About Guy Foster
Guy is an experienced litigator. He is skilled at identifying strategies for dispute resolution and has substantial experience in leading teams in major litigation and public and private inquiries and investigations. His clients include significant manufacturing companies, banks, insurers, private equity firms and public sector organisations. He has been identified as one of Australia's leading litigators in independent peer and client surveys conducted by organisations such as Doyle's Guide, Best Lawyers and Benchmark: Asia Pacific. He is one of only two litigators to receive a Band 1 ranking in recent editions of Chambers Global.
Guy's primary practice is in regulatory, corporate and commercial disputes and litigation, particularly matters arising from contractual and transactional disputes, corporate collapses and takeovers. He acts in securities litigation and in disputes concerning alleged breaches of trust and fiduciary duties. He is experienced in shareholder and other types of class actions. He is also experienced in corporate fraud work and was recently acknowledged by Who's Who Legal as a leading practitioner in asset recovery. He has acted in Trade Practices disputes, including in respect of allegations of cartel conduct and misleading and deceptive conduct. He has defended and prosecuted claims of misuse of confidential information.
Guy has particular expertise in acting for clients involved in public and private investigations and inquiries, and the associated litigation issues that tend to arise from those processes. For example, he has acted on a range of ASIC and ASX inquiries and hearings and related regulatory and non-regulatory litigation. He has advised clients on foreign bribery and corrupt conduct investigations. He has also acted for clients on a range of parliamentary inquiries, Royal and Special Commissions of Inquiry, liquidators' examinations and ICAC and AFP investigations.
Guy has also acted for corporate clients undertaking internal investigations of possible breaches of law. He is experienced in investigations of potential fraud, false accounting, insider trading, market manipulation, compliance breaches and mis-selling of financial products. He provides advice on governance, risk and compliance issues. He has acted for clients in respect of their APRA self-assessments and ASIC's close and continuous monitoring and corporate governance taskforce initiatives.
Guy has provided advice to a range of commercial clients in respect of their rights to challenge government bodies and government decision making. He has litigated a number of administrative law challenges in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal and the Federal Court. He has advised government entities on their statutory duties and responsibilities and in respect of their decision making processes.
Guy is renowned for his commercial approach and his appreciation of his clients' strategic aims.
Some examples of Guy’s experience include:
- acting for clients such as the Commonwealth Bank, Macquarie Bank, QBE, Amcor and CIMIC in respect of consumer and shareholder class actions.
- acting for clients in respect of significant ASIC and APRA inquiries, including recent inquiries concerning the add-on insurance and private wealth markets, and APRA's processes of risk management declarations and self-assessments.
- providing advice to directors and senior officers of major Banks and other significant financial institutions in respect of regulatory investigations, major disputes and risk management strategies and in their appearances in various forms of public and private investigatory processes.
- acting for clients in respect of Royal and Special Commissions, including: Macquarie Bank and Allianz in the Financial Services Royal Commission; various NSW Government agencies in respect of the Glenbrook, Waterfall and Sydney Ferries Special Commissions; and various parties in connection with the HIH and AWB Royal Commissions.
- acting for various clients in respect of internal and external investigations of alleged bribery and corrupt conduct, including AFP, DoJ and ASIC investigations of such conduct.
- acting for Banks, investment banks, other corporates and individuals in respect of ASIC inquiries in respect of alleged insider trading, market manipulation and other alleged misconduct in the equities, options and futures markets, and acting in respect of related civil litigation.
- acting for a major resources company to conduct an investigation of employee conduct in respect of a significant reputational matter.
- acting in relation to various inquiries and proceedings arising in respect of the collapse of the Dick Smith Group.
- acting for Macquarie Bank in ASIC investigations, parliamentary inquiries and subsequent regulatory and civil litigation following the collapse of Storm Financial.
- acting for a major Australian bank in various proceedings concerning losses allegedly suffered in relation to complex structured products known as CDOs.
- acting for a fund manager to investigate a significant employee fraud and acting in related injunction proceedings.
- acting for a private equity firm in the defence of an asserted $700 million damages claim in connection with the sale of the Independent Liquor group of companies.
- acting in various proceedings concerning alleged cartel behaviour in the packaging industry.
- acting for a resources company in a series of related disputes with a joint venture partner concerning alleged misleading conduct and breaches of fiduciary duty and contract in respect of the development of a mine and in respect of related native title disputes.
- acting in disputes concerning alleged breaches of trust and fiduciary duties and breaches of contract, including acting for the NSW Government in respect of a major technology project.
- providing strategic advice to manufacturers and distributors on litigious matters, including in respect of mass tort litigation.