Two of Piper Alderman’s (New South Wales, Australia) partners have been honoured with appointments in their areas of speciality both locally and overseas.
Simon Venus, Corporate Partner and head of the firm’s national agribusiness practice group, has been appointed by the state Agriculture Minister Michael O’Brien as a member of South Australia’s inaugural Agribusiness Council.
The Minister commented that the Council will act as a high level conduit between government and industry to ensure the sustainable growth of South Australian agriculture. The Council is comprised of state and national leaders representing a cross section of agribusiness related industries. Mr O’Brien said the high calibre of members represented a vote of confidence in the state’s agribusiness sector.
Simon commented that the appointment “is a great honour, in particular to be recognised alongside a range of industry leaders in a sector in which I am passionate about. The Council will be a valuable interface between government and business to ensure that the agribusiness sector responds to the ever changing global economy where macro trends such as food security present challenges but also great
opportunities.”
Simon, who is also a director of the Agribusiness Association of Australia, will be one of thirteen members of the Council, which will hold its first meeting at Parliament House in early September.
For more information on the Agribusiness Council, go to www.premier.sa.gov.au/images/stories/mediareleasesJUL11/agribusiness.pdf
Dispute Resolution partner Andrew Robertson has been appointed as a panel arbitrator to the Kuala Lumpur
Regional Centre for Arbitration. The centre is a non-profit non-governmental organisation that provides a forum for the settlement of disputes by arbitration in trade, commerce and investment.
Andrew commented on his appointment:
“Alternative dispute resolution is an area that I am very passionate about. Because of international treaty arrangements arbitration is a highly effective mechanism to determine international commercial disputes, often more so than local Courts given the relative ease in the enforceability of the outcome. International commercial arbitration is seen as an increasingly popular way of resolving problems with disputants in different countries. While a National Councillor of IAMA I was involved with the negotiation of Memoranda of Co-operation with Chinese and Filipino arbitral bodies and more recently I have been appointed a Fellow of the Philippine Institute of Arbitrators, so I am excited about being able to continue my connection with this area in Asia.”
Andrew is a leader in the fields of arbitration and mediation. He is a former National Councillor and National Treasurer of the Institute of Arbitrator and Mediators Australia and is the Treasurer of the South Australian Chapter as well as being a Fellow of the Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration, the Institute of Arbitrator and Mediators Australia, the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and the Philippines Institute of Arbitrators. He is a member of the LAWASIA ADR and Litigation Committee and the ADR Committee of the Law Society of South Australia.
Piper Alderman
Piper Alderman is a full-service, commercial law firm with offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide. We have 56 partners, over 160 lawyers and more than 325 staff in total. Our firm is committed to continual excellence in the practice of law, having been leading advisers to commercial interests across Australia for over 160 years. We have achieved our impressive growth by listening to our clients, responding to their needs and creating practical legal solutions.
To find out more about us visit www.piperalderman.com.au
