Corporate and M&A
Ed Paton
Ed’s practice covers private mergers and acquisitions (both local and inbound international), with a particular focus on mid-market deals in Australia, including restructures and international transactions. Ed has significant experience running large projects including company establishment, corporate restructures and succession for large family groups.
Ed is an integral part of the firm’s international practice. He jointly leads the firm’s relationship with SCG legal, an international network of independent law firms and is the partner responsible for the Singapore Desk and other emerging markets in South East Asia.
Oliver Jankowsky
Oliver is a Corporate Partner, whose practice focuses on mergers & acquisitions, corporate advisory, divestments, foreign investments and start-up capital raising.
He has particular expertise in cross-border transactions advising foreign clients on their legal needs in Australia and how to enter the Australian market. Oliver’s practice also comprises drafting a range of commercial agreements including shareholders and distribution agreements and advising on IT contracts.
Jacqui Barrett
Jacqui has extensive experience in advising and assisting clients with M&As, corporate structuring, corporate compliance and governance, capital raisings and managed investment schemes. She also advises clients with day-to-day legal issues affecting their business including supply arrangements, licensing arrangements, protection and commercialisation of intellectual property, manufacturing and distribution arrangements consultancy arrangements, terms and conditions, and privacy and confidentiality issues.
Christopher Brown
Chris has over 20 years’ experience in advising on corporate transactions.He is a Partner in the Corporate and Commercial team and leads the firm’s UK desk. His experience covers both public company takeovers and private M&A deals. He has also advised clients on IPOs and other fundraising activities and has particular expertise in the finance and insurance sectors, acting for wealth managers and life and general insurers. His clients include institutional and non-institutional investors, in Australia and overseas.
Chris also acts for numerous overseas investors into Australia, in particular those from North America, UK, and Japan.
Deborah Chew
Deborah has extensive experience across a broad range of commercial transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, equity capital markets and other corporate transactions, equity investments, shareholders and joint venture arrangements, management equity arrangements, ASX listed company advice, and a wide variety of commercial arrangements.
Deborah’s major clients span a range of industries, with particular focus on the technology and biotech industries, and on agribusiness, and vary in size from start-ups to Australian industry leaders.
Deborah began her legal career in New York, where she practised corporate and commercial law for over 10 years. She relocated to Australia in 1999.
Deborah combines a deep knowledge of her clients and the industries they operate within with a familiarity with corporate transactions that is based on over 25 years of experience in both Australia and the United States
Langton Clarke
Langton has extensive experience across all aspects of the funds management industry.
He has particular expertise in investment vehicles seeking to raise capital from the retail and wholesale sectors.
Langton advises both start up enterprises and long-established businesses about raising new capital or debt, establishing investment opportunities and restructuring existing businesses and investment projects.
David Cooper
David is a partner in the Banking & Financial Services team at Hall & Wilcox, based in Sydney. David specialises in project finance, renewable energy projects, real estate finance, mining and resource finance and leveraged acquisition and corporate finance.
David is experienced in advising project sponsors and lenders, private equity houses and real estate developers on project finance, leveraged acquisition, corporate working capital, property and asset financing transactions, as well as complex, multi-jurisdictional and cross-border financing transactions. He has also worked with clients on priority, restructuring, pre-insolvency and debt-recovery transactions and on Personal Property Securities Act 2009 (Cth) compliance programs.
David has also previously served as deputy general counsel for Oceania for a major Japanese bank, while on secondment.
Michelle Eastwell
Michelle is an experienced corporate lawyer specialising in mergers and acquisitions, capital markets transactions and alternative fund raisings, based in Brisbane. In addition, Michelle works closely with her clients to assist with corporate governance issues and regulatory compliance, in particular ASX Listing Rules and Corporations Act matters. Michelle works with clients to negotiate significant commercial agreements and provides commercial advice on business critical matters.
With clients across a range of sectors, Michelle works with companies listed on the ASX and other stock exchanges as well with unlisted companies, including emerging businesses. Michelle has a specific interest in the technology, financial services and biotech sectors. Michelle prides herself on the relationships she has with clients and is committed to working alongside her clients in the long term and contributing to their growth and success.
Ranny Fan
Ranny has over 20 years’ experience in corporate and commercial law. She specialises in international and domestic M&A, with an emphasis on cross-border transactions, joint ventures, acquisition and disposal of businesses and assets and regulatory approvals (including FIRB approvals).
