Professor Ian Ramsay is Harold Ford Professor of Commercial Law, Faculty of Law, The University of Melbourne

University of Melbourne

The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...

 and director of their Center for Corporate Law and Securities Regulation in Melbourne, Australia. He is an academic lawyer, author, and prominent media commentator on corporate law and securities law issues in Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

.

Early life and education

Ian Malcolm Ramsay was born 7 October 1958 in Sydney. He completed his secondary education at Killara High School

Killara High School

Killara High School is a co-educational public secondary school, located on Koola Avenue in East Killara, Sydney. Established in 1970, Killara High School is one of the highest performing comprehensive non-selective public schools in the state...

, Sydney.

He matriculated to Macquarie University

Macquarie University

Macquarie University is an Australian public teaching and research university located in Sydney, with its main campus situated in Macquarie Park. Founded in 1964 by the New South Wales Government, it was the third university to be established in the metropolitan area of Sydney...

 and in 1983 was graduated Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws with Honours.

He completed a Master of Laws at Harvard Law School

Harvard Law School

Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...

.

Career

Ramsay began his legal career with the Law Reform Commission of New South Wales

Law Reform Commission of New South Wales

The New South Wales Law Reform Commission is a commission to investigate, review and advise on the reform of the law in New South Wales, a state of Australia. The present commission came into existence on 25 September 1967 although it had been administratively established previously in 1966...

 in 1982 where he was a legal officer until 1984.

He moved to New York where he was an associate in Sullivan & Cromwell

Sullivan & Cromwell

Sullivan & Cromwell LLP is an international law firm headquartered in New York. The firm has approximately 800 lawyers in 12 offices, located in financial centers in the United States, Asia, Australia and Europe. Sullivan & Cromwell was founded by Algernon Sydney Sullivan and William Nelson...

 between 1985 and 1987.

On his return to Australia, he joined Mallesons Stephen Jaques

Mallesons Stephen Jaques

Mallesons Stephen Jaques is a commercial law firm that operates in the Asia-Pacific region. It is one of the 30 largest law firms in Australia, and is widely regarded as one of the top commercial law firms in Australia.-Offices:...

 as an employed solicitor from 1987 to 1989.

In 1989, he joined the Law School at the University of New South Wales

University of New South Wales

The University of New South Wales , is a research-focused university based in Kensington, a suburb in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...

, Kensington as a lecturer, promoted to senior lecturer in 1992. He served as Associate Dean in the Faculty of Law from 1993 to 1994 whilst continuing to lecture and research.

In 1994, he was made Harold Ford Professor of Commercial Law, Faculty of Law, The University of Melbourne. Since 1997, he has also been the Director, The Centre for Corporate Law and Securities Regulation at that University. He was Dean of the Faculty of Law from 2002 to 2003.

Boards and Appointments

Professor Ramsay has been a member of the Australian Takeovers Panel

Australian Takeovers Panel

The Australian Takeovers Panel is a statutory entity based in Melbourne, Australia. It is the primary Australian forum for resolving disputes about a takeover bid during the bid period itself...

 since 2000.

He has been a member of the Corporations and Markets Advisory Committee since 2002, the Companies Auditors and Liquidators Disciplinary Board since 2004 and the Audit Quality Review Board since 2006.

Publications

Ramsay has published numerous articles and books which include:

• Education and the Law (with A. Shorten) (1996)
• Corporate Governance and the Duties of Company Directors (editor) (1997)
• Securities Regulation (co-editor) (1998)
• Company Directors' Liability for Insolvent Trading (editor) (2000)
• Commercial Applications of Company Law in Malaysia (jointly) (2002)
• Commercial Applications of Company Law in New Zealand (jointly) (2002)
• Key Developments in Corporate Law and Trusts Law (editor) (2002)
• Experts' Reports in Corporate Transactions (jointly) (2003)
• Company Directors: Principles of Law and Corporate Governance (jointly) (2005)
• Ford's Principles of Corporations Law (jointly) (13th ed., 2007)
• Commercial Applications of Company Law (jointly) (9th ed., 2008)