations Law Committee of the Law Council of Australia.

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stapledon   Professor Geof Stapledon
  

Geof Stapledon is Manager, Governance at BHP Billiton and a Professorial Fellow at Melbourne Law School. Geof joined the Melbourne Law School in 1995. He was appointed Professor of Law in 2005 and a Professorial Fellow in 2008 when he took up his position at BHP Billiton. In June 2005 Geof was appointed Managing Director of ISS Australia, which is the regional headquarters of Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) - the world's largest proxy voting and corporate governance adviser. ISS Australia was established in mid-2005 when ISS acquired Proxy Australia, a Melbourne-based proxy voting and governance research firm that Geof co-founded.

Geof has taught corporate law, competition law and corporate governance at the University of Melbourne. He has published widely in the areas of corporate governance, institutional investment, and corporate law. His book Institutional Shareholders and Corporate Governance was published by Oxford University Press in 1996. Geof is a member of the Editorial Boards of the Company and Securities Law Journal and the Journal of Corporate Law Studies; and the Asia-Pacific and Far East Contributing Editor for Governance newsletter.

Geof has degrees in Economics and Law from the University of Adelaide, and a doctorate from the University of Oxford. He has previously worked as a solicitor specialising in corporate advisory work.

  Andrew White
  

Andrew White is an Associate Professor of Law in the Singapore Management University School of Law. Andrew’s primary research focus is on Asian and Islamic law, including especially Islamic commercial law (Fiqh al-Muamalat) in Asia and commercial law reform in developing countries. Andrew has extensive experience as a consultant in areas of commercial law reform, including Shar'ah/Fiqh al-Muamalat and other areas of commercial law in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Prior to joining Singapore Management University, Andrew was a Senior Fellow in the Melbourne Law School, where he taught corporate law, dispute resolution and legal ethics. He also holds a continuing appointment in the Melbourne Law School’s Asian Law Centre.

Andrew received his LL.M. (First Class Honours in all subjects) from the University of Melbourne and his Juris Doctor degree from Case Western Reserve University (Ohio, USA). For nearly 25 years, he practised business and commercial law (transactional and litigation) in the US and Europe as a partner in a major international law firm based in Washington, DC, as a senior attorney in a law firm in Germany, and most recently as principal in his own law firm in North Carolina, USA.


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woodward   Sue Woodward
 

Susan Woodward (LLB (Hons)(Melb) Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Victoria) is an Associate of the Centre for Corporate Law and Securities Regulation. She taught at the University of Melbourne Law School until 2004.

Prior to joining The University of Melbourne, Susan practised in commercial law both in Australia and London. She also worked as in-house legal counsel for the Australian Industry Development Corporation. At the Melbourne Law School, Susan taught Corporate Law for several years.

Susan was the lead author of Corporations Law in Principle (Law Book Co, 7th ed, 2005), together with colleagues Helen Bird and Sally Sievers. As part of the In Principle Series, the book was awarded a prize for the best Tertiary Book Series at the Australian 10th Annual Excellence in Educational Publishing Awards.

Susan's research has involved conducting a three year research project on 'Accountability and Corporate Governance in Not-for-profit Companies'. The final report for this project (which includes law reform recommendations) was published in 2004.

Sue teaches the subject "Governing Not-for-Profit Organisations" in the Melbourne Law School Masters Program.

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