Maurice has more than 25 years’ experience delivering legal services for clients in both the private and public sector.
Maurice advises his clients in corporate and commercial law, contract preparation and negotiation, real estate development, governance, leasing, finance and dispute resolution.
Maurice has also worked as General Counsel at Parramatta City Council and Legal Services Director at the City of Sydney Council. Both in these roles and in private practice, Maurice has delivered client-focused legal services, ranging from high-level strategic advice on policy or politically sensitive issues to operationally focused legal support for business projects.
Maurice delivers business-minded solutions in a timely and efficient manner, and adds real value for clients by working with them in a true business partnership approach.
Experience
- Negotiating, reviewing and finalising all IT service contracts for the implementation of an in-house IT service consequent upon the termination of a shared service IT arrangement, which involved finalising more than 20 IT licence arrangements to enable the system to ‘go live’ without interruption to business services.
- Commercial negotiation and planning agreement preparation for Parramatta City Council that included the delivery of affordable housing, construction of a new park in the vicinity of the Parramatta CBD, delivery of access routes along the Parramatta River and funding for another Parramatta River crossing.
- Devising and implementing the litigation strategy to contest compensation previously paid for the compulsory acquisition of land in the vicinity of the Parramatta Transport Interchange, involving litigation up to the NSW Court of Appeal that was settled on highly favourable terms in accordance with the litigation strategy.
- Negotiation and contract preparation for the delivery of community facilities to Ryde City Council under Project Approvals for the Shepherds Bay development on a ‘turnkey’ contract basis.
- Formulating the structure of the Major Projects Advisory Committee that has commercial oversight of Parramatta City Council’s real estate development activities, including preparation of the committee constitution to accord with best practice governance principles and legal requirements.
- Leading negotiations between Parramatta City Council and the Commonwealth Department of the Environment to put in place a conservation agreement between the Minister and Parramatta City Council to facilitate planning decisions by Parramatta City Council that impact on The World Heritage listing of Old Government House in Parramatta Park.
- Providing strategic coordination of legal affairs in connection with the Parramatta Square development, including the termination of the Civic Place Agreement (with Grocon) and compulsory acquisition of land in and around Darcy Street and Church Street, Parramatta.
- Strategic legal advice and transaction documents for the collaborative arrangements between Waverley Council and Woollahra Municipal Council for the acquisition and operation of the Integrated Depot Facility that serviced both local government areas.
- Devising project structures, negotiations and transaction document preparation for the Parramatta City Council’s strategic land disposal program spanning project procurement to transaction documents signature for key sites in and about Parramatta, including the Macquarie Street car park, the Lennox Street and Phillip Street, Parramatta.
- Acted for Captia Pty Limited as the trustee of the Captia Trust in relation to the sale of Sydney Surgical Centre to the CURA Day Hospitals Group.