ADELAIDE: Reflections from the Not-For-Profit Sector: Strategies to navigate risk and governance in a changing landscape

Tom has over 20 years’ experience and is a partner based in Piper Alderman’s Adelaide office.

Tom has a diverse practice, ranging from employment disputes, advising in respect of directors’ duties and corporate governance, administrative law review and intellectual property disputes. He has also advised and acted in estate litigation and disputes involving capacity and guardianship.

He has specialist expertise representing clients in recent Royal Commissions, ICAC / Ombudsman enquiries, regulatory hearings and enquiries, corporate fraud investigations, disputes involving breach of fiduciary duties, defamation and reputation management and in Corporations Law and ACCC matters.

Tom has acted in relation to a number of significant matters – in particular, he defended an employment class action on behalf of SEPL Pty Ltd, a company within the Peregrine Corporation, in which the Applicant law firm alleged losses of up to AU$70 million.

Simon Venus has more than 20 years’ experience as a corporate and commercial lawyer with a broad practice that includes mergers and acquisitions, in-bound foreign direct investment, investment structuring, foreign investment approvals, due diligence and transaction execution.  Simon’s clients come from many different sectors and he advises on a broad range of corporate and commercial transactions for major Australian and international corporations, fund managers, high net worth family offices and private clients.

Many years of working on large pastoral station properties has given Simon a keen interest in agriculture, and the agribusiness sector has become a specific area of focus within his practice.  Simon is the National Head of the firm’s Agribusiness Group and is widely respected within the industry.  He has been consistently recognised for his knowledge and expertise in legal directories and was named Agriculture and Rural Affairs “Lawyer of the Year” by Best Lawyers in Australia in 2021.

Simon is a former Director of the peak national industry body, Agribusiness Australia, and was an inaugural member of the South Australian Agribusiness Council.  He is also an inaugural member of the Agribusiness Advisory Board at the University of Adelaide’s School of Business and is a director of several private client-owned Australian domiciled holding companies.  Simon is the principal author of the ‘Business Structures’ section in the LexisNexis ‘Practical Guidance’ legal publication and has been a speaker at several agribusiness focused investment and legal conferences.

Simon’s charitable and not-for-profit roles include being a director of the rural financial counselling service, Rural Business Support South Australia & Northern Territory, as well as a trustee of several charitable organisations including the Michell Bequest Foundation, (a medical research foundation administered by the University of Adelaide Faculty of Health Sciences), and the University College London Australia Gift Fund.

A trusted advisor to many long-term clients, they appreciate Simon’s knowledge, commitment, expertise, responsibility, and understanding of the agribusiness sector and his prompt, thorough, and commercially sound advice.  They value his willingness to gain a deeper understanding of how they operate and to recommend alternative options when delivering legal solutions.

Isabelle is a senior lawyer in the Dispute Resolution and Litigation team.

She practices in general commercial litigation and her experience includes defending complex class action proceedings. Isabelle also has experience in relation to regulatory hearings and inquiries, particularly responses to Royal Commissions, and in providing competition law advice.

Emily supports organisations by providing timely legal advice through every stage of employment, including hiring, managing the workforce, and resolving disputes.

She provides advice to employers from various industries in relation to all aspects of employment, industrial relations, work health and safety, and workers compensation law.

Emily is a co-author of “Independent Contractors: a practical guide” with Professor Andrew Stewart and other contributors from Piper Alderman, published by CCH.

She has been an editor of the University of Adelaide Law Review and a member of the South Australian Law Reform Institute.

Emily hosts Piper Alderman’s podcast, Employment Law for the Time Poor, updating listeners on complicated legal issues in manageable portions.