More than a dozen law firm partners in Perth including Paul Evans, Paul Lingard and Spencer Flay are on the move in an extraordinary period of change for the sector.
Perth lawyers Paul Evans, Paul Lingard and Spencer Flay have confirmed they are moving to new firms, joining nearly a dozen partners planning to join new employers.
The pending changes will affect at least 10 firms in Perth, including King & Wood Mallesons, Ashurst, Corrs Chambers Westgarth, HFW and Norton Rose Fulbright.
Collectively it amounts to an extraordinary period of change for the sector, with many firms battling to secure experienced people to meet the high demand for their services.
The moves signal particularly keen interest in partners with experience in the growth areas of litigation and energy and resources.
In many cases, they confirm that lawyers who move once are more likely to move a second or third time.
Ashurst confirmed today it has recruited three partners from Norton Rose Fulbright, which appears to be the biggest loser from the latest round of changes.
Paul Lingard, Miriam D'Souza and Jessica Davies are all experienced corporate lawyers with a focus on energy and resources.
Paul Lingard, pictured. Photo: Supplied
They are moving just three years after joining Norton Rose (see more below).
This will soften the blow facing Ashurst from the loss of four senior partners to King & Wood Mallesons.
Lorenzo Pacitti moved to KWM six months ago and it is understood he will shortly be joined by Peter Vaughan, Roger Davies and Antonella Pacitti, as flagged by Business News last month.
Mr Evans, whose past roles include being State Solicitor, is moving to HFW in a major boost for that firm, which will have five partners in Perth.
He is taking senior associate Peter Sadler with him from specialist litigation firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan.
Mr Flay, who also practices in litigation and dispute resolution, has moved to Clifford Chance from Corrs Chambers Westgarth.
Spencer Flay, pictured. Photo: Clifford Chance
Another experienced lawyer on the move is Paul Shillington, who has left Hogan Lovells to become general counsel at iron ore miner and aspiring green energy company Fortescue Metals Group.
It marks a return to the corporate sector for Mr Shillington, who has spent much of his career working for oil and gas companies including ExxonMobil and Oryx Petroleum.
Corrs has moved to bolster its ranks, with three partner appointments.
Tracey Greenaway, who brings 20 years’ experience specialising in oil and gas projects, has been recruited from Allens. She commences on 1 June.
Workplace relations partner Anthony Longland has been recruited from Herbert Smith Freehills. He starts on 1 May.
Oliver Carrick, who was a senior associate at Gilbert + Tobin, re-joined Corrs in January as a corporate partner.
Another firm dealing with big changes is HWL Ebsworth Lawyers.
Four corporate partners, led by Shaun Hardcastle, left HWL in January to establish a Perth office for Sydney firm Hamilton Locke.
HWL has partly filled this large gap by recruiting Shaun McNaught as a partner. He was previously a senior associate at Clayton Utz.
Quinn Emanuel will be left with a small Perth office after the departures of Messrs Evans and Sadler, who officially start their new roles on 1 April.
Mr Evans established the US firm’s Perth office five years ago.
His departure comes 10 months after Quinn Emanuel’s second big-name recruit, Michael Lundberg, also moved on, joining Jones Day.
The last remaining partner at Quinn Emanuel’s Perth office is Duncan Watson QC, who arrived last year.
The departures put a question mark over the viability of international firms with a specialist litigation focus coming into the WA market.
Most other firms in Perth with a strong litigation focus also have partners in practice areas such as corporate and energy and resources, feeding work and providing support to the litigation team.
HFW said it has added eight new partners in Australia since 2020, across construction, disputes, workplace relations and energy.
The firm has more than 100 lawyers – including 23 partners – across its offices in Melbourne, Perth and Sydney.
Mr Evans said HFW was clearly in growth mode.
“HFW has a really interesting mix of genuine sector expertise particularly relevant to the resources industry in WA and a truly integrated global litigation offering,” he said.
“I am looking forward to working with the partners in Australia and the firm's disputes teams globally to maximise the benefits presented by the firm's international footprint."
Meanwhile, Clifford Chance’s head of litigation and dispute resolution in Asia Pacific Nish Shetty said there were two trends that underpinned the appointment of Mr Flay.
"We continue to see high levels of infrastructure and construction disputes across the Asia Pacific region, with many major projects facing delays due to the pandemic,” Mr Shetty said.
“At the same time, we are witnessing seismic shifts in sectors such as energy and resources, where certain clients are accelerating their transition to renewables.
“This creates a need for sophisticated risk mitigation and management advice.”
Mr Flay has 20 years’ experience specialising in major projects and construction disputes, across mining, oil and gas and infrastructure.
The addition of Mr Flay means Clifford Chance has four partners in its Perth office, three of whom specialise in litigation and dispute resolution.
Ashurst’s global co-head of projects & real estate Lee McDonald welcomed the three recruits to its Perth office.
“Ashurst is committed to growing our already strong energy & resources offering to forge a reputation as the go-to adviser across the Asia-Pacific region,” Mr McDonald said.
“Paul is a leading expert in the sector and brings with him the vision, skills and experience to develop a significant practice that can extend beyond a pure energy & resources focus.
“The hire of Paul, Miriam and Jessica is an expansive move that underscores our plans for growth."
Perth office managing partner Gaelan Cooney said all three bring impressive experience and strong technical capabilities.
Mr Lingard is a corporate lawyer with a background working on M&A transactions, operational issues and large-scale development projects for energy and mining companies.
He was most recently Norton Rose’s co-head of the Asia Pacific energy group and co-head of energy, infrastructure & resources, Australia
Mr Lingard joined Norton Rose in October 2018, having previously worked at Clifford Chance and KWM.
Ms D'Souza joined Norton Rose at the same time, having moved from Herbert Smith Freehills.
She has a project development practice covering the mining, electricity, waste, transport and social infrastructure industries.
Ms Davies is an energy and resources lawyer who has practiced in Australia, London and New York.
She joined Norton Rose in 2019 from Clifford Chance.
Norton Rose declined to comment on the departures from its Perth office.
