The Legal 500

Within Banking and finance, Mallesons Stephen Jaques is a first tier firm,

Mallesons Stephen Jaques, which pairs ‘excellent service’ with ‘quality advice’, is advising three of the four major Australian banks on the forthcoming Personal Property Securities Act (PPSA). Another highlight saw Jeff Clark lead a team in acting for a syndicate of 17 banks providing senior debt financing for the A$2.7bn acquisition of Healthscope by TPG Capital and The Carlyle Group. Other clients include NAB, Westpac and Suncorp. Yuen-Yee Cho is ‘outstanding’, and Richard Hayes and Alex Regan are also recommended.

Within Capital markets, Mallesons Stephen Jaques is a first tier firm,

A ‘top law firm on capital markets matters’, Mallesons Stephen Jaques acted on several notable transactions during 2010. It advised QR National and the QR National board on QR National’s A$6.7bn IPO, and acted for Westfield Group on the $3.1bn Westfield Retail Trust IPO. Co-head of the debt capital markets team Ian Paterson is ‘expert in this area and gives cutting-edge advice’. Also recommended are: Philip Harvey and equity capital markets co-heads Shannon Finch and David Friedlander.

Within Competition and trade, Mallesons Stephen Jaques is a second tier firm,

Mallesons Stephen Jaques lost Dave Poddar to Allen & Overy LLP and Roger Featherston pared down his practice to a consultancy role. Despite this, clients are confident that Sharon Henrick will ‘carry the torch’ along with the support of the ‘extremely hardworking’ and ‘totally dependable’ Wayne Leach. The team provides ‘succinct and to the point’ advice to international corporates, and recently acted for British Airways in a cartel investigation, and also advised AXA APH on its acquisition by AMP.

Within Construction, Mallesons Stephen Jaques is a first tier firm,

Mallesons Stephen Jaques has lost a number of prominent construction partners in recent years, but continues to provide ‘prompt commercial advice’ to market-leading contractors, developers and multinational corporations. It is ‘excellent’ across the breadth of Australia, ranging from representing BHP Billiton in a dispute in Port Headland to advising QGC on a $6bn engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract in Curtis Island. Peter Pether heads the team, with James Forrest valued for his ‘strategic contractual advice’.

Within Corporate and M&A, Mallesons Stephen Jaques is a first tier firm,

Mallesons Stephen Jaques provides ‘excellent service in terms of timeliness, quality of advice, commercial outcomes and industry knowledge’. It advised AXA APH on AMP’s A$14bn acquisition of AXA Asia Pacific Holdings. David Friedlander, Nigel Hunt and Nicholas Pappas are recommended.

Within Dispute resolution, Mallesons Stephen Jaques is a first tier firm,

Mallesons Stephen Jaques knows when to ‘advocate litigation’, particularly considering when ‘there’s an ongoing relationship to preserve’. The team acted for ASIC at the court of first instance and in appeal in ASIC v FMG & Forrest. Michael Clough is recommended for his ‘combination of technical knowledge and business acumen’. Beth Cubbitt, Larissa Strk-Lingard and the ‘excellent’ Domenic Gatto were promoted to partner in 2011, while Ashley Black departed following his appointment as a judge of NSW Supreme Court.

Within Employment, Mallesons Stephen Jaques is a third tier firm,

Philip Willox’s arrival from Freehills has significantly boosted Mallesons Stephen Jaques’ employment expertise in the energy and resources sector. Additionally, clients ‘cannot speak highly enough’ of Murray Kellock.

Within Energy and resources, Mallesons Stephen Jaques is a first tier firm,

Mallesons Stephen Jaques is highly rated for its ‘timely response and depth of team’. The team advised BG Group on its deal to sell LNG from its Queensland Curtis project to China National Offshore Oil Corporation. Other clients include Chevron, Alinta Energy and BHP Billiton. James Fahey is singled out for his ‘comprehensive understanding of the energy business’, and ‘client-oriented, pragmatic’ approach.

