Professor Michael Adams

Dean of Law

• Career Profile
• Awards and Recognition
• Interests
• Publications
• Conferences

Career Profile

Professor Michael Adams is an internationally recognised specialist in corporate law, governance, securities markets regulation, and legal education (especially e-learning). Michael has been writing, teaching and regularly presenting on all these topics for over 20 years. He is a Fellow of the Australian College of Educators (FACE), as well as the Australian Academy of Law (FAAL), and is also a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators, Australia (FCIS). Professor Adams is currently President of the Australasian Law Teachers Association and a former President of both the Corporate Law Teachers Association and Chartered Secretaries Australia. He is the co-author of ten books and chapters, 30 articles and over 130 conference/seminar presentations.  In 2000 he was the recipient of the Australian University Teacher of the year for Law and Legal Studies. 

Awards/ Recognition

• Australian University Teacher of the Year for Law and Legal Studies (2000)
• Corporate Law Teachers Association Award (2009)
• Fellow of Australian Academy of Law (2007)
• Fellowship of the Australian College of Educators (2007)
• President's Award for Chartered Secretaries Australia (2005)
• UTS Excellence in Team Teaching Award (2002)
• Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators (1998)
• UTS Excellence in Teaching Award (1992)
• Administrators (1998)

Interests

Learning and Teaching Interests

• Corporate Law and Governance
• Financial Services
• Securities markets regulation

Research Interests

• Corporate law and governance.
• Securities markets regulation, in particular insider trading & market manipulation and financial services 
• Law firms and professional services
• Legal education and e-learning

Engagement Interests

• Australasian Law Teachers Association (Chairperson/President) (2005-2009)
• NSW Centre for Legal Education (Co-Director) (2004-present)
• Mercy College, Chatswood (Board Member) (2005-2008)
• National Pro Bono Resource Centre (Director) (2007-present)
• Blake Dawson lawyers (Consultant) (2003-2007)

Publications

Selected Books: 

• Australian Corporate Law, LexisNexis, 2008, (with Harris & Hargovan)
• Essential Corporate Law, Cavendish, 2005
• Essential Management Law, Cavendish, 2003
• Business, Society & the Law, Thomson, 4th ed, five chapters
• Australian Corporation Practice, LexisNexis, nine chapters

Selected Articles: 

• Nehme, M, Hyland, M, & Adams, M; “Enforcement of continuous disclosure: The use of infringement notice and alternative sanctions”” (2007) volume 21 (December) Australian Journal of Corporate Law pages 1 – 22
• Klettner, A, Clarke, T, & Adams, M; “Balancing act – tightrope of corporate governance reform” (2007) volume 59 (no 11 – December) Keeping Good Companies pages 648 - 653
• Adams, M & Nehme M; “The active use of enforceable undertakings by ASIC – Part 2” (2007) volume 59 (no 6 – July) Keeping Good Companies pages 326 – 328
• Adams, M & Nehme M; “The active use of enforceable undertakings by ASIC – Part 1” (2007) volume 59 (no 5 – June) Keeping Good Companies pages 260 – 262
• Adams, M & Young, A; “Regulating corporate governors: rethinking board responsibilities and liabilities” (2007) volume 59 (no 1 – Feb) Keeping Good Companies pages 11 – 17
• Adams, M, Young, A & Nehme, M; "Preliminary Review of Over Regulation in Australian Financial Services" (2006) volume 20(1) Australian Journal of Corporate Law pages 1 – 24
• Adams, M; “Do we need dual regulators in financial services? Synergies in establishing a single regulator” (2006) volume 58 (no 3 – May) Keeping Good Companies pages 206 – 213
• Adams, M; “Officers’ duties under the microscope” (2005) volume 57 (no 9 – October) Keeping Good Companies pages 516 – 519
• Adams, M; “Whether to protect or punish: legal consequences of contravening the Corporations Act” (2004) vol 56 (no 10 – November) Keeping Good Companies pages 592 – 598
• Adams, M & Hargovan, A; “Taking corporate governance seriously during fundraising: exposure to personal liability for cost orders” (2004) vol 22 (no 5 – August) Company & Securities Law Journal pages 336-340
• Adams, M; “The three pillars of good corporate governance” (2004) vol 1 (no 1 – January) Risk Management pages 8 – 10
  Adams, M; “Are all directors created equal?” (2003) vol 55(4) May, Keeping Good Companies pp204-208
• Adams, M; “Does increasing criminality make for better reform of the financial services industry?” (2002) vol 14(2) July Australian Journal of Corporate Law pp202-213
• Adams, M; "Financial sector reform and professional advice", (2002) vol 16(3) Sept-Nov Commercial Law Quarterly pp20-26

Conferences

• Selected conference/seminars 2006-2009
  
• "Balancing Governance: results of a three year study" (2008) 5 February, CLTA annual conference, UNSW, Sydney, NSW.
• “Hypothetical: the future of boards” (2007) 4 December, CSA 24th annual conference, Melbourne, VIC.
• "Governance Study Report and Financial Services", (2007) 30 October, 5th annual Financial Services Compliance conference, Sydney, NSW.
• "The Australian market base and regulatory approach to governance" (2007) 26 October, ICSA International Council Meeting, Brisbane, QLD.
• Adams, M & Gration, D; “Managing complex and challenging governance issues that arise…. when a stranger calls?” (2007) 19 July, CSA Governance Masterclass, Melbourne, VIC.
• “Legal Education” (2007) 30 July, Meiji-UWS Law Symposium, Meiji University, Tokyo, Japan.
• “International Law Student Exchanges” (2007) 5 January, American Association of Law Schools Annual Conference, Marriott Hotel, Washington DC, USA.
• Adams, M (facilitator); Yates, B, Conway, H, Mather, E & Blackshaw, J; “Hypothetical: Corporate disclosure goes wild” (2006) 21 November, 23rd National Conference – mastering the next wave of governance, Chartered Secretaries Australia, Marriott Hotel, Surfers Paradise, QLD.
• “Insider trading, Chinese walls and global governance in contemporary Australia” (2006) 10 November, UNSW School of Business Law & Taxation Research Seminar, UNSW, Sydney, NSW.
• “Corporate social responsibility – an escalating governance priority” (2006) 14 August, Annual Governance Masterclass – the black belt of governance, Chartered Secretaries Australia, Dockside Darling Harbour, Sydney NSW. 15 August repeated in Melbourne.
• “Future directions and challenges of legal publishing” (2006) 6 July, ALTA conference – Legal knowledge: learning, communicating and doing, Victoria University, Melbourne VIC.
• “Embedding a genuine culture of compliance and overcoming compliance fatigue” (2006) 19 May, Compliance in Financial Services conference, IIR, Avillion Hotel, Sydney NSW
• “Corporate governance: international markets for regulators” (2006) 17 May, Indonesian Delegation to ASIC, FINSIA Symposium, Sydney, NSW.