Name
Stephen Howells

Stephen Howells, a member of the Australian Bar since 1986, and the statutory Regulator of all Gaming and Gambling activity for the State of South Australia since 2002, joins Stone Chambers in December 2006 as an Associate member. Stephen has worked in London regularly over the past ten years and his practice is now focussed in London.

Stephen has been a member of the Bar in Australia since 1986 and has conducted his gaming law, commercial law, and industrial and employment law practice actively throughout Australia since that time. Stephen has frequently appeared in major litigation in High Court of Australia and the superior courts in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide, and in the Melanesian Islands.

Stephen’s legal practice includes general and international Commercial litigation, arbitration and advice, including contract and trade practices law, Gaming law, Industrial and Employment law, Environmental Protest Litigation, Taxation law, Public law, drafting legislation, rules and regulatory instruments.

Stephen appears frequently in the Federal Court of Australia and in the respective State Courts and Tribunals. He has appeared in several matters in the High Court of Australia, involving constitutional questions and in the specialist federal tribunals. He provides advice as retained Counsel to various Church and Charitable bodies and is a member of the national governing body of the Anglican Church. He has appeared in all of the major causes before the church’s Appellate Tribunal in the past two decades.

Since 1992 Stephen has been engaged as retained Corporate Counsel to the Boards of two London based corporations engaged in medical research and clinical trials, providing advice to them on all questions concerning employment law and practice, industrial relations, commercial contracts with their clients, the pharmaceutical companies, and their relations with the auspicing universities, colleges and hospitals. Stephen is also director of subsidiary of a British company engaged in exporting British software to the legal profession and court systems in Australia.

In 2001 he was appointed Chairman and Presiding Member of the Independent Gambling Authority of South Australia, a State Government funded statutory corporation which regulates all gaming activities in that State, including Casinos, hotel gaming (electronic gaming machines), horse racing, lotteries, and betting and wagering. Stephen is familiar with all aspects of Gaming regulation and the key players in the industry internationally. He is well familiar with Gaming regulation in the UK and the process and effects of the recent statutory deregulation.

Stephen has over the past four years conducted two major cases concerning environmental protests in which his clients, the primary production companies, were the subject of sabotage attacks by protestors. Relief relying upon economic torts, trade practices legislation and various statutory delicts was sought and obtained. Over the past four years Stephen has advised and represented producers and manufacturers who have been the subject of sabotage and protest action. Stephen has advised and appeared in all the significant litigation in this area in Australia in recent years.

Stephen’s employment and industrial experience is substantial and takes in the Australian, New Zealand, United Kingdom and European jurisdictions. He has appeared in major common law proceedings and in the statutory jurisdictions for private employers, governments and some employees. These cases concerned the consequences of takeovers and mergers, restructuring and redundancies, disciplinary and dismissal cases and industrial disputes.

Stephen has also conducted proceedings in Eastern Europe concerning restitution claims for a very substantial portfolio of real estate. That litigation was conducted in the Czech Republic and in London and Melbourne, Australia.