Paul Devlin

Partner
Norton Rose Fulbright Australia

Perth
Australia
T:+61 8 6212 3105
Perth
Australia
T:+61 8 6212 3105
Paul Devlin

Paul Devlin

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Biography

Paul is a leading white collar, regulatory enforcement, investigations, and litigation lawyer with Australian and U.S. qualifications and experience.

Prior to joining the firm in Australia, Paul was a partner in the New York office of a major U.S. law firm. Paul represents corporations, financial institutions, funds, and individuals in an array of matters. In the white collar, investigations, and regulatory enforcement space, he has deep experience in securities fraud, insider trading, money laundering, sanctions, market manipulation, accounting fraud, foreign bribery, cartel, environmental, and offshore banking cases. He also works on a range of complex civil litigation matters, including shareholder oppression, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract, M&A disputes, investor disclosure, fraud, and banking & finance cases.

Cross-border matters are a staple of Paul's practice. His international clients have hailed from the U.S., Asia, the Middle East, and Europe and he has experience with many international regulators and law enforcement agencies, including the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission, FBI, Singapore Police Force, U.K. Financial Crime Authority, U.K. Serious Fraud Office, and Canadian Competition Bureau.

Bringing a broad perspective to his matters, Paul started his career in the Western Australian State Solicitor's Office, working primarily on constitutional law issues as the professional assistant to the Solicitor General for two years. He then worked as a corporate lawyer in financial services and M&A before returning to litigation. Consequently, Paul is a litigator who gets up to speed quickly and exercises sound commercial judgment. He enjoys providing pre-dispute and risk mitigation counselling to clients.

Beyond Australia and New York, Paul is admitted to the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, and the U.S. District Courts for the Southern District of New York, the Eastern District of New York, and the Eastern District of Michigan.

Professional experience

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Visiting Researcher, Harvard Law School (Fall 2006)

LL.M., Harvard Law School (2003)

LL.B. (First Class Honours), University of Western Australia (2001)

B.A. (English Literature), University of Western Australia (2001)

  • New York 2005
  • New South Wales 2002
  • High Court of Australia 2024
  • A senior executive about whistleblower protections under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth).
     
  • Global company is a cross-border internal investigation concerning issues arising under the Industrial Chemicals Act 2019 (Cth) and the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Act 2006 (Cth).
     
  • Senior Asia, Europe, and U.S.-based senior executives of a multinational corporation in connection with U.S. federal grand jury investigations of alleged money laundering through structured finance transactions conducted in Eastern and Central Europe.
     
  • Multibillion-dollar hedge fund in insider trading investigations. 
     
  • Global brokerage firms in an industrywide regulatory investigation into potentially manipulative interest rate derivatives trading in connection with corporate bond issuances.
      
  • Former-CEO of a publicly traded technology company in a U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act case.
     
  • Former-CFO of a publicly traded company in an investor class action concerning allegedly fraudulent public disclosures.
     
  • Global brokerage firm in a regulatory investigation concerning the potential manipulation of municipal derivatives.
     
  • Global bank concerning a failed escrow relationship in which millions of dollars were misdirected due to a sophisticated business email compromise fraud.
     
  • Leading Australian technology company in conducting multiple searches under a Federal Court of Australia civil search order (often referred to as an "Anton Piller" order).
     
  • Audit Committee of a U.S. public company in internal, regulatory, and criminal investigations into alleged accounting fraud by c-suite executives.
     
  • Global investment bank in a U.S. Department of Justice accounting and securities fraud case against senior executives of a technology company.
     
  • Major real estate developer in a multimillion-dollar commercial real estate dispute.
     
  • Multibillion dollar hedge fund about the legal and regulatory risks of a potential significant investment in a digital assets exchange.
     
  • Multiple offshore private bankers employed by a global investment bank in a criminal tax evasion investigation.
     
  • Financial institution in a regulatory investigation and parallel U.S. multidistrict litigation concerning alleged manipulation of the ISDAFIX financial benchmark.
     
  • Senior executive of a financial firm in investigations conducted by the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives, including testimony before various congressional committees.
     
  • Multiple executives of a global bank in relation potential money laundering and sanctions violations arising from transactions in the Middle East.
     
  • Employee of a European car manufacturer in criminal, regulatory, and civil proceedings related to allegations of cheating of environmental emissions regulations.
     
  • Custodian in a structured finance transaction in a dispute with a bond insurer.

Doyle's Guide (Australia): Leading White-Collar Crime, Corporate Crime & Regulatory Investigations Lawyers, Australia 2024

Doyle's Guide (Australia):  Leading Commercial Litigation & Dispute Resolution Lawyers, Western Australia 2024

Best Lawyers (Australia): Litigation 2025

Best Lawyers (U.S.): Ones to Watch for Criminal Defense: White Collar Law 2023-24

Law Society of Western Australia

Chair of the Perth Office's Corporate and Social Responsibility Committee, Norton Rose Fulbright

Contributor to the American Bar Association's Derivatives and Futures Law Committee's White Paper (and forthcoming update) on Cryptocurrencies and Digital Assets

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