The team at Mills Oakley is jointly led by Harold Downes, who advises on WHS compliance and crisis management; Rob Humphreys, who specialises in incident response; Ross Levin a key port of call for clients in the construction, forestry, and agricultural sectors; Laura Sowden, who is noted for her work on professional indemnity policies and related claims; Patrick Walsh who focuses on workers’ compensation and disputes involving self-insured employers; and Sophie Cleveland, who routinely handles workplace investigations and dismissals.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- 'The team provides excellent advice pertaining to WHS matters. Their advice is practical and commercially centred. The team also appears to have a good culture, which as a client, workplace culture and behaviour is an important requirement in our business partners. The team are very responsive and their turnaround time is excellent.'
- 'Rob Humphreys and the wider team provide sound advice, are commercially astute and practical, and very responsive.'
- 'Harold Downes and his WHS team are outstanding. Their experience and approach in the WHS area, in particular, in the coal sector and more generally resources is unmatched. The team includes people with mining experience who seek to fully understand the facts surrounding an event before developing a solution. Excellent attention to detail and look for the best solution.'
- 'Harold Downes has a wealth of relevant knowledge and experience. More than that, he has a strategic brain, a high level of ethics and a passion for his area of specialism. A highly valued adviser in a critical area.'
- 'I use the practice for advice on health and safety matters. Unique features include capability across all Australian States and Territories; and a blend of relative youth and maturity across all the practitioners. I value that some of the lawyers have previously worked in business roles for large organisations and understand how corporations tick, especially how threats to reputation are often key in decision making and risk appetite.'
- 'I value the practical, commercial advice delivered in formats that are user-friendly and that do not need to be repackaged by in-house legal teams for distribution to the business.'
Work highlights
Advised South32 Limited on numerous WHS matters, including several extensive compliance projects
Advised Gold Fields Australia on numerous serious and sensitive workplace safety incidents.
Advised Rio Tinto on a fatality involving a contractor’s worker.
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Practice head
Harold Downes; Rob Humphreys; Ross Levin; Laura Sowden; Patrick Walsh; Sophie Cleveland