Jon Denovan
Jon Denovan
Introduction:
- Jon Denovan is special counsel at Dentons, one of the largest law firms in the world. He is recognized as a leading lawyer in financial services regulation in Australia.
- He is one of the funniest guests on the show, and a great storyteller.
Segment 1:
- Jon and I discuss what it was like being a "conch" (shy person) in school and how that affected his decision to study law.
- How the minister's daughter played a role in his decision to pursue a career in law.
Segment 2:
- Jon shares his experience starting his law degree at Sydney University with Helen Coonan in one of the first years to admit women.
- He talks about the history of Gadens, and the role of John Gaden and Gordon Stewart in the partnership.
Segment 3:
- Jonshares the interesting connection between marriage and admission in PNG and what a managing partner does.
- Jon’s mantra "That is if someone asks you something, say yes, unless there's a bloody good reason to say no"
Segment 4:
- Jon talks about the importance of transparency.
- His experience failing legal ethics 5 times and why.
Segment 5:
- Jon's time at the University of Sydney law school campus and his interactions with Ron the lift driver.
- And why that led to playing 500 by mail.
Segment 6:
- Jon talks about the power of quoting sections without actually telling the other party what legislation the section relates to.
- His experience of going to London to undertake a banking course and becoming a banking expert.
Segment 7:
- Pivoting at the right time and helping to create funding for residential lending for entities such as Aussie Home Loans and First Mac.
- His relationship with John Simon and why he ended up on the board of Aussie Home Loans.
Segment 8:
- why working from home is bad because it amongst other things creates difficulty in identifying which of the 10% of staff are idiots.
- HIs perspective on the operation of the Australian Financial Complaints Authority and the negative impact of debt management firms on industry.
Segment 9:
- The unfairness of shifting responsibility for complaints to brokers who can (after consumers) least afford it.
- His thoughts on unjust contracts legislation and its impact on business and consumers.
Segment 10:
- Drafting the first reverse mortgage contracts in Australia for Bluestone.
- His perspective on the importance of relationships and the negative impact of remote work on productivity.
Conclusion:
- Jon ends the episode by sharing his thoughts on the future and how "it's quite wonderful to do nothing." He also mentions that he might try it in the future.
If you want to find out more about Jon you can contact him through linkedin or drop me a line through the website www.lorettakreet.com.
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