Ranny has dual qualifications in Australia and China. She is fluent in English and Mandarin.
Sevan Gore
Sevan is a highly experienced corporate lawyer, particularly in the areas of equity capital markets and mergers & acquisitions.
Sevan advises clients in a range of industries, but has significant experience in the mining sector, regularly acting for resources companies and investors on their strategic commercial matters.
Steve Johns
Steve’s practice focuses on corporate law, specialising in M&A and joint ventures. He has particular expertise in transactions in the technology (including ICT), life sciences, biotechnology and services sectors.
Steve advises clients on share and asset sales, strategic investments, joint ventures and restructures (including carve-outs). His clients including foreign and domestic corporations and private equity and venture capital funds.
In addition to his sector expertise, Steve has a focus on cross border transactions, and in particular transactions involving the US. He has worked in the US and regularly advises US clients on transactions in Australia.
Suzie Leask
Suzie is a highly regarded specialist in corporate and commercial law. With over 15 years’ experience, Suzie assists companies and their boards, directors, company secretaries, management, in house legal teams and key business stakeholders to comply with a variety of commercial transactions, corporate governance and regulatory compliance obligations. Suzie is experienced in a range of areas including business transactions, corporate advisory, commercial contracts and procurement, IT and intellectual property, privacy law and cyber security, regulatory compliance, competition and consumer laws including unfair contract laws.
Sean McMahon
Sean has more than 25 years’ experience in the funds management and corporate sectors and co-leads the Hall & Wilcox Investment Funds team. Prior to joining the firm, Sean lead the award-winning Funds Management team at McMahon Clarke.
His expertise includes establishing and advising on fund structures, funds management, real estate finance and fund finance. Sean also advises on governance, directors' duties, compliance, and disclosure issues.
Sean advises fund manager clients across a broad range of sectors, including property, equities, and mortgages (both wholesale and retail), about getting their product to market and their ongoing compliance obligations.
Catie Moore
Catie is a projects and infrastructure lawyer with over 25 years’ experience, specialising in energy, transport and infrastructure projects. She has advised and acted for both the public and private sector on large construction, procurement and outsourcing projects, including projects delivered as public private partnerships.
Catie also has considerable experience in a broad range of areas including commercial contracts, logistics and supply contracts, legal advisory, property, competition law (ACCC matters), restructuring, joint ventures and M&A (including FIRB and ASIC).
Her knowledge has been acquired from a variety of roles, as a partner in major international and Australian law firms and as General Counsel where she has provided strategic and commercial advice across a range of Australian and international projects.
James Morvell
James has a broad range of both corporate and general commercial experience, particularly in the areas of equity capital markets, corporate advice, and public and private M&A. James has acted for a diverse range of clients including publicly listed companies, private companies and multinational organisations. In particular, he has extensive corporate and transactional experience in the funds management and REIT sectors.
Vanessa Murphy
Partner
Nicole Tumiati
Nicole is a partner in Hall & Wilcox’s Corporate and Commercial team. Nicole has over 20 years’ experience as a corporate lawyer, working in both Australia and the United Kingdom.
Nicole has acted on a broad variety of matters and transactions including public and private mergers and acquisitions, public and private fundraisings, general corporate and commercial advice, structuring, joint ventures and other commercial agreements.
Nicole regularly works with large corporates and other businesses across many different industries but has particular experience assisting clients in the following sectors: Retail & FMCG (including food, beverage and agribusiness); professional services (including financial services); manufacturing; and logistics.
Team Services
Our mergers and acquisitions team is widely recognised for their awareness and appreciation of the value drivers and range of issues arising out of M&A transactions. Our in-depth understanding of medium to large enterprises, and the regulatory framework in which they operate, enables us to provide real value when advising on divestments or acquisitions for between $5 million and $250 million. Given the complexity and importance of these transactions, our team of leading corporate advisors draw on their broad experience and expertise in a complete range of practice areas in order to develop innovative business structures that meet our clients’ commercial objectives.
We are a leading independent law firm, committed to delivering outstanding technical and commercial services in relation to all aspects of public and private M&A. Our focus is on understanding our clients’ businesses, and we know the importance of tailoring our advice and guidance to the unique and important features of each individual transaction.