The Legal 500

Within Banking and finance, Corrs Chambers Westgarth is a second tier firm,

Recent highlights for Corrs Chambers Westgarth’s banking and finance team included advising Woodside Petroleum on refinancing a $1.1bn syndicated loan facility, and advising Macarthur Coal on its A$350m senior secured revolving credit and bank guarantee facilities. Shawn Wytenburg and Robert Ritchie are highly recommended and appreciated for their responsiveness. The firm recruited several lawyers recently, including Shaun McGushin and Rommel Harding-Farrenberg from Freehills; Jeremy King from Blake Dawson; and Henry Self from Mallesons Stephen Jaques.

Within Capital markets, Corrs Chambers Westgarth is a third tier firm,

Corrs Chambers Westgarth provides a ‘good level of service’, and strengthened its debt capital markets capabilities further with the recruitment of the highly rated Brad Robinson, formerly of Mallesons Stephen Jaques, as well as Rommel Harding-Farrenberg and Shaun McGushin, both formerly of Freehills. Robinson led advice to JPMorgan and RBS on Fortescue’s $2bn senior unsecured note offering. Key clients include Suncorp Metway and Foster’s Group.

Within Competition and trade, Corrs Chambers Westgarth is a third tier firm,

Corrs Chambers Westgarth is ‘prompt and practical’ and displays ‘commercial sense’. The team recently acted for Southern Cross Media on the $724m takeover of Austereo. Group head Richard Flitcroft specialises in transactional competition advice and litigation. Mark McCowan recently obtained unconditional clearance for BP Australia’s acquisition of Reliance.

Within Construction, Corrs Chambers Westgarth is a second tier firm,

Corrs Chambers Westgarth is ‘excellent in all sectors’. It advises ASX-listed energy or resources companies on EPC contracts and disputes. Practice head Peter Schenk is appreciated for staffing teams leanly. He recently led advice to QGC on the QCLNG project. Chris Ryder exhibits ‘excellent knowledge of construction law’; Peter Jarosek provides ‘invaluable advice in commercial negotiations’; and Rod Dann is the team’s prize litigator.

Within Corporate and M&A, Corrs Chambers Westgarth is a second tier firm,

Corrs Chambers Westgarth has ‘outstanding turnaround and availability’ coupled with ‘good-quality work’. The ‘“go-to” lawyer on difficult M&A issues’ Braddon Jolley and ‘quality M&A lawyer’ Sandy Mak were involved in advising Foster’s Group on the A$12bn demerger of its beer and wine businesses. Teresa Handicott and the ‘technically good and client-focused’ Byron Koster are also recommended.

Within Dispute resolution, Corrs Chambers Westgarth is a third tier firm,

The ‘quality of advice and services’ at Corrs Chambers Westgarth is ‘always of a high standard and practically based’. Highlights for the team included acting for the Commonwealth government in the Pan Pharmaceuticals class action and related proceedings, and representing Fortescue Metals Group in the ASIC civil penalty proceeding. Practice head James Whittaker, Mark Wilks and Paul McCann are recommended.

Within Employment, Corrs Chambers Westgarth is a second tier firm,

John Tuck’s move from Freehills to Corrs Chambers Westgarth has provided additional resources for a team that was already ‘particularly strong’ on workplace issues. The practice has an impressive array of public sector clients including the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. Stephen Price is advising NBNco on all workplace relations matters. Val Gostencnik has a ‘detailed understanding of employment law and IR’.

Within Energy and resources, Corrs Chambers Westgarth is a second tier firm,

Strong in inbound investment work, Corrs Chambers Westgarth advised Indian coal importer Adani Group on its $2.7bn acquisition of an 100% interest in Linc Energy’s coal tenements in Queensland. It also acted for core client Woodside Energy on the A$3bn expansion of its Pluto LNG project. Adam Handley has ‘a wealth of industry knowledge’, and Michael Harrison is ‘eminently trustworthy and has expansive knowledge’.

Within Insurance, tier 4

Corrs Chambers Westgarth has particular strength in construction-related insurance matters, but also acts across a number of other areas. Frank Lawson is advising Thiess in a A$70m professional indemnity dispute. In late 2009, Michelle Carr acted for Aon Risk Services in litigation in which the High Court established new precedent by reversing an earlier judgment that had permitted adjournments to amend case strategy in civil litigation. Other clients include Suncorp-Metway and Air New Zealand.

Within Intellectual property, Corrs Chambers Westgarth is a second tier firm,

Corrs Chambers Westgarth provides a ‘particularly excellent quality of service’. The group’s clients include Louis Vuitton, British American Tobacco, Lacoste and Cadbury. It acted for Research in Motion versus Samsung in a contested passing off and trade mark infringement case concerning the Blackberry platform. Stephen Stern, Odette Gourley and Anna Ross are ‘exceptional’.

Within Projects and infrastructure, Corrs Chambers Westgarth is a second tier firm,

Corrs Chambers Westgarth, which is typically ‘commercial in its negotiations’, has a stronghold in LNG and large government projects. The team recently acted for the Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads on all facets of the Gold Coast Rapid Transit Project and advised a key player in the NBN project. Contractual specialist Peter Schenk is recommended for construction projects, and John Walter is highly regarded for PPPs.

Within Real estate, Corrs Chambers Westgarth is a third tier firm,

Corrs Chambers Westgarth’s property group fields several standout lawyers, most notably Andrew Flannery, who is recommended for his ‘business acumen, quality of advice and knowledge of the property industry’; and Randall Gerkens, recommended for ‘the depth of his experience’ and his negotiation skills. The team was strengthened by Jay Andrews’ arrival from Freehills. The team is advising Woolworths on a large shopping centre portfolio sale, and is acting for ING on all aspects of its A$1bn Waterfront City development of Melbourne Docklands.

Within Restructuring and insolvency, Corrs Chambers Westgarth is a second tier firm,

At Corrs Chambers Westgarth, Dominic Emmett advises lenders, financial institutions and hedge funds on non-contentious restructuring; John Stragalinos and Kirsty Sutherland handle traditional receivership work and recovery litigation. The team recently represented several hedge funds as creditors of Alinta on a de-leveraging agreement, and also advised Clearwater Capital on the administration sale of Griffin Coal.

Within TMT, Corrs Chambers Westgarth is a second tier firm,

Corrs Chambers Westgarth has ‘a good appreciation of the requirements of government clients’, and remains the lead adviser to the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy on its relationship with Telstra and NBNco. The team has a ‘deep understanding of the marketplace’, but a distinct focus on network and IT procurement advice. Team head Andrew Messenger is ‘fantastic’.

Within Tax, Corrs Chambers Westgarth is a second tier firm,

Corrs Chambers Westgarth lost capital gains tax specialist David Pratley to Minter Ellison, but the group continues to compete effectively with much larger teams for the most significant M&A instructions. The firm is a leading adviser to several clients in the energy and resources sector, and Jonathon Leek recently acted as tax counsel to Shell on the sale of its $3.3bn stake in Woodside. Reynah Tang led on advice to Fosters Group on the divestment of its wine business.

Within Transport, Corrs Chambers Westgarth is a second tier firm,

Corrs Chambers Westgarth’s ‘excellent’ group is advising the Department of Transport and Main Roads on procurements and legislative amendment relating to the Gold Coast Rapid Transit project. Adam Handley and his team recently advised China’s state-owned MMC China on transport aspects of its $4.5bn iron ore project in Western Australia. Other clients include Fortescue Metals Group and Linfox.