F. John Morgan is an Australian lawyer whose career was centred on Melbourne, Victoria. Admitted to practise in Victoria in 1980, he was a partner at Phillips Fox from 1989 to 1997 and later practised as a barrister, mainly in revenue and superannuation law.
Background
Morgan's documented professional life is rooted in Melbourne, the capital of Victoria, where he completed university studies in commerce and law before beginning legal practice. The University of Melbourne was established in 1853 under an act of the Victorian Parliament and remains the oldest university in Victoria. Its founding was made possible by the wealth generated by Victoria's gold rush, and it was intended as a civilising influence during a period of rapid settlement and commercial growth.
His qualifications combined commerce and law, the two disciplines that later framed his practice in taxation, revenue and superannuation law. He was admitted to practise in Victoria on 1 May 1980.
Education
Morgan earned a Bachelor of Commerce and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Melbourne. Founded in 1853, the university is the second-oldest in Australia and the oldest in Victoria, and it was one of the first institutions in the country to confer degrees in arts, medicine, laws and music.
Law teaching at the university began in 1857, when a law school was established at the Parkville campus. Melbourne Law School initially offered LL.B. degrees as a first degree in law, a pathway consistent with Morgan's Bachelor of Laws. The Bachelor of Commerce had commenced in 1925 and gradually became a gateway into the accounting profession during the 1930s, which made it a relevant preparation for a career in commercial and tax practice.
His admission to practise in Victoria on 1 May 1980 marked the professional stage that followed these university qualifications.
Career
Morgan's career began in Melbourne's commercial law sector, and from 1989 to 1997 he was a partner at Phillips Fox. The firm traced its origins to the older Melbourne practice Phillips Fox & Masel, and it operated under the Phillips Fox name from 1985 to 2006. It is described as the first national law firm in Australia, formed to meet a need for legal practice that could keep pace with changing Australian business. During his partnership Morgan practised mainly in taxation and superannuation law.
From 1997 to 2000 he was a tax partner with Blake Dawson Waldron in Melbourne, a firm that later became part of Ashurst. In 1998 he served as a private sector representative on the Tax Law Improvement Project, the government initiative that rewrote income tax law in plain English. Its work produced the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997, and the appointment placed him among practitioners who advised on the rewrite.
From 2000 to 2003 Morgan was a partner at Freehills, a large Australian commercial law firm now known as Herbert Smith Freehills. In 2003 and 2004 he taught tax at Monash University, which was established in 1958 as Victoria's second university. He had earlier developed a particular interest in losses under the consolidation regime while preparing a manuscript for a book on that subject.
Morgan signed the Victorian Bar Roll on 29 April 2004 and entered practice as a barrister, working primarily in revenue and superannuation law. His practice covered income tax, capital gains tax, goods and services tax and other federal taxes. He became a nationally accredited mediator in 2014.
Achievements
Served as a private sector representative on the Tax Law Improvement Project in 1998, the initiative that rewrote Australian income tax law in plain English, which resulted in the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997.
Membership
Morgan was a member of the Law Council of Australia's Melbourne Tax Committee. The Law Council is the national representative body of the Australian legal profession, and its tax committees consider taxation matters affecting lawyers and their clients. In 1997 he was also a member of the tax committee of the Law Institute of Victoria, the professional association for lawyers practising in Victoria.
He was a member of the Taxation Institute of Australia, a professional body for tax practitioners that promotes education and standards in taxation practice.
Member of the Melbourne Tax Committee
Law Council of Australia
,
Australia
1997
Member of the tax committee
Law Institute of Victoria
,
Australia
1997
Taxation Institute of Australia
,
Australia
Interests
Morgan has a documented interest in plain English law, which he brought to the rewriting of Australian income tax legislation in the late 1990s.
References
Victorian Bar profile of F John Morgan
Profile documenting his admission to practise, his qualifications in law and commerce, and his previous partnerships at Freehills, Blake Dawson Waldron and Phillips Fox.
