Speaking to Lawyers Weekly, Dr Taylor said that he was very grateful to be recognised with the award and said that it was not just an individual achievement but a “team award" – a  representation of the efforts of his entire team.

“I’ve always thought of the ‘Partner of the Year’ award as a team and client award, not an individual award,” Dr Taylor said.

“We would not have the opportunity to work on leading matters without the support of our clients.

“Partners are also team leaders and I’m lucky enough to have some outstanding lawyers in my team.

“My goal is to make sure we work efficiently to meet client deadlines with high quality and commercially astute work, but also to keep everyone smiling and having plenty of fun!”

In achieving Partner of the Year Award status, Dr Taylor has been recognised as a leader in the profession at the top level in the technology, media and communications sector.

Dr Taylor said that technology, media and communications is a fascinating area of law that is at “the cutting edge of digital disruption and innovation.” 

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Ever since he first started out in his practice area, Dr Taylor has noted the incredible transformations in the sector.

“It is incredible how rapidly our world has changed within our lifetimes. Today, the glowing glass screen of a smartphone enables us to access the library of all human knowledge. We can order any imaginable good or service, literally at our fingertips,” he said.

Dr Taylor said that this area of law also brings with it a huge social responsibility.  

“Media and journalism is at the very foundation of a modern democratic society,” he said.

In achieving excellence, Dr Taylor said excelling at this area of law provides many insights into the world of our future, but also requires an appreciation of the critical importance of technology, media and communications in shaping our future lives.

Looking back at his past experience in the media and telecommunications sector, Dr Taylor said one his favourite matters in recent years was acting on the deployment of a modern mobile network into Myanmar over the period 2014-16 by creating a multibillion-dollar mobile telecoms start-up from scratch.  

“Myanmar has one of the most challenging legal environments in the world, including a highly underdeveloped legal system following some 40 years of military rule,” he said. 

“The rollout was described as the legal equivalent of rolling out a network on Mount Everest.”

Most recently Dr Taylor had also advised on a major transaction, the merger between Vodafone Hutchison Australia in its $15 billion merger with TPG Telecom.  

“This will be a game changer for the Australian telecommunications sector and is one of the largest M&A deals in Australia at present,” he said. 

“We are essentially creating an integrated fixed and mobile telecoms business that can compete head-to-head with Telstra and Optus, delivering all the benefits of greater competition to Australian consumers.”

Changes are emerging in the sector 

According to Dr Taylor, the 2010s can be thought of as the period in which software and the smartphone delivered unprecedented disruption, "characterised by Andreessen’s famous comment ‘software eats the world’."

However, the 2020s which Australia has already seen bushfires, drought, flooding, pandemic and economic recession, will continue to be a period of profound change, Dr Taylor said.

“Technology is continuing to deliver incredible innovations, including artificial intelligence, virtual/augmented reality, 5G mobile networks, bio-engineering, smart cities, Internet of things, and autonomous transport,” he said.

“Humans have the real ability to harness technology to deliver continued improvements in global social welfare yet in a sustainable way.”

What defines the challenging feature of advising on legal issues in technology, media and communications is the “rapid pace of change”, according to Dr Taylor.

As a result, technology can often outpace law, requiring insights into how the law is likely to evolve and an appreciation of regulatory risks. 

“We have seen traditional media evolve into a multi-faceted media landscape, giving rise to concerns over regulatory neutrality,” he said. 

“We have seen new business models transform the telecommunications sector, assisted by the rise of smartphones and value-added content and services.” 

“We have seen regulators seeking to address the rise of the Internet global mega-firms and disruptive digital platforms.” 

Nominations for the Lawyers Weekly Partner of the Year Awards is currently open.

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