Shane Simpson

Shane Simpson established the firm in 1986 having founded the Arts Law Centre of Australia in 1983.

In 2011, the Federal Government appointed Shane a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for his service to the law and to the arts through leading roles in intellectual property and entertainment law, and as a contributor to a range of cultural organisations.

Shane has lectured extensively on the law relating to intellectual property, new technology, publishing, visual arts, music and museums. He has written or edited numerous books including, “Music -The Business and the Law (with Greg Stevens); “Museums and Galleries: A Practical Legal Handbook”; “Music Business” ; “The Visual Artist and the Law in Australia”; “Discovery and Interrogatories”; “Collections Law and Ethics: Galleries Libraries, archives & Museums” and numerous articles in both Australian and international periodicals, most of which tackle various aspects of the often difficult relationship between copyright, innovation, arts practice, and the legal system. He headed the Australian Government inquiries into “Copyright Collecting Societies in Australia” (leading to the establishment of a collecting society for visual arts and design in Australia) and the “Review of the Protection of Movable Cultural Heritage Act 1986” (“Borders of Culture”. He acts as a consultant to governments, NGO’s, other law firms, institutions and major corporations, both nationally and internationally.

He is a member of the Council of the National Library of Australia and the independent director on a number of private foundations.

He was the founding Chair of Museums and Galleries NSW, the Peggy Glanville-Hicks Composers’ House Trust and Studio A. He was also Chair of the NSW Film & Television Office, the William Fletcher Trust, the Bundanon Trust, the Sydney Youth Orchestras, the Song Company, the Council of the Faculty of Art+Design, UNSW, the NAISDA Foundation, and the Aboriginal Benefits Foundation.

He has also been on the Council of the Australian National Maritime Museum and the Cultural Grants Advisory Council (NSW), and a non-executive director on the Australian National Academy of Music, the Craft Council of Australia, UNSW Foundation, ArtSpace, the Visual Artists’ Benevolent Trust, the Australia Exhibitions Touring Agency, the NZ Film Commission, the National Association of the Visual Arts, the Australian Writers’ Foundation, Sydney College of the Arts, the Music Council of Australia, and the Copyright Agency.

He is the Patron of the Arts Law Centre of Australia, the William Fletcher Foundation, the Peggy Glanville-Hicks Composers’ Trust and Ensemble Offspring.