Biography

A graduate of Trinity College Dublin (LLB, First Class) and Oxford University (BCL), John is admitted in Ireland, England, Wales and Australia. His practice combines transactional and advisory work across corporate, competition, regulation, energy and resources, decarbonisation and utilities. He acts for significant corporates, multinationals, private equity, hedge funds, entrepreneurs and government-owned entities in Australia and internationally.

John has a deep understanding of the government and regulatory landscape across many regulated industry sectors. He has advised energy regulators on the design of market frameworks, including the all-Ireland Single Electricity Market and the EU's first Emissions Trading Scheme, and works extensively on competition market conduct and industry regulation issues. He has worked on many conventional gas and renewables projects and has expertise in decarbonising traditional industry and the mining sectors.

John was appointed by the Australian Government as a director of Australia's Clean Energy Regulator, serving a full term on the board until April 2025. He has also served as a director of several Australian private equity-owned portfolio companies appointed by a significant international private equity firm.

He is a guest lecturer in competition law at the University of Queensland, an academic author and competition law editor of the Australian Law Journal and a frequent speaker on competition law, energy, utilities, decarbonisation and international trade.

John sits on several not-for-profit boards, is a former Chair of the International Bar Association's Public Law Committee and Vice-Chair of the Irish Law Society's EU & International Affairs Committee.

Awards, recognition and rankings

• Lexology Index 2026 – Recommended Lawyer in Energy, Natural Resources and Mining

John's experience