Personal Experience

Andrew is a partner in the firm’s litigation team, and our New South Wales Pro Bono Partner.

Andrew predominantly acts for the firm’s long-standing government clients in regulatory prosecutions and administrative law matters. He regularly appears without counsel in prosecutions and administrative review hearings in the Local Court, NCAT, and the District and Supreme Courts of NSW, and has instructed counsel on appeals to the Courts of Appeal and Criminal Appeal.

With a special interest in large and complex prosecution matters, Andrew has successfully conducted several major high-profile prosecutions including Road Transport, Fisheries, Work Health and Safety, Animal Cruelty and Environmental offences. He has also been involved in preparation of enforcement and prosecution guidelines for several NSW Government agencies and has conducted training for their compliance staff.

Andrew also acts for private clients who have been charged with criminal offences, who wish to appeal administrative decisions, and in civil disputes.

Matters

Examples of Andrew’s work include:

• The successful prosecution, on behalf of Fisheries NSW, of a commercial fisher, two restaurants and related parties for some 243 charges relating to the “black market” sale of Eastern rock lobster. This was the largest such prosecution ever to be heard by the NSW Local Court, occupying some nine weeks of hearing time;
• The successful prosecution, on behalf of RSPCA NSW, of animal cruelty and neglect charges in relation to over 50 horses heard in the Local Court over four weeks, and subsequent appeals to the NSW District Court and Court of Appeal;
• The successful conduct, on behalf of NSW Police, of a complex and high-profile annulment application and licence appeal at Orange Local Court, arising from the immediate suspension of a truck driver’s Heavy Vehicle licence following a fatal accident;
• The successful prosecution, on behalf of the former NSW Roads & Maritime Services, of a trucking company and its director for some 230 charges under “chain of responsibility” provisions of the road transport legislation, for breaches of the fatigue regulations by its drivers;
• The successful conduct, entirely without counsel, of a Supreme Court appeal involving the interpretation of provisions of the Heavy Vehicle National Law which had not previously been authoritatively considered; and
• The successful prosecution, on behalf of the National Rail Safety Regulator, of a rail transport operator for charges arising from the death of a rail safety worker