Scott Farrell is a senior partner with more than 20 years’ experience in financial markets and financial systems law, advising market participants, exchanges, clearing and payment systems, regulators and governments in Australia and Asia. Scott has given many years of service to the public and private sector in advising on, and guiding, regulatory and legal change in the financial market and system landscape.
In the last few years, Scott has applied his experience to advise both government and industry on the use, risks and impact of blockchain in banking & finance and financial markets. He advises clients on the creation and use of blockchain applications, including its interaction with existing legal and regulatory frameworks (and required reforms). In 2016, Scott was appointed to the Australian Government’s FinTech Advisory Group at its formation and coordinates its blockchain stream. In 2017, Scott led the Australian Government’s review into Open Banking in Australia. In 2018, Scott was appointed to be the co-chair of the Australian Government's FinTech Advisory Group.
Scott and his team are at the leading edge of legal thinking in the use of smart contracts on and off blockchain. They have published their own open source smart contract architecture for collaboration with the wider legal and tech community, and advise both technology and financial services clients on fintech use and development.
Scott’s team is Australia's leading team of derivatives lawyers, acting as counsel to many Australian and international financial institutions, market infrastructure providers, state entities, funds, corporates and industry bodies (including ISDA) in relation to derivatives transactions, collateral, netting and regulation.
In recognition of his market-leading work, Scott has been listed as one of the Financial Times Top 10 Innovative Individuals in law and his team’s work has won FT innovation in law awards in 3 of the last 4 years.