International trade lawyer, former Naval Officer, and author of the International Trade and Transport Law Library — a six-volume series spanning international trade, shipping law, marine insurance, trade finance, customs compliance, and the resolution of cross-border disputes. With a non-fiction history of coffee, and fiction projects to come.
John Gates is an International Trade and Transport Lawyer, writer, and former Naval Officer based in Brisbane, Queensland. He has practised in international trade, cargo claims, admiralty, and general commercial law for many years, and has worked with one of the world's largest inspection and testing organisations.
He is the author of the International Trade and Transport Law Library — a six-volume series spanning the full landscape of international trade, shipping law, marine insurance, trade finance, customs compliance, and the resolution of cross-border disputes. Beyond the law, he writes non-fiction, fiction, and puzzle collections under his imprint, John W Gates.
Whether you arrived here for a citation, a story, or a quiet hour with a Sudoku grid, you're in the right place.
A working note on how Australian courts have approached strict compliance in documentary credit transactions, and what this means for shippers, consignees, and the banks caught in between.
Read the full pieceHow to use a screenwriting beat sheet when you're plotting a procedural novel.
The shifts you may have missed — and what they mean for your contracts.
A short defence of independent publishing in academic and professional categories.
A quick guide to the carrier's liability under one of the most consequential conventions of the last century.
An introduction to the lead investigator in the forthcoming mystery thriller series.
Where it came from, why it spread, and what makes a great grid.
Sometimes the best way to find the ambiguity is to hear it.
A note on the discipline of authority in a cross-jurisdictional practice.
How the architecture of a mystery series got mapped before the first chapter.
For media enquiries, speaking invitations, legal consultations, or simply to say hello — the form on the right is the quickest way to reach me. I read every message personally.