Year and place of first admission

1993 Darwin Northern Territory

Other Jurisdictions

1995 High Court of Australia, Federal Court of Australia and Tribunals.

Degree

Bachelor of Laws 1992 Queensland University
Northern Territory Government Scholarship

Areas of practice

Criminal matters, civil litigation, Liquor Commission, Coronial Enquiry, Professional and Industry Boards of Enquiry, Anti-Discrimination, Property Forfeiture, Defamation  and Appeals, Personal Injury, Workers Compensation.

Career

After a year (post admission) playing rugby and travelling through Europe, Alan commenced practice as a solicitor for the established firm of Mildrens in 1994. During the following four years he was fortunate to work on several large, complex civil proceedings including “the Cannonball Run case” and Hart v Wren & The ABC, the last civil jury trial in the Northern Territory. Following this he worked as a prosecutor undertaking work on circuits in remote communities throughout the Northern Territory. Subsequently he worked for Priestleys Solicitors acting in a variety of cases both civil and criminal.

For the last nine years he has worked as the principle of his own practice, regularly appearing as counsel in the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory undertaking jury trials, pleas and appeals in miscellaneous criminal matters, including, appearing as Junior Counsel in the double murder trial R V Trinh and Mclean. He has undertaken miscellaneous appearances for private and commercial client in a broad based general practice. These include Coronial enquiries, appearances at the Liquor Commission, successful proceedings against  the ANZ bank in the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory in the matter of TSM & Others v ANZ, and in miscellaneous appeals. Outside work he assists a number of sports sitting on tribunals and managing the Northern territory Rugby side. In 2010 he was appointed as the chairman of the Tobacco Action Task Force to advise the minister on the implementation of relevant legislation.

Major Cases

Hart v Wren & The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (1995) NT Law report 17 – civil defamation trial, the last civil jury trial in the Northern Territory.
Prichard v Racecage Pty Ltd (1996)135ALR717 (Federal Court; 1997) (142ALR527;25MVR17)
The “Cannonball Runs Case”
R v Trin & McLain (2005) – a double murder trial
R v Leonard Spencer (2008) – criminal trial in which defence of “sexomnia” was successfully argued
Northern Territory Sheet Metal Pty Ltd & Others v Australian and New Zealand Banking Group Limited [2009] NT SC 31 – successful proceedings against the ANZ Bank under the trade practices act.

Contact Details

Alan Woodcock
William Forster Chambers
26 Harry Chan Avenue
Darwin NT 0800

PO Box 320
Darwin NT 0801

Phone: 8982 4700
Fax: 8941 1541
Mobile: 0439 810 475

Email: awoodcock@williamforster.com