A Tribute to George Durbridge

The partners and staff of HSF were deeply saddened at the news that George Durbridge passed away recently.

After George retired from his role with the Panel in 2007, he joined Freehills as a consultant. He worked with us until 2023. He was always consulted whenever someone had a tricky legal issue on the Corporations Act, particularly regarding company takeovers and schemes of arrangement. He had a detailed first-hand knowledge of the history of the provisions, which was amazing, which he supplemented by undertaking detailed research on a wide range of Australian and international sources. It was an area of great interest to him. That took him to visit the NSW government archives searching for papers on takeover law reform from the 1960s and 1970s. (For an example of his deep research, we recommend the chapter he wrote with Andrew Rich on the history of the takeovers legislation in Towns under Siege.) George had a reputation as the foremost expert on takeovers law in Australia. He made an immense contribution to the field.

Many of our partners present and past had connections with George going back to his NCSC days. He was front and centre in our dealings with ASIC and the Takeovers Panel. He was always helpful and courteous. In an era when large parts of the law were not settled and regulatory assistance was often needed, George brought a can-do attitude to helping solve the legal problems faced by our clients. He provided huge value to many significant M&A transactions in Australia. After he joined Freehills, he freely shared his knowledge across the firm. He also undertook a great deal of work on various publications, improving them immeasurably, for which we are very grateful.

Outside work, George was an avid reader, a cycling enthusiast (riding a recumbent bicycle) and a man of wide cultural interests, in particular history (a field in which he worked as a lecturer and tutor before turning his hand to the law). He was well-known for wearing bow ties. A former partner described him as having a 'big brain and a big heart'. We will miss him.

Vale, George.