Barrister at Law

About David

 

David was admitted as a solicitor in Queensland in 1974, and was called to the Bar in 1977.  He is admitted to practise in Australia, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand and the Courts of the Dubai International Financial Centre.  He was first appointed Queen’s Counsel in Australia in 1986. 

 

He currently practises in Sydney (Ground Floor Wentworth Chambers) and Brisbane (Sir Harry Gibbs Chambers) and is an associate member of chambers in Auckland (Shortland Chambers) and Darwin (William Forster Chambers).

 

He has acted for Commonwealth and State Governments as well as individuals and corporations.

 

David was President of the Taxation Institute of Australia from 1993 to 1995, and of the Asia Oceania Tax Consultants’ Association from 1996 to 2000.  He is a member of the Law Council of Australia Business Law Section Taxation Committee.  He served as a member of the Ministerial Consultative Committee for the Tax Law Improvement Project from 1994 to 1997 and as a member of the Steering Committee for the National Review of Standards for the Tax Profession in 1993 and 1994.  From 1991 to 1995 he was a member of the National Tax Liaison Group.

 

David has lectured and written extensively on taxation related topics in Australia and overseas (including New York, London, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Brussels, Dubai, Moscow, Kuala Lumpur and Karachi) and served as a member of the Advisory Editorial Board of Australian Tax Practice. He has lectured at the University of Sydney for the Master of Taxation course, the University of Queensland for the Master of Laws course and served as an Adjunct Professor of the University of Queensland. He is the Australian correspondent for Trusts and Trustees.

 

He is Chairman of STEP Australia and the STEP New South Wales Branch, a member of the STEP World Wide Council and Member Services and Public Policy Committees and the Committee of the STEP Contentious Trusts & Estates Special Interest Group, a co-chair of the Australian Chapter of the International Section of the New York State Bar Association, and a member of the Executive Committee of the Section, an Academician of The International Academy of Estate and Trust Law, an Honorary Member of the Taxation Institute of Hong Kong and a Fellow Member of the Chartered Institute of Taxation (UK).

 

David is listed in the Taxation Category in the Australian Financial Review/Best Lawyers review of the Australian Legal Profession in 2008 and all later years. In 2010 he was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun with Gold Rays and Neck Ribbon for services to Australia Japan relations. In 2012, he was made a Member of the Order of Australia for, amongst other things, “service … to taxation law and legal education”.

 

Outside the law, he maintains his interest in his family's rural business, Russell Pastoral Company, and its flagship property, Jimbour.

Professional Memberships

 

•  The International Academy of Estate and Trust Law

•  The Tax Institute

•  International Fiscal Association

•  Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners

•  Asia-Oceania Tax Consultants' Association

•  Australian Tax Research Foundation

•  New York State Bar Association

•  Law Council of Australia Business Law Section Taxation Committee

•  Chartered Institue of Taxation

•  Taxation Institute of Hong Kong

•  International Tax Specialist Group

•  Transnational Tax Network

•  International Tax Planning Association

 

   More →

More Information on: Barristers | Queen's Counsel | The International Tax Profession