The Legal 500

Within Legal market overview,

Australia’s mega-firms - namely Allens Arthur Robinson, Blake Dawson, Clayton Utz, Freehills, Mallesons Stephen Jaques and Minter Ellison - have been at the forefront of a raft of emerging legal trends. Credit-crunch-induced debt restructuring, Asian inbound investment, fast-track capital raisings, government infrastructure spending and ongoing resources projects and transactions have all been crucial in keeping these practices profitable.

Within Banking and finance, Clayton Utz is a second tier firm,

Clayton Utz’s team enjoys a reputation for ‘commercial acumen’ under the leadership of Grant Fuzi. Its lawyers sit on the panels of Australia’s four biggest banks, as well as those of leading international investment banks and blue-chip corporates. Among recent highlights, it acted for seven banks on financing the A$250m acquisition of MYOB by Archer Capital and Harbourvest Partners; Leighton Holdings also engaged the firm to arrange a syndicated facility.

Within Capital markets, Clayton Utz is a second tier firm,

Clayton Utz is a favourite among Australia’s authorised deposit taking institutions and debt issuers, with clients including Macquarie Group, AMP Bank, NAB, CBA and Suncorp-Metway. Grant Fuzi heads the debt practice, while on the equity side Brendan Groves, James Greg and Stuart Byrne are recommended. Described by some clients as ‘second to none’, the firm is praised for having ‘a team with a great mix of experience among its partners and very switched-on junior lawyers that go the extra mile’.

Within Competition and trade, Clayton Utz is a second tier firm,

Clayton Utz provides strategic advice on complex competition matters, representing clients such as Origin Energy, Vodafone Australia and Seven Network. Michael Corrigan heads the group, which advised Woolworths on obtaining immunity from the ACCC for an exclusive consumer payment system involving HSBC credit cards.

Within Construction, Clayton Utz is a first tier firm,

Doug Jones’ ‘pre-eminent’ team at Clayton Utz primarily advises public sector clients on large-scale projects, including critical infrastructure such as road and rail. Recent work included advising the Australian Rail Track Corporation on a proposed A$350m Sydney freight rail line, and the Queensland government on its Airport Link and Northern Busway projects. Capabilities are weighted towards the procurement, development and management of contracts. Key individuals include Bradley Vann and Alan Maguire.

Within Corporate and M&A, Clayton Utz is a first tier firm,

Clayton Utz’s ‘innovative’ team enjoys good standing in the resources sector. It advised Origin Energy in response to a hostile bid by BG Group, resulting in the signing of a A$9.6bn joint venture with ConocoPhillips. The ‘great asset’ Rod Halstead led advice to HBOS in regard to its sale of BankWest to CBA. Michael Parshall, who acts for the likes of Illyra and Citigroup, provides ‘thorough, client-focused advice’.

Within Dispute resolution, Clayton Utz is a first tier firm,

Clayton Utz’s deep team is led by Stuart Clark, and includes Sid Wang, Ross Perrett, Sally Sheppard and Brigitte Markovic. The firm regularly appears in matters of the highest interest for corporate Australia, and recently advised ASIC in ASIC v Macdonald & Ors, involving claims against directors of companies in the James Hardie Group. Though fees are sometimes ‘costly’, work is of the ‘highest quality’, and clients say ‘it is good to have a hard-hitting legal team behind you in matters of importance’.

Within Employment, Clayton Utz is a second tier firm,

Sydney-based Joe Catanzariti heads the practice at Clayton Utz, which advises a mix of public sector bodies, major corporates, universities, and associations, including Australian Western Railroad, Brisbane City Council and Monash University. The firm advised the Australian Communication Exchange on the finalisation of 150 workplace agreements. Graham Smith in Melbourne is a ‘leading individual’, ‘particularly good’, but the firm suffered with the defection of four partners to Herbert Geer.

Within Energy and resources, Clayton Utz is a first tier firm,

Clayton Utz boasts ‘an exceptional level of knowledge and professionalism’ under co-head of department Geoff Simpson. It regularly receives instructions from Origin Energy including advising on BG Group’s proposal to acquire all of Origin’s shares and its joint venture with ConocoPhillips; the firm also advised Noble Group in the $584m acquisition of Gloucester Coal. Barry Irwin in Sydney is recommended, along with the ‘outstanding’ Darren Fooks in Brisbane, and ‘strong drafter’ Margie Michaels in Darwin.

Within Insurance, Clayton Utz is a first tier firm,

Clayton Utz advises on high-end insurance matters for corporate Australia, the government and the financial services sector, and is adept ‘managing large and complex insurance litigation’, say clients. Peter Mann heads the group, which includes the ‘experienced and pragmatic’ Fred Hawke and Mark Waller.

Within Intellectual property, Clayton Utz is a second tier firm,

Patent and copyright are fortes of Clayton Utz. It has major pharmaceutical clients, such as AstraZeneca, and is a leading copyright collection society firm. John Collins heads the practice, and demonstrates ‘excellent judgement on tactical and strategic litigation decisions’. The ‘excellent’ John Fairbairn is also recommended; Peter Knight retired.

Within Projects and infrastructure, Clayton Utz is a first tier firm,

Doug Jones heads Clayton Utz’s reputed public sector-focused team, which targets government roles on major infrastructure projects. The firm is active along the eastern seaboard, advising government agency Sydney Metro on the development of a metro transport system and the Queensland government in relation to the Airport Link PPP and the $3.2bn Northern Busway project. The national scope of the practice helped it to win a role advising on the A$1.8bn Royal Adelaide Hospital project. Leading lawyers include Bradley Vann and John Shirbin.

Within Real estate, Clayton Utz is a second tier firm,

The ‘excellent’ practice at Clayton Utz is a favourite among public sector clients, and won instructions from the New South Wales government on the Sydney CBD Metro project, and from the Barangaroo Delivery Authority on Sydney’s major waterfront renewal. Private sector clients include Brookfield Multiplex. The practice has a good spread nationally, and includes leading lawyers such as Peter McMahon, who is of ‘the highest quality’, Gary Best, Julie Levis, and David Wilkie.

Within Restructuring and insolvency, Clayton Utz is a second tier firm,

Clayton Utz delivers ‘extremely commercial and practical advice’. Rainmaker David Cowling is recommended for complex litigious insolvency matters, while Paul James is generally ‘excellent’, and practice head Karen O’Flynn is also recommended. The team acted for PPB, the administrators of Lehman Brothers Australia, and the Commonwealth of Australia in relation to a rescue package for ABC Learning.

Within TMT, Clayton Utz is a second tier firm,

Clayton Utz won instructions from Optus and the Australian government in relation to the NBN project, and has also advised Vodafone. Its diverse public and private sector experience is evident in its corporate and commercial record in the media space, for clients including Seven Network and a healthy flow of public sector IT instructions.

Within Tax, Clayton Utz is a second tier firm,

Allan Blaikie at Clayton Utz manages a Sydney-based team recognised for its tax controversy expertise, which was recently demonstrated in a successful case for Virgin against the Commissioner of Taxation. The practice also assisted Asciano with restructuring and Paul Humphreys advised Origin Energy on its A$9.6bn deal with ConocoPhillips to jointly develop coal seam gas resources in Queensland.

Within Transport, Clayton Utz is a second tier firm,

Clayton Utz has a strong public sector infrastructure bent, and recent engagements included advising the New South Wales government on developing a CBD Metro for Sydney, and advising on the lengthy A$3.6bn passenger train procurement PPP for RailCorp. Other clients include Virgin Atlantic, the Royal Australian Navy and VicRoads.