About Me
John is the founder and creator of the Pacific Legal Network (PLN), originally built on the contacts he made living in the Pacific to create an integrated and progressive legal network, now spanning 20 Pacific locations. PLN remains the only legal network across the Pacific region. At its core is the development and enhancement of local indigenous law firms in the Pacific, providing upskilling opportunities and professional development support for indigenous lawyers living and working in some very challenging jurisdictions.
The Pacific Legal Network is a practice group of Macpherson Kelley and is run out of Macpherson Kelley’s Sydney office. As well as legal services, the Sydney team provide project management and marketing services for the network, coordinating complex legal projects for clients operating in the Pacific region.
Demonstrating his commitment to the Pacific, John actively participates as a manager and as an adviser on a pro bono basis in various enterprises across the Pacific, in addition to providing other concessional-rate legal services to many other global NGO’s. John was also instrumental in having Pacific Legal Network become the only accredited observer law firm to the Green Climate Fund, and has served on various regional boards and committees over the last 25 years, including as a Board Member and Chairman of the Pacific Islands Business Council.
John’s legal specialty is in acquisitions, sales, restructuring, and financing of businesses of all types, in Australia and across the many jurisdictions covered by PLN. John has led teams of lawyers in acquisitions or restructuring or financing of businesses in Samoa, American Samoa, Cook Islands, Tonga, Fiji, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Timor Leste and Papua New Guinea. John has also been involved in the region’s largest network financing transactions and has been at the forefront of regulatory compliance projects in the Pacific.