Within Insurance, Mallesons Stephen Jaques is a first tier firm,

Mallesons Stephen Jaques’ insurance practice handles policy, coverage and related disputes, including professional indemnity, D&O and product liability. Peter Stockdale recently led the team’s advice to the insurers of councils affected by the Victorian bushfires in 2008 and related liability issues. Philip Ward is also recommended.

Within Intellectual property, Mallesons Stephen Jaques is a first tier firm,

The ‘excellent’ Mallesons Stephen Jaques receives resounding praise from clients as ‘one of the best, if not the best’, or ‘the pre-eminent Australian firm in IP’; it provides ‘timely, comprehensive responses and shows a willingness to be proactive’. This broad-based group is acting for Hospira in a patent validity and infringement action against Aventis Pharma and for The REA Group (owner of realestate.com.au) in Federal Court litigation against the owners of a near-identical domain name. The University of Sydney is a core client and the firm is advising Sydnovate, the university’s commercial arm, on the commercialistion of technologies. Wayne McMaster, Scott Bouvier and Robert Cooper are ‘client-focused, pragmatic and have significant respect throughout the industry’.

Within Legal market overview,

The major players nationally - Allens Arthur Robinson, Freehills, Clayton Utz, Blake Dawson, Mallesons Stephen Jaques and Minter Ellison - continue to attract top-end corporate deals, such as AXA SA and AMP’s joint bid to acquire AXA Asia Pacific Holdings, or the Singapore Exchange’s proposed takeover of the ASX.

Within Projects and infrastructure, Mallesons Stephen Jaques is a first tier firm,

Mallesons Stephen Jaques’ projects team of ‘high-quality professionals’ advises sponsors and developers on major projects, and displays ‘experience, passion and commitment’. The ‘tremendous’ Nicholas Creed recently advised on offshore financing of the Karara iron ore project, and Neil Carabine and Renae Lattey played a vital role in the roll out of the National Broadband Network. Jeff Clark and Jonathan Oldham represented the successful consortium bidder in the Peninsula Link PPP with assistance from Peter Doyle, who is ‘a leader in project finance’.

Within Real estate, Mallesons Stephen Jaques is a first tier firm,

Mallesons Stephen Jaques’ excellent service ‘always exceeds expectations’. Recent highlights include advising Grocon on selling a A$581m portfolio of Melbourne office and retail properties to the Commonwealth Property Office Fund, and advising longstanding client Future Fund on acquiring a 50% interest in Brisbane’s Waterfront Place office tower. Sue Kench, Simone Menz and Andrew Erikson are recommended, as is William Whitaker, who is known for his ‘calm manner’.

Within Restructuring and insolvency, Mallesons Stephen Jaques is a second tier firm,

Martin James’ 18-strong team at Mallesons Stephen Jaques represents PEFs, financiers and domestic corporates in the workout and restructuring space. Linda Johnson recently acted for Alinta on its de-leveraging agreement, while Jeff Clark advised the senior and mezzanine lenders to Griffin Power. Tony Troiani has an excellent ‘command of the area’.

Within TMT, Mallesons Stephen Jaques is a first tier firm,

Neil Carabine and Renae Lattey at Mallesons Stephen Jaques led the 150-strong team that advised Telstra on its involvement in NBN. Cheng Lim also acted for the telecoms giant in its attempt to obtain a number of media rights from the Australian Football League. ‘Reliable supervisor’ Katrina Rathie has the ability to ‘manoeuvre a case through the minefields that are usually present during difficult litigation’.

Within Tax, Mallesons Stephen Jaques is a first tier firm,

Mallesons Stephen Jaques’ Sydney office had a quiet year for transactional tax work, but the Melbourne team was busy due to a surge in M&A activity. Phillip Davies led advice to AXA on its merger with AMP, and Frank Brody - who has a ‘very deep knowledge of stamp duty in all Australian states and territories’- advised Westfield on certain matters. Michael Clough and newly appointed head of tax Justin Cherrington are also recommended.