Christopher Furnell

LL.B.; B. Comm.
Christopher Furnell
  • Chambers: Floor 10, Room 1002, Douglas Menzies Chambers
  • Year Admitted: 1982
  • Year Signed Bar Roll: 20thNovember, 2003
  • Admitted to Practice in: Victoria, New South Wales, Western Australia, Federal Jurisdictions..
  • Phone: (03) 9225 6971
  • Mobile: 0419 337 545
  • Facsimile: (03) 9225 7907
  • E-Mail: cfurnell@vicbar.com.au
  • Areas of Practice
    • Administrative Law
    • Banking and Finance
    • Bankruptcy/Insolvency
    • Commercial Law
    • Contract
    • Corporations (Company) Law
    • Energy & Resources
    • Equity & Trusts
    • Freedom of Information
    • Property Law/Sale of Land
    • State Taxes
    • Succession
    • Trade Practices

Chris was admitted to practice in 1982. He has over 20 years broad experience as a commercial lawyer, more than 13 of which was as a partner of one of Australia's largest law firms.
He has particular expertise in:

  • access regime enforcement and interpretation - Chris provided extensive advice to privatized energy utilities and to their regulator, the Essential Services Commission;
  • the interpretation and enforcement of complex project documentation - Chris acted for the State in relation to the City Link project;
  • finance -Chris acted for the financiers in the M2 tollway project and Loy Yang B;
  • capital markets' documentation -Chris acted for the issuer in a recent note issue in the USA and advised on the large scale securitization of a pool of trade receivables;
  • banking ;
  • swaps and derivatives -Chris documented a number of the swaps undertaken by a then leading gold producer and has prepared for a bank standard foreign currency swap and option documentation;
  • administrative law -Chris was for several years a principal legal adviser to a statutory authority and, in that capacity, advised on FOI, tort liability, trade practices liability, procedural fairness and related issues;
  • state taxation - he has practiced in state taxation for over 20 years.

    • Chris has authored in excess of 20 publications and has been a member of the Law Institute's state taxes committee since its inception in the late 1980's.

    He is also a member of the Law Council's financial services committee.

    From 1/07/2008: Professional Standards Act 2003 [Vic] "Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation."