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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.

David Spear FAICD is a Partner and Director of VUCA Pty Ltd, professional company director and governance consultant. His current Board portfolio includes unlisted Public Companies, Not for Profits and Local Government entities.