Firm Profile > Squire Patton Boggs > Sydney, Australia

Dispute resolution Tier 3

The 'exceptional' practice at Squire Patton Boggs is headed by Amanda Banton, the 'very professional' Greg Stenepreis and Cris Cureton. The firm specialises in litigation and arbitration in the fields of construction, financial products and planning alongside a broad commercial litigation practice, with clients including Laing O’Rourke, ALH Group and Woolworths. The team is representing Ferrier Hodgson, as liquidators for Forge Group Limited, in a claim related to outstanding construction contracts worth around A$150m. Brendan Reilly has departed to establish boutique dispute resolution practice Reilly IDR.

Construction Tier 4

Dispute resolution: class actions Tier 4

Squire Patton Boggs has a particular strength in handling class actions arising in the insolvency and financial services sectors, which are areas of specialism for practice head Amanda Banton. Team members are adept at acting for a varied client base including middle-market and multinational companies, individuals, insolvency practitioners, governmental bodies and local councils, not-for-profit organisations, and professional services firms. Shaan Palmer and Susan Goodman are also key names to note.

IT and telecoms Tier 4

Squire Patton Boggs is recognised for having 'deep experience with IT including for cross-border companies and M&A'. Richard W Horton is dual-qualified (the US and Australia) and includes experience acting for silicon valley clients. The team, including senior associate Michael Muratore, acts for tech companies, many of which are startups, in relation to software, AI, music and semiconductors in a broad range of industries. Its expertise covers corporate, commercial, licensing and financings/venture capital.

Natural resources (transactions and regulatory) Tier 4

At Squire Patton Boggs, Simon Rear's expertise is in assisting mining clients on capital raisings and, together with Margie Tannock, heads a Perth team that provides a range of corporate, finance, environment and regulatory expertise to domestic and Asia-wide clients. Tony Chong has an established international practice and, together with Tina Zhou, increasingly assists Chinese clients on their investments. The team's current work encompasses work in the coal, gold and lithium sectors.

Regulatory compliance and investigations Tier 4

Clients of Squire Patton Boggs stem from sectors such as government, hospitality and leisure, energy and resources, education, transport and manufacturing. They rely on the team for representation on statutory approvals, corporate governance, compliance and regulatory risk, prosecution, investigations and the full range of enforcement proceedings. Perth-based Margie Tannock heads the practice and advises clients on resolving regulatory risks across all aspects of corporate decision making.

Energy (transactions and regulatory) Tier 5

In addition to its domestic practice, Squire Patton Boggs is known for its cross-border M&A expertise and its growing China practice - both incoming and outgoing transactions. Tony Chong and Tina Zhou work with Perth-based Simon Rear to assist Chinese clients. Margie Tannock heads the energy and natural resources practice and has expertise spanning environmental, regulatory and planning matters relating to mining and energy projects.

Labour and employment Tier 5

Squire Patton Boggs' labour and employment practice is jointly spearheaded by Perth-based Bruno Di Girolami and John Oakes who recently arrived in Sydney from Watson Mangioni. The team primarily acts for employers and focuses on sensitive disputes, investigations, work health and safety prosecutions, cross-border compliance reviews and business migrations, and corporate governance matters. Also notable in the Perth office is of counsel Dominique Hartfield who has considerable experience both in contentious and non-contentious issues.

Real estate Tier 5

Squire Patton Boggs’ practice is headed by the ‘super smart and responsive’ Dannelle Howley and Rahul Parrab in Sydney alongside Perth-based Mark Palermo. It advises at every stage of developments, including on construction and procurement considerations, and is experienced in urban renewal projects as well as those in the hospitality and leisure sectors. The team is skilled in areas of commercial and retail leasing, sales and acquisitions and project finance. Clients include international property and institutional investors, local developers, government entities as well as an increasing number of domestic and offshore listed and unlisted property funds.

Restructuring and insolvency Tier 5

Squire Patton Boggs stands out for its expertise in handling contentious cases, regularly handling issues at State and Federal Court levels; it recently represented Ferrier Hodgson as liquidator for Forge Group in claims relating to the debt of a company it acquired in 2012, and acted for Deloitte as liquidators of Heavy Plant Leasing in proceedings involving alleged breaches of contract and unconscionable conduct. Amanda Banton heads the department, which includes Shaan Palmer, Perth-based practitioner Graeme Slattery, and of counsel Susan Goodman.

Corporate and M&A Tier 6

Squire Patton Boggs attracts cross-border transactions from clients ranging from the global to startups and venture capital firms. Across the gamut of corporate and commercial work, it has a focus on the energy and resources sectors in addition to its broader retail, manufacturing and tech clients. Simon Rear in Perth and Campbell Davidson in Sydney head the practice and Tony Chong is the Perth managing partner and also heads the Asia Desk for the firm.