David Bloom KC

Admitted to the Bar 1975

Appointed Queens Counsel 1987

Experience

David holds the degrees of LLB and LLM both with Honours from the University of Sydney.

David’s legal career began as a solicitor in 1972 when he joined Messrs Dawson Waldron (now Ashurst) becoming an Associate Partner in 1975. In November of that year David was called to the Bar of NSW. His first appearance as junior counsel in the High Court was less than a year later (R.C.A. Limited v Commissioner of Taxation). David has appeared, and continues to appear, regularly in the Supreme Courts of NSW and Victoria; since its establishment in 1977 in the Federal Court of Australia; and in the High Court.

In 1987, at the age of 39, David was appointed one of Her Majesty’s Counsel. He has appeared in well over 1000 cases, and while his specialty is revenue law, these include Constitutional cases.

David has represented major banks such as the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group and Citibank, as well as media groups including Consolidated Media and Channel 7, energy companies such as Chevron, Rio Tinto and BHP and has also represented the Australian Commissioner of Taxation. Other international clients whom David has represented in Court have included Estee Lauder, Bristol Meyers, Syngenta, Brambles, Aviva, American Express, Warner Bros. and GE. David has represented clients in Royal Commissions, has drafted legislation on behalf of the Australian Federal Government and is the only Australian KC to be admitted ad hoc to appear in the Court of Final Appeal in Hong Kong (Hong Kong’s highest Court). David regularly advises high wealth individual taxpayers and their private company groups.

David has been a member (since 1986) of the New York State Bar and (since 2008) of the Bar of England and Wales. In addition to his chambers in Australia, David maintains chambers at Gray’s Inn in London.

David was a lecturer in Tax and Estate Planning at the University of New South Wales from 1975 to 1978 and has presented in Australia and internationally since 1974, his most recent written paper having been published in the University of Melbourne Law Review.