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Draft:Liam Hennessy - Australian Academic and Lawyer

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Liam Thomas Hennessy (born 31 July 1985) is an Australian Lawyer and Academic, who publishes a popular weekly analysis on financial services regulation and commentates in the media. He is a Partner at the Brisbane office of leading firm Thomson Geer.

Personal

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Hennessy was born in New Zealand, and grew up in New South Wales, Australia. He is the eldest of three children. He is married to Juliet Smith, a medical doctor, and has a daughter. He studied law and forensic science (majoring in chemistry) at Newcastle University, later earning a Masters of Law at Sydney University. He was worked at law firms in London, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, including Clifford Chance and King & Wood Mallesons. Outside of law, he has said he is fascinated by Republican Rome and a listener of podcaster Mike Duncan.

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Hennessy acts for private funds, insurers, trading houses and digital asset firms on financial services licensing, capital raising and complex product design. He was nominated for financial services partner of the year in 2023.[1]

In 2021, Hennessy designed the Gadens' Breach Manager, a cloud-based solution designed to help organisations within the financial services and insurance sector manage the depth and breadth of mandatory breach reporting obligations.[1] The technology solution was accompanied by research published in April 2022[2] which identified regulatory teams facing "work overload, stress and anxiety" as a result of new law changes.

In March 2024, Hennessy provided the legal analysis for "CBDC Handbook and Encyclopaedia"[3] available on Amazon. The publication analysed the legal changes required in the era of digital currencies being issued by central bankers. Later that year, the Dubai Future Foundation - a Government organisation - announced it had selected a team led by Hennessy and UAE-based Partners[4] that would lead the design of a regulatory framework to tokenise Dubai's real property for trading. The magnitude of the mandate, and Dubai's utilisation of global advisers, made headlines.[5]

Research and media

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With the growth of the digital assets landscape after the 2024 US Presidential Election, Liam's weekly newsletter, and analysis has been closely followed by the market and financial press[6], and he has given evidence to the Australian Parliament and consulted to Treasury multiple times. [7] He writes for LexisNexis[8] on financial services regulation, and Thomson Reuters[9] on practical aspects of the Financial Accountability Regime.

Hennessy is seen as a moderate in terms of regulatory policy design, and has spoken approvingly of Braithwaite and Ayres' theory of responsive regulation.[10] In essence “soft words before hard words, and carrots before sticks”.[11] He is a member of multiple policy working groups, and the Royal Society of NSW.

In November 2024, Hennessy was selected as the Australian colour commentator by Sky News[12] and the The Australian Business Review[13] on the US election and President-elect Donald Trump's crypto policy.

In December 2024, it was widely reported that he was departing international firm Clyde & Co to leading independent law firm Thomson Geer to continue his legal practice.[14]

References

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  1. ^ "2023 winners and finalists". www.lawyersweekly.com.au. Retrieved 2024-12-22.
  2. ^ "Ground-Breaking Report Finds Breach Reporting Rules Corroding Australian Financial Services Sector". Lawcadia. Retrieved 2024-12-22.
  3. ^ https://www.amazon.in/CBDC-Now-Handbook-Encyclopedia-Considerations-ebook/dp/B0CY59V6B2/ref=sr_1_1?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.heoszqLCiP0_K_dWy1tN3oQvFRRqcXJvF1M4DUIYHPbGjHj071QN20LucGBJIEps.DH-H-7HGyUpNqMcV1XrH5tFSlZG_mVJ94tklcGyW5MM&dib_tag=se&qid=1734866818&refinements=p_27%3ALiam+Hennessy&s=digital-text&sr=1-1#customerReviews. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. ^ "Clyde & Co appointed lead legal adviser to Dubai Future Foundation on its Property Tech Sandbox : Clyde & Co". www.clydeco.com. Retrieved 2024-12-22.
  5. ^ paolo.cannazza@lcpublishinggroup.com (2024-10-30). "Clyde&Co is legal advisor to DFF on its property tech Sandbox". Legalcommunity MENA. Retrieved 2024-12-22.
  6. ^ "ASIC wants crypto start-ups to hold financial services licences". Australian Financial Review. 2024-09-22. Retrieved 2024-12-22.
  7. ^ corporateName=Commonwealth Parliament; address=Parliament House, Canberra. "Hansard Display". www.aph.gov.au. Retrieved 2024-12-22.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. ^ "Financial Services | Australia - Legal Research". www.lexisnexis.com. Retrieved 2024-12-22.
  9. ^ https://anzlaw.thomsonreuters.com/w-042-0893?transitionType=Default&contextData=(sc.Default)&firstPage=true. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  10. ^ Lodge, Martin (2015-03-26), Lodge, Martin; Page, Edward C.; Balla, Steven J. (eds.), "Ian Ayres and John Braithwaite, Responsive Regulation: Transcending the Deregulation Debate", The Oxford Handbook of Classics in Public Policy and Administration, Oxford University Press, p. 0, ISBN 978-0-19-964613-5, retrieved 2024-12-22
  11. ^ Healy, Judith; Braithwaite, John (May 2006). "Designing safer health care through responsive regulation". Medical Journal of Australia. 184 (S10). doi:10.5694/j.1326-5377.2006.tb00364.x. hdl:1885/28246. ISSN 0025-729X. PMID 16719738.
  12. ^ https://www.skynews.com.au/world-news/united-states/donald-trump-vows-to-make-us-the-crypto-capital-of-the-world/video/e130a63ffbf32464bf3148240877edcc. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  13. ^ https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/business-braces-for-us-election-ripples-trump-triumph/news-story/b4753e9e7aae9daf1b6c40464f95ded7. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  14. ^ "Wave of partner exits unsettles Clyde & Co amid turnaround struggles". Australian Financial Review. 2024-12-04. Retrieved 2024-12-22.
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