Devon is a Special Counsel in the Dispute Resolution group.

Devon has over twelve years of experience working with government and the private sector. His expertise and experience spans trade negotiations (including at the WTO), trade and investment advice to government and international dispute settlement (including investor-state and WTO matters).

Devon has been a negotiator or legal advisor on virtually every trade agreement negotiation Australia has participated in over the past seven years. This includes, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, the United Kingdom’s accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Transpacific Partnership, and the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity, and negotiations with the EU, ASEAN, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, and the UK. He has advised across a broad range of trade law issues, including tariff treatment, rules of origin, non-tariff barriers, safeguards, foreign investment, digital trade, services, movement of natural persons, intellectual property, competition, environment, energy and resources, and dispute settlement. Devon also worked on the WTO’s Joint Statement Initiatives (JSI), including on key legal architectural issues relating to the JSI Electronic Commerce and the implementation of the JSI Domestic Regulation.

While at Australia’s Office of International Law, Devon was part of the team that successfully defended Australia’s first investor-state dispute (Philip Morris Asia Ltd v Australia) and assisted with the WTO challenges to Australia’s world-leading tobacco measures. He has also assisted with Australia’s Third-Party participation in WTO disputes.

In recognition of his leadership and expertise in matters of trade and investment law, in 2023 Devon was awarded a Secretary’s Excellence Award by Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. He has also been engaged by the APEC Secretariat to provide trade negotiation training to economies within APEC. Devon has also published academic publications on trade law, investor-state dispute settlement, and public international law issues.

Prior to joining Watson Farley & Williams, Devon was a Director – Legal in Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and in the Trade Law Division.

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  • Representing Australia in its successful defence in an UNCITRAL arbitration regarding its world leading tobacco plain packaging measure.
  • Advising on and negotiating the Australia – United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement, Australia – India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement, Australia – European Union Free Trade Agreement, and the United Kingdom’s accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.
  • Designing and delivering the legal architecture for the Australia-Singapore Digital Economy Agreement.
  • Negotiating legal architecture issues for the WTO’s Joint Statement Initiative on Electronic Commerce.
  • Advising the Australian government on compliance with broad range of trade and investment obligations including relating to services, investment, digital trade, and mobility issues.

Education

  1. 2016 · University of Melbourne, Graduate Diploma in International Law
  2. 2010 · Admitted as a lawyer of the Supreme Court of Victoria
  3. 2010 · College of Law, Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice
  4. 2009 · University of Melbourne, LL.B (Hons) and BA (Development Studies)
  5. 2009 · U21 Certificate in Global Issues
  6. 2009 · Georgetown University, Centre for Transnational Legal Studies Program

memberships and associations

  1. Law Society of the Australian Capital Territory
  2. International Law Association (Australian Branch)
  3. UNCITRAL National Coordination Committee for Australia, Associate Member