Gilbert + Tobin

Managing Partner: Danny Gilbert
Number of partners: 3
Number of employees: 800
Languages: Gilbert + Tobin Partners & staff speak a vast number of languages. A sample of these is: French, German, Mandarin, Italian, Spanish

Overview & History:
Gilbert + Tobin is a leading Australian law firm, advising clients on their most significant corporate transactions, regulatory matters and disputes. The firm provide commercial and innovative legal solutions for ASX 100 leading companies, major infrastructure and services providers as well as government and public authorities across Australia and around the world. Gilbert + Tobin is committed to outstanding citizenship and have a proud track record of providing pro bono legal services and advocacy on issues including refugee rights and reconciliation with Australia’s Indigenous peoples.

Practice Areas:
Gilbert + Tobin has market leading experience and expertise in fintech, private equity, M&A, ECM, technology + digital, debt, finance, litigation and regulatory work. The firm is ranked Band 1 by Chambers in Fintech, IT, M&A, Private Equity, Capital Markets, Competition & Regulatory and Acquisition Finance, one of only two firms to be ranked band 1 in all seven categories.

Recent fintech experience includes:
■ Xinja in relation to its establishment of one of the first neo-banks to operate in Australia and ongoing regulatory and commercial matters.
■ Accenture in relation to central bank digital currencies
■ Woolworths Group, Freelancer and Ubisoft in relation to market and regulatory issues
■ Synthetix on the establishment of a new blockchain-based platform that enables users to digitise interests in a new form of product which provides synthetic exposure to real world assets
■ Geora in relation to the structuring and establishment of a decentralised managed investment scheme to raise funding for the development and operation of the Geora protocol
■ PayPal, Intuit, MYOB, BPAY (including in relation to NPP and Osko), Tencent, Afterpay, Blueshyft, Daimler, Relaypay, epay Worldwide, Rev Australia, Ailo Holdings (Ray White Group), Moneytech, Havven, Westpac, CBA, Relaypay and Paid by Coins in relation to payment platforms and solutions
■ CBA in relation to the BEEM payments app
■ BRICKX in relation to establishment and its ongoing operations
■ ‘Tide’– a new blockchain based protocol that will facilitate the personal data economy by enabling organisations to monetise the information stored in their databases, whilst also addressing compliance with current and expected privacy regulation
■ CoVESTA in relation to the establishment of a fractionalised asset investment platform
■ Telegram, Havven (SNX), Tide, Agridigital, Incent, Lakeba and others in relation to digital token sales, crypto-asset strategies and exchange establishment, and a leading Australian financial sector business in relation to the development of clearing and settlement solutions using DLT
■ On Market on the regulatory issues associated with the establishment of its investment and capital raising platform
■ Holon Global in relation to the proposed establishment of a marketplace platform allowing customers to transact on a peer to peer basis
■ MINE Digital on the establishment of their Australian marketplace for customers to buy and sell crypto-assets
■ Tokenized, a platform for issuing, managing and trading security and utility tokens on the Bitcoin SV network
■ The establishment of Graincorp’s Cropconnect grain marketplace
■ Think Procurement in relation to its digital procurement platform
■ The establishment of Nexus Initiative, a not-for-profit advisory and originator business
■ BT in relation to the Panorama platform
■ Money Place Limited in relation to the establishment of its marketplace lending platform
■ Velocity Frequent Flyer in connection with the Australian regulatory issues associated with its Virgin Frequent Flyer program
■ Coinstar in relation to the Australian regulatory implications of its coin-to-cash and coin-to-voucher business
■ Each of the “big four banks” in relation to ApplePay
■ Westpac in relation to AndroidPay (now GooglePay) and SamsungPay
■ BPAY in relation to all aspects of Osko, the first overlay service to be provided on Australia’s New Payments Platform (including drafting the associated scheme rules) and on a range of other matters, including in relation to the existing BPAY payments products
■ CitiBank and Westpac in relation to aspects of their involvement in the New Payments Platform
■ eftpos and AusPayNet in relation to modifications of their scheme rules
■ Westpac in relation to various transactions and their interaction with Visa and MasterCard scheme rules and associated compliance requirements
■ Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) on the replacement of its CHESS (Clearing House Electronic Sub-register System) system with a distributed ledger based (DLT / blockchain) platform. This transaction is the world’s first enterprise grade implementation of distributed ledger technology for critical infrastructure and is being closely watched by many industries around the world
■ Westpac on its payments services products and capabilities, including arrangements with mx51 for integrated payment solutions and Westpac’s “Presto” product, ApplePay, Linkly for integrated EFTPOS solutions
■ Westpac on its participation in a joint venture to manage the development and implementation of a blockchain-based platform for the streamlined trading of bank guarantees, including Westpac’s interests in a technology services arrangement between the joint venture company and IBM as the prime technology supplier, and the ancillary agreements governing its use of the platform, associated data and information security matters

Recent Highlights & Awards:
■ 2020 Chambers FinTech– Band 1 ranking for FinTech practice group
■ 2020 Chambers FinTech– Band 1 ranking for Peter Reeves
■ 2020 Beaton Client Choice Awards – Gilbert + Tobin was named ‘Best Law & Related Services Firm’ and ‘Most Innovative Firm’
■ 2020 Australasian Law Awards – Gilbert + Tobin was named ‘Law Firm of the Year’ (101 – 500 lawyers)
■ 2019 Client Choice Awards – Gilbert + Tobin was named ‘Most Innovative Firm’
■ 2019 Financial Times Asia-Pacific Innovative Lawyer Awards – Gilbert + Tobin won:
• Most Innovative Law Firm in Asia-Pacific
• Legal Innovator of the Year
• Innovation in the Business of Law: Technology
■ 2019 AsiaLaw Regional Awards – : Gilbert + Tobin was named Australian Law Firm of the Year
■ 2018 AFR Most Innovative Companies: – Gilbert + Tobin was recognised in the AFR Top 100 Most Innovative Companies and was the only law firm in the top 50
■ 2016 Financial Times Innovative Lawyers Law Awards – Highly Commended, BrickX Platform, Finance Category

Contacts:
Peter Reeves, Partner
Tel: +61 2 9263 4290
Email: [email protected]

Simon Burns, Partner
Tel: +61 2 9263 4476
Email: [email protected]