Paul_Scanlan_photo“Through a lifetime of involvement in the retail and property industries, I have always had a strong interest in dispute resolution . It is unfortunately true that many disputes are allowed to escalate to the point where everyone needlessly suffers financially, emotionally and through loss of productive working time.

The window between the dispute taking shape and legal action is the productive time to address the issues, understand each sides perceptions, and work towards a solution where possible. This is what gives me the greatest satisfaction— to help the parties to resolve their issues by agreement, and to save them all the financial and emotional stress of litigation.”

Commercial Resolver

Paul has a depth of commercial retail knowledge which only comes from experience - 26 years owning and operating a chain of up to 33 clothing retail stores in major regional shopping centres in Queensland and in the Brisbane CBD. 
He has been a signatory and guarantor to over 80 leases in that time.
 He was a Councillor on the Retailers Association of Qld for 16 years and he still is an owner of a property development company which has commercial and rural interests, and ongoing developments in NSW and Queensland.

Since 1997 Paul has mediated or assisted in resolving over 500 commercial disputes, the majority involving retail and commercial tenancies. The bulk of this work has involved facilitated negotiation aimed at settling disputes between landlord and tenant. Matters handled have involved the majority of the large shopping centre organisations in Australia, including in most cases their managing agents. Lessors and lessees have been represented in equal measure where there has been no conflict of interest.

He has also mediated many other matters which do not involve commercial tenancies, such as conflict in the workplace, property disputes and negotiating settlements between divorcing couples.

Seminars for the Property Industry

Paul has taught over 200 seminars to the shopping centre industry for its major property companies. These seminars cover primarily the law relating to retail tenancy in every state of Australia; the various legal remedies available under the Trade Practices Act and State legislation, including Unconscionable Conduct, Misrepresentation and Misleading and Deceptive Conduct in business transactions; and his experience of principled negotiation, dispute resolution and conflict management techniques developed from his training at Harvard and Pepperdine Universities, USA.

Some of the organisations and arms of government for whom dispute resolution work has been done and training seminars given in the field of conflict management:

  • South Bank Corporation (Qld Government)
  • Glebe Administration Board
  • Powerhouse Museum, NSW Govt.
  • Community Relations Commission, NSW Govt
  • Department of Environment and Conservation, NSW Govt
  • Anti-Discrimination Board, NSW Govt
  • University of Newcastle
  • Australian Property Institute
  • Institute of International Research
  • Office of Small Business, Canberra
  • Australian Retailers Association
  • Property Council (Australia)
  • National Farmers Federation

Lecturer in Law

Paul has lectured in Business Law for the Australian Graduate School of Management MBA Program at the University of NSW for the past 7 years. He is currently a part-time lecturer in Commercial Dispute Resolution at the University of Sydney Law School.

His legal qualifications include:

  • Arts/Law degrees, University of Qld.
  • Admitted as a barrister Supreme Court of Queensland (1973)

Mediation courses undertaken:

  • Bond university (Qld)
  • Australian Commercial Dispute Centre (NSW)
  • LEADR (NSW)
  • Strauss Institute for Dispute Resolution, Pepperdine Law School, California USA in 2000, 2006
  • Harvard Law School, Boston, Massachusetts USA in 2003, 2005, 2007
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