Keywords
Biography
I was born and raised on Noongar land (Mineng Boodja and Whadjuk Boodja) in Western Australia. Admitted as a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of Western Australia, I worked in what is now the State Solicitor's Office and for the firm now known as King Wood Mallesons, before commencing my career in legal scholarship and as a law teacher. I am now an experienced law teacher with particular expertise in property law and equity.
In...view more
I was born and raised on Noongar land (Mineng Boodja and Whadjuk Boodja) in Western Australia. Admitted as a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of Western Australia, I worked in what is now the State Solicitor's Office and for the firm now known as King Wood Mallesons, before commencing my career in legal scholarship and as a law teacher. I am now an experienced law teacher with particular expertise in property law and equity.
In 2024, I moved to Bedegal and Gadigal lands to join the Faculty of Law and Justice at UNSW. I now belong to the School of belong to the School of Private and Commercial Law, where I teach and undertake research specialising in property law, equity and trusts. Beyond that, my research interests extend to the law of restitution, unjust enrichment, legal theory and (common law) legal history.
The principles, doctrines and remedies of equity and the relationship between equity and the common law hold an enduring fascination for me. Taking a positivist view of law's ontology and an interpretive approach to doctrinal analysis, my work explores the dynamics of that relationship, across time and between common law jurisdictions, with a view to discovering what it says about the community living by those laws. Another goal of my work is to ascertain what, if anything, must change in the common law's doctrinal mix for the law to accord with the real norms of the community it serves and/or with the ideals espoused by that community as a self-perceiving body.
My Qualifications
LLB (Hons 1A), LLM (Dist) University of Western Australia.
Currently, I am currently writing a dissertation, entitled Deconstructing the Equitable Doctrine of Undue Influence, to be submitted to the University of Melbourne for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
My Research Activities
Books
I am a co-author of Property Law in Western Australia, which is to be published by Thomson Reuters in 2025
Book Chapters
'Renovating the Concept of Consent' in R Levy, M O'Brien, S Rice, P Ridge and M Thornton (eds), New Directions of Law in Australia (ANU Press, 2017)
'Divergence in the Australian and English Law of Undue Influence: Vacillation or Variance?' in A Robertson and M Tilbury (eds), Divergences in Private Law (Hart, 2016)
'A Sustainable Future for the Rule against Perpetuities' in P Carruthers, S Mascher and NK Skead (eds), Property and Sustainability: Selected Essays (Thomson Reuters, 2011)
''The Impending Demise of of the Principle in Lysaght v Edwards and Possible Ramifications' (co-authored with J Mugambwa) in P Carruthers, S Mascher and NK Skead (eds), Property and Sustainability: Selected Essays (Thomson Reuters, 2011)
Journal Articles (Peer Reviewed)
'Deconstructing Equitable Undue Influence: Insights from a Genealogy' (2020) 14(1) Journal of Equity 58
'Great Expectations: Equity, Inheritance and the Family Farm' (co-authored with M Evans) (2007) 9 Legal Issues in Business 47
'The Interface between Trademark, Designs and Passing Off under Australian Law' (2000) 7 E-law - Murdoch University Electronic Journal of Law
'Proprietary Claims and Remedies' (1999) International Trade and Business Law Annual 285
'Formalities Relating to Contracts for the Sale of Land' (1995) 25 University of Western Australia Law Journal 180
Conference Papers
'Safeguarding (Relational) Autonomy: the Equitable Doctrine of Undue Influence Inter Vivos', presented at Private Law Junior Scholars' Conference, Buchanan Faculty of Law, Tel Aviv University, 19-20 June 2019
'The Relationship between Form and Substance in Equity in the 21st Century: Learning from "the Mess' that is the Law of Undue Influence', presented (in absentia) at Obligations IX: Form and Substance in the Law of Obligations, University of Melbourne, 19 July 2018
'Norms of Sharing and Exclusivity: Adverse Possession and Co-ownership' presented at the 14th Annual Property Law Teachers' Conference: Beyond Sole Ownership, Curtin University, 27 September 2017
'Deconstructing the Law of Undue Influence', presented at 108th Conference of the Society of Legal Scholars: the Diverse Unities of Law, University College Dublin, 8 September 2017
''Observations about the Role of Public Policy in Private Law: Comparing the English and Australian Approaches to Restitution in Spousal Guarantee Cases', presented at 107th Annual Conference of the Society of Legal Scholars: Legislation and the Law of the Judiciary, University of Oxford, 6 September 2016
'It's Time to "Get Real" about the Concept of Consent in Contract and Property Law', presented at National Law Reform Conference, Australian National University, 14 April 2016
'Divergence in the Law of Undue Influence: Vacillation or Variance', presented at Obligations VII: Divergence and Convergence, University of Hong Kong, July 2014
'The Impending Demise of the Principle of Lysaght v Edwards in Australia: What Will Be the Consequences?', presented with Prof John Mugambwa at the Australasian Property Law Teachers' Conference, University of Western Australia, 26 September 2010
'A Sustainable Future for the Rule against Perpetuities', presented at the Australasian Property Law Teachers' Conference, University Of Western Australia, 25 September 2010
'The Relationship between Estoppel and the Change of Position Defence in Australia', presented at the Australasian Law Teachers' Conference, University of the South Pacific (Port Vila, Vanuatu), 2 July 2001
My Teaching
LAWS2385/JURD7285 Equity and Trusts T3 2024 and T1 2025.