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HFW adds Perth-based commodities partner from HSF
Global law firm HFW has moved to expand its international commodities practice with the appointment of a partner from BigLaw rival Herbert Smith Freehills for its Perth office.
Jerome Doraisamy
Graeme Gamble (pictured) has joined HFW, bringing a quarter century’s worth of experience advising clients in the energy sector.
He specialises, HFW said in a statement, in energy-related merger and acquisition and project development, including carbon capture and storage, LNG liquefaction and import and offshore wind projects and operations.
Prior to serving at HSF for nearly a decade, he worked at Ashurst, Eversheds, and Clyde & Co and spent nearly three years in-house at Centrica Energy in the UK. He is a member of the Australian Mining and Petroleum Law Association and the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators.
Gamble, who is admitted in Australia and England and Wales and has practised in London and Perth, joined HFW on 1 January.
The news follows the firm’s appointment, in early January, of a partner from global firm King & Wood Mallesons as a new special counsel for its aviation and asset finance offerings.
It also follows the hiring of two special counsel for its insurance practice in November, the appointment of a partner from Clifford Chance in October, the global firm’s addition of a team from BigLaw rival Johnson Winter Slattery in late August, as well as its “record” 12 months in the Australian market, as reported in July, and having added 12 new partners across the country since the beginning of FY2023–24.
HFW now has 35 partners and more than 160 lawyers across its three Australian offices in Melbourne, Perth, and Sydney.
Speaking about the hire, HFW Australian managing partner Gavin Vallely said: “I am pleased to welcome Graeme to HFW. His experience in the energy and commodity sectors, in particular his experience in the LNG marketing and trading space with major industry players, will be of great value to our clients.”
The firm’s global head of commodities, Alistair Feeney, said: “Graeme is a highly regarded practitioner with considerable expertise in all aspects of the energy value chain. He will complement and enhance our already-strong energy capabilities, which include M&A, project development, sale and purchase, trading, shipbuilding, vessel chartering, and arbitration.”
Gamble said: “I am excited to be joining a firm that is committed to growth in Australia and internationally. HFW’s global footprint, reputation in the market, as well as its focus on commodities, will give me the best platform from which to expand my practice.”
Jerome Doraisamy
Jerome Doraisamy is the editor of Lawyers Weekly and HR Leader. He has worked at Momentum Media as a journalist on Lawyers Weekly since February 2018, and has served as editor since March 2022. In June 2024, he also assumed the editorship of HR Leader. Jerome is also the author of The Wellness Doctrines book series, an admitted solicitor in NSW, and a board director of the Minds Count Foundation.
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