Peter Leonard

Peter Leonard is a Sydney based data and technology business lawyer. He has worked as a legal and commercials adviser to global and Asia Pac data, communications and technology businesses for over thirty years. Many of his clients are data analytics services providers and large corporates and government agencies implementing data driven projects. As many of his clients also operate across the Asian region, he also has a close familiarity with data laws in other Asian Pacific countries.

Peter was one of the first specialist TMT lawyers in Australia and worked with AAP Telecommunications and later Optus Communications to establish competition in provision of communications services in Australia. He was closely involved in development of interconnection, customer portability and technical interoperability frameworks and standards in the telecommunications sector. He has also written codes of practice in the radiocommunications and media sectors. He is the only lawyer to be recognised to date by Communications Alliance in its annual award of Australia’s Communications Ambassador for outstanding services to the communications sector (in 2012). He is contributing editor of Communications Law and Policy in Australia, the leading Australian loose-leaf service in communications and media law.

Peter recently wrote the Australian report for the Asian Business Law Institute’s study of cross border data transfers and authored Good Data Practice: A Guide for Business to Consumer IoT Services for the IOT Alliance Australia. He has advised major banks, energy providers, telecommunications service providers and technology businesses as to the consumer data right, privacy, data ethics, data linkage, interoperability requirements and standards, API enabled data release and application of competition economics and law and intellectual property law to the data services sector. He advised Quantium in establishing all its major data partnerships, including with Woolworths, National Australia Bank, News Corporation and Foxtel/MCN. He advised Westpac on establishment of the Data Republic data platform and establishment of Data Bank as a trusted third party for privacy protected data linkage between businesses.

Peter chairs the Australian IoT (Internet of Things) Alliance’s Data Access and Use workstream, the Law Society of New South Wales Privacy and Data Law Committee and the Australian Computer Society’s Artificial Intelligence and Ethics Technical Committee. He also serves on the Law Council of Australia’s Information Integrity Taskforce and often represents the Law Council before Parliamentary Committees addressing data, surveillance and technology references. He is a former global chair of the International Bar Association's Technology Committee, former global vice-chair of the IBA's Communications Committee, and former director of iappANZ (International Association of Privacy Professionals Australia and New Zealand).

Peter serves on a number of relevant advisory boards, including of the NSW Data Analytics Centre and the Australian Human Rights Commission’s Data Rights Project, and a number of boards of directors, including iProcedures and Enome (medtechs), Iridium Satellite Australia and Allscripts Healthcare IT Australia.

He was voted by legal sector peers as Sydney Technology Lawyer of the Year 2016 and as one of the global top 35 communications lawyers. He is rated ‘top tier’ in all major legal directories, including in the recently released (11th) edition of Best Lawyers in Australia in the fields of Commercial Law, Defamation and Media Law, Entertainment Law, Information Technology Law, Outsourcing Law, Privacy and Data Security Law and Telecommunications Law. He is also an author of many articles and chapters in books in his areas of practice.

Peter was a founding partner of Gilbert + Tobin. He continues to assist G+T as a part-time consultant.

Publications

• Communications Law & Policy in Australia (LexisNexis)
• Privacy Law Bulletin (LexisNexis)
• Australian report for the Asian Business Law Institute’s study of cross border data transfers
• Good Data Practice: A Guide for Business to Consumer IoT Services

Awards & Recognition

• Australia’s Communications Ambassador for outstanding services to the communications sector – Communications Alliance (2012)

Professional Organisations & Memberships

• Chairperson of the Australian IoT (Internet of Things) Alliance’s Data Access and Use workstream
• Law Society of New South Wales Privacy and Data Law Committee
• Australian Computer Society’s Artificial Intelligence and Ethics Technical Committee
• Law Council of Australia’s Information Integrity Taskforce
• Former global chair of the International Bar Association's Technology Committee
• Former global vice-chair of the IBA's Communications Committee
• Former director of iappANZ (International Association of Privacy Professionals Australia and New Zealand).
• NSW Data Analytics Centre
• Australian Human Rights Commission’s Data Rights Project
• Director of iProcedures and Enome (medtechs)
• Director of Iridium Satellite Australia
• Director of Allscripts Healthcare IT Australia.