Ashley Macknay was admitted to legal practice in 1975 and has been a director of MDS Legal since 2005. He practises in commercial litigation and has a diverse background including property and commercial law, and most areas of litigation and advocacy. Mr Macknay routinely conducts actions in the Court of Appeal, the Supreme Court, the Federal Court and the District Court. Examples include complex trust and estate litigation, business partnership disputes and professional negligence claims. A significant part of his practice involves acting for other lawyers, both in defending professional negligence claims and disciplinary matters. Mr Macknay is a panel solicitor for Law Mutual (WA), the professional indemnity scheme conducted by the Law Society, and the Legal Practice Board (the regulator of the legal profession in this State). He has substantial commercial experience, being the managing partner of a law firm for several years and the Western Australian member of the national board of that firm. As well as being a member of the Ethics Committee of the Law Society of Western Australia, Mr Macknay is also the Society’s representative on the Law Council of Australia’s Professional Ethics Committee. He has presented a number of seminars on professional ethics, including the Law Society Summer School (2011). Mr Macknay was an active member of the legal panel of the Royal Australian Navy Reserve for many years from 1983, reaching the rank of Lieutenant Commander.
