Our Team
Damien Jackman, Partner
Damien is an experienced Lawyer and business owner with a demonstrated history of working in the international trade and wine industry. His business development skills and extensive experience in negotiation, distribution and marketing arrangements, merger and acquisitions and corporate governance, are actively applied for clients such as the California Wine Institute and Napa Valley Vintners.
Damien previously practiced as a Lawyer in one of Australia’s leading law firms, Minter Ellison, before becoming in-house Legal Counsel for Southcorp in Sydney in 2002. Following the takeover of Southcorp by Foster’s Wine Group, Damien managed the Australian production and supply chain legal affairs for the combined wine group, and was ultimately made General Counsel EMEA for Treasury Wine Estates in London in 2007. In this role Damien managed a series of French wine asset divestments and had responsibility for government and regulatory issues across all UK and European markets, as well as commercial input and legal sign-off responsibility for all EMEA sales and marketing programs.
Damien holds Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Business (International Business) degrees from the Queensland University of Technology and was admitted as a Solicitor to the Supreme Court of Queensland in 2000 and the High Court of Australia in 2004.
Justine McGovern, Partner
Justine has over 20 years’ experience in the global wine trade, with a focus on executing in-market representation services and marketing plans.
As part of her role at Jackman McGovern, Justine acts as Trade Director of the California Wine Institute in the UK, Ireland, UAE and India. Together with Damien Jackman, they have transformed the prospects of California wine in the UK and Ireland since late 2016 when they took over a flagging agency office and revitalised it as one of the most dynamic wine marketing bodies in Europe.
Justine’s former agency represented the interests of global wine clients including Wines from Spain, Berry Bros & Rudd, and E. & J. Gallo, and was Wine Director for the Wine Development Board of Ireland implementing WSET courses for trade and consumers.
In 2018 Justine also founded Wine Spirit Women, a support organisation for women in the wine industry in the British Isles, focusing on scholarships and sponsoring younger women in the industry while offering a networking platform for all.
Justine left University College Cork with degrees in Law and Business and a postgraduate diploma in Finance before commencing her professional career at Dresdner Bank. Justine holds the Level 4 Diploma from WSET.