Media release | Gadens celebrates seven partner promotions nationally

National law firm Gadens is thrilled to announce seven partner promotions effective 1 July 2023 across its Australian network of firms. With these promotions and recent appointments, the Gadens national partnership is now 40% female.

Commenting on the promotions Jeremy Smith, National Chairman, says:

“These individuals are all exceptional lawyers who have demonstrated dedication and deep commitment to our clients. Their achievements not only reflect their own professional growth, but also the firm’s continuous pursuit of excellence. As we celebrate this significant milestone, we look forward to the invaluable contributions our partners will bring to our firm’s continued success. I extend my heartfelt congratulations to our newly promoted partners.”

These appointments build on our existing market profile and support our vision to be a leading law firm empowered by creativity and driven by passion, they are:

Adam Walker, Melbourne

Adam acts for an array of clients across a broad range of commercial matters, specialising in the fields of competition and consumer law, franchising, energy, and complex regulatory and compliance matters. Adam synthesises complex regulatory environments with difficult fact situations, providing practical solutions. A recognised risk and governance professional, Adam’s diversity of experience in business, law, governance and regulation offers a holistic approach to the law that is sensitive to commercial realities.

Andrew Mackenzie, Brisbane

Andrew practices across the full gamut of commercial property, including commercial and industrial leasing, commercial sales and acquisitions, and logistics estate and high-rise developments. He has leading experience in logistics and commercial office leasing, acting for some of Australia’s largest institutional landlords in their Queensland and New South Wales portfolios, including some of Brisbane’s largest commercial office leasing deals, as well as specialty lease deals for industrial and logistics facilities, and large-scale medical centres. Through various capital transaction work, Andrew has provided clients with bespoke structures for acquisitions, including multi-party fund through deals and development agreements, and detailed due diligence reviews.

Daniel Maroske, Brisbane

Daniel is a contentious regulatory specialist who assists both public sector and corporate clients in navigating regulatory and public law disputes across the financial services industry and government sectors. Daniel has over 15 years’ experience in both private practice and the public sector, having worked at firms and regulatory bodies in both Queensland and the UK. In addition to conducting complex investigations, Daniel has experience advising clients in disputes, inquiries and inquests across a number of Commonwealth and State jurisdictions.

Lara Cresser, Brisbane

With degrees in law, media communications, and a masters of intellectual property, Lara has highly specialised expertise in online intermediary advice, defamation, competition and consumer law, intellectual property infringement, advertising and elections. She regularly represents and advises multi-national companies and government organisations on compliance with Australian law in these areas, with a focus on advising some of the world’s leading technology and social media companies on cutting edge issues. Lara also has extensive experience in civil litigation and dispute resolution, frequently acting on highly technical applications in large, complex and multiparty commercial matters.

Matthew Lunney, Sydney

Matt has broad experience in complex commercial disputes and investigations. He has expertise advising large public and private clients through to start-up businesses on all manner of contentious issues including corporations matters / financial services, insolvency, and casinos and wagering, and particularly representing individual directors, officers and executives in the course of regulatory investigations and related litigation. Matt’s recent experience includes working on large and complex corporate collapses, class actions, commercial disputes, proceedings before the Takeovers Panel, as well as various confidential engagements including numerous compulsory examinations before the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. Matt is a strategic thinker and commercially minded, which allows him to add value and provide practical advice on all aspects of investigations and commercial litigation.

Melissa Phillips, Melbourne

Melissa acts for a broad range of corporate, government and not-for-profit clients with a particular focus on unregulated and regulated mergers and acquisitions and equity capital markets. Melissa has extensive experience in relation to large scale acquisitions and disposals, equity capital raisings (including initial public offerings and secondary offers), joint ventures and shareholder arrangements, corporate restructures, corporate governance, regulatory compliance with the Corporations Act and ASX Listing Rules, and general commercial work. She advises clients in a vast range of industries including health, aged care, retail, manufacturing, technology, education, private equity, transport and logistics.

Sean Prater, Sydney

Sean has a broad corporate and tax practice and specialises in advising private clients. Sean’s private client practice includes advising on corporate and property transactions, family business restructures, estate and succession planning, trusts and superannuation law. Sean also regularly acts for property developers and managers advising on the structuring of corporate and property transactions, developments and joint ventures.

We also celebrate the following recent lateral hire partner appointments made earlier in 2023:

Bryony Binns, Sydney

Bryony has been practicing law for over 20 years, centred on employees and other workers. Her expertise lies in labour and wage compliance, with a particular focus on managing personnel cost and risk in commercial transactions. Bryony has a strong reputation as a commercial labour lawyer. Her practice specialisms otherwise encompass industrial relations, employment, employee benefits, global mobility, governance, and employee related privacy, intellectual property and business protection. Most recently, Bryony has acted for clients experiencing wage compliance issues, including in the context of commercial transactions, blending legal experience and expertise with an understanding of people-related data and technology, and complex compliance project management. Through her partnership roles and client practice, Bryony has developed a capacity to manage multiple stakeholders in sensitive matters, at transaction speed, and across borders.

Joanne Moss, Sydney

Joanne has 20 years’ experience advising clients in large scale, complex and cross-border corporate and commercial disputes. A current chair and non-executive director of ASX-listed companies, and having previously held chief legal and executive roles within a Fortune 500 brand, Joanne takes a deeply commercial and solutions-based approach towards client matters. Joanne specialises in class actions, shareholders and directors’ disputes, breach of contract allegations, corporate control deadlocks including partnership and JV disputes, consumer and trade law including product liability claims and recalls, franchising, regulatory investigations and prosecutions, and public inquiries.

Other significant partner appointments in the last 12 months include:

• Caroline Ord, Partner, Melbourne
• Erin Lynch, Partner, Sydney
• Matt Watt, Partner, Sydney
• Matthew Bode, Partner, Brisbane
• Sally Tuckfield, Partner, Sydney
• Susan Goodman, Partner, Sydney