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Sparke Helmore launches corporate and commercial tech offering with 2 new partners
Following its recent expansion into Cairns, national law firm Sparke Helmore is set to have a technology offering within its corporate and commercial practice, appointing two new partners, who came across from Bird & Bird and King & Wood Mallesons, respectively.
Jerome Doraisamy
As reported earlier this week, Sparke Helmore has expanded into northern Queensland, opening its 10th national office, with a trio from BigLaw rival Holding Redlich, who will sit in the firm’s planning environment and local government team.
The senior appointments have not stopped there: Hamish Fraser and Jason Kwan (both pictured) have joined the BigLaw firm and will lead its new technology offering within its corporate and commercial practice group.
Fraser, who most recently served as a partner at Bird & Bird for almost 10 years, brings over three decades of experience advising clients on commercial issues and regulatory matters across the information technology and communication industries, Sparke Helmore outlined.
Kwan has come across from KWM, where he served as a special counsel. He has, Sparke Helmore continued, extensive experience advising clients in the information technology space, specialising in information technology procurement, data, privacy, digital infrastructure, telecommunications, and information security-related issues.
Further to the hiring of the two partners, the firm has appointed lawyers for the new offering who will be starting in due course.
The news follows a year of growth for Sparke Helmore.
In mid-September, the firm added a special counsel from MinterEllison; promoted a commercial insurance practice to special counsel at the beginning of the month; elevated five to partner and 32 to senior positions in July; hired Simon Lewis and Alice Chen within the firm’s projects and government commercial practice group in May; took of a team of five lawyers, including partner Janette McLennan from Clyde & Co that same month; appointed Sheldon Garcia, formerly a partner at BigLaw rival HWL Ebsworth, as a new partner in the group in mid-April; and added three professionals, including partner Marie-Clare Elder, in February.
Speaking about the hires and new firm offering, Sparke Helmore national corporate and commercial practice leader Julien Castaldi said: “We are excited to welcome Hamish and Jason to our team.
“As a firm, we have ambitious growth plans in the private sector technology space, and bringing on board two partners of the calibre of Hamish and Jason means that we are able to provide exceptional support to our clients across technology, media, telecommunications and digital law.”
Fraser said: “I saw remarkable synergies between my practice and the way in which Sparke Helmore operates – the culture, values and the nimbleness as well as the shared commitment to exceptional client service and the wellbeing of staff.
“This move will provide me the platform to add tremendous value to clients, especially in such a crucial time of reform and adjustment to a new normal where every organisation will be challenged to get the right balance between the adoption of new technology and the need for operational and cyber resilience.”
Kwan said: “Likewise, it was important for me to join a firm known for its culture of collaboration and collegiality, and one with a clearly defined strategy for growth and success in the technology space.
“Joining Sparke Helmore allows me to build on my strong relationships in the industry, to provide top-tier service and expertise to my clients at an attractive price point and to add greater depth to the firm’s growing corporate and commercial team.”
Kwan commenced at the firm on 16 September, and Fraser started a week later, on 23 September. They are based in the firm’s Melbourne and Sydney offices, respectively.
Jerome Doraisamy
Jerome Doraisamy is the editor of Lawyers Weekly. A former lawyer, he has worked at Momentum Media as a journalist on Lawyers Weekly since February 2018, and has served as editor since March 2022. He is also the host of all five shows under The Lawyers Weekly Podcast Network, and has overseen the brand's audio medium growth from 4,000 downloads per month to over 60,000 downloads per month, making The Lawyers Weekly Show the most popular industry-specific podcast in Australia. Jerome is also the author of The Wellness Doctrines book series, an admitted solicitor in NSW, and a board director of Minds Count.
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