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Pinsent Masons takes partner, special counsel from DLA Piper
Multinational law firm Pinsent Masons has continued to expand its Australian ranks, with the appointment of a partner and special counsel from a global rival for its corporate practice.
Jerome Doraisamy
Partner James Stewart and special counsel Roger Hawkins (both pictured) have joined Pinsent Masons, having come across from DLA Piper.
Stewart, Pinsent Masons said in a statement, will be based in Sydney and is a leading M&A and equity capital markets lawyer, with a focus on public company takeovers, private M&A deals and private equity, while Hawkins’ practice focuses on cross-border and domestic public and private company M&A, private equity, equity capital markets and corporate advisory. He will be based in Perth.
The news follows the firm’s hiring of a TMT special counsel from MinterEllison in August, its taking of a team of eight from KPMG Law to launch its TMT practice in March, the firm’s launching of a work health and safety practice in Australia with a team from Sparke Helmore in February, the launching of a restructuring and insolvency practice with a team from Gilchrist Connell in December, as well as an employment and reward practice in August of last year.
It also follows, as recently reported by Lawyers Weekly, the multinational firm’s launching of a pilot program whereby its staff can finish their working weeks at lunchtime on Fridays, with the trial coming to Australia this summer.
Speaking about the hires, Pinsent Masons partner and Australian head Matthew Croagh said: “James and Roger are significant appointments to our corporate team in Australia as they add a wealth of experience and policy knowledge that will be of great interest to our clients.
“James is our ninth lateral partner hire in Australia since August 2023. Those appointments have been strategic in broadening our experience in key legal areas so that we are a true full-service law firm.”
The firm’s head of corporate in APAC, Nicholas Hanna, added that the two appointments signalled further investment in the firm’s corporate capabilities across the region.
“James and Roger join David Clinch in Singapore as important senior appointments to the corporate team in the region this year,” he said.
“Like David, James and Roger bring fantastic experience working on extremely complex deals across the region. In an increasingly interconnected business landscape, adding cross-border experience is vital to servicing our globally focused client base.”
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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