Michela Gallimore Profile | Gallimore Lawyers

Our principal lawyer, Michela Gallimore, is a commercial lawyer with 21 years broad commercial experience advising on, negotiating and managing a variety of commercial agreements including both small and large commercial projects with multiple facets involving many business requirements.

She specialises in most aspects of commercial law and contract law with a proven ability to providing sound legal advice that is at the same time commercially realistic.  she has a strong commitment to providing quality client services as well as implementing and maintaining strategies to offer clients better services.

Michela Gallimore was admitted in 1989 and her qualifications include:

• Bachelor of Arts/Laws – University of Sydney 1988

• Master of Laws – University of Sydney 2003

• Accredited Commercial Mediator – Australian Commercial Disputes Centre1996

Her roles to date have all centred primarily on advisory and transactional commercial law.

Her most recent role (from 2000 to 2010) was as senior in-house counsel at the Sydney Futures Exchange (“SFE”) and subsequently at the Australian Securities Exchange (“ASX”) following the merger in 2006 of the 2 exchanges. In that role she advised on, negotiated and managed commercial projects as part of project teams.

• Drafted legal agreements (including IT licence, development and support agreements, consultancy agreements, service agreements, confidentiality agreements) and correspondence as required by the different business units.

• Updated/redrafted and streamlined many SFE/ASX standard agreements.

• Reviewed and negotiated legal agreements, including market data agreements, IT agreements, consultancy agreements, confidentiality agreements and service agreements (where SFE/ASX was both the provider and recipient of services). 

• Provided legal advice on miscellaneous issues including liability and indemnity issues, the interpretation of contractual terms and conditions and rights under those agreements, rights of termination, trade practices, intellectual property matters.

• Prepared standard documentation for use by different business units including Requests for Tender/Proposal, IT licence, development and support agreements, consultancy agreements, confidentiality agreements and service agreements (where SFE/ASX was both the provider and the recipient of the services).

• Facilitated/coordinated the execution of contracts and other legal documentation.

From 2006 to 2008 Michela also worked as part of the Regulatory and Public Policy Business Unit at the ASX as Senior Policy Adviser preparing lengthy, complex papers and submissions to ASIC and the ASX Policy Committee on a number of policy and regulatory issues affecting the Australian market including international listings and capital raising requirements.

Prior to joining SFE/ASX Michela was senior legal counsel in the commercial team of the State Crown Solicitors Office (“CSO”) from 1995 to 2000.  In this role I:

• Drafted, negotiated and advised on a number of commercial government agreements including, industry assistance agreements, funding agreements, research agreements, confidentiality agreements, assignment agreements, licence agreements, advertising agreements, agreements between NSW and the Commonwealth and other Australian states, corporate card agreements for government agencies, services agreements, agreements for setting up centralised access to government services to rural and remote areas.

• Provided advice and representation in relation to general commercial areas such as damages, contractual disputes, interpretation of contractual terms and conditions, estoppel, indemnity and disclaimer issues, copyright issues including Crown copyright, issues regarding trade marks and designs, stamp duty issues, identification of issues likely to arise in litigation and possible solutions such as alternative dispute resolution.

• Provided advice on the interpretation of a number of pieces of legislation.

• Provided advice in relation to government tenders including advice regarding the terms and conditions of tender documentation, post tender negotiations, assignment/novation of tender contracts, compliance with tender specifications and amendments to tenders after the close of tenders.

• Provided advice regarding policy and ICAC recommendations.

 

Before moving to the CSO Michela held roles in commercial litigation at Westgarth Middletons (now known as Corrs), Blake Dawson Waldron and Eakin McCaffery Cox.  In these roles she:

• Managed a diverse commercial law litigation practice with matters ranging from the Federal Court to the Local Court involving contract law, equity, Competition & Consumer Act (formaly known as the Trade Practices Act) especially section 52 actions, intellectual property issues, equity, insolvency and product liability.

• Personally appeared and instructed counsel in the Federal Court, NSW Supreme Court, District and Local Courts and Workers Compensation Court.

• Managed mediations

• Managed some insurance litigation matters ranging from the Federal Court to the Local Court involving public liability, product liability and workers’ compensation.

• Drafted pleadings, affidavits, statements and advice in respect of these matters.

 

Michela is a commercial mediator accredited by the Australian Commercial Disputes Centre (ACDC).She is also fluent in written and spoken Italian and conversant in conversational French and have been an accredited lawyer for the Italian Consulate for many years.