News | Gadens appoints leading regulatory specialist in Sydney

Gadens has appointed Kate Mills as a partner in Sydney.

Kate, a former King & Wood Mallesons partner and adviser to Government, specialises in corporate and regulatory matters particularly in connection with corporate transactions, regulatory reviews, enforcement and investigations. More recently, Kate acted as a policy advisor to Federal Treasury, and was Chair and Convenor of the ASIC Enforcement Review Taskforce and the Government expert panel on corporate whistleblowing, both of which resulted in substantial legislative and regulatory reforms in 2019 and 2020.

Kate was formerly the General Counsel to the Financial Adviser Standards and Ethics Authority (FASEA), which is responsible for the development and enforcement of professional standards in the financial services sector, and was involved in consultations with the team that developed the Banking Executive Accountability Regime.

“Kate’s appointment is part of the continued growth of our Sydney office, which we are accelerating. We are building a high quality firm, with quality individuals. Kate is a market leading financial services lawyer, and exactly the kind of partner we want in our firm. She joins a number of leading partners who have already joined Gadens in Sydney, and we are hoping to announce more soon. We are currently in discussions with a number of other firms and high-profile partners as we look to grow the firm aggressively in Sydney”, said Mark Pistilli, CEO.

“Kate is a wonderful complement to our well established Corporate, Litigation and Banking practices, broadening our skills in regulatory and financial services which as we all know is a critical sector of the economy and particularly in the financial centres of Sydney and Melbourne” said Mark.

Commenting on her appointment, Kate said:

“I was attracted by the ambition and direction Gadens is taking under Mark Pistilli’s leadership. Gadens is positioning to become a serious contender in the Sydney commercial legal market, following a series of strategic appointments and progressive client offerings, which has seen it acquire leading roles on some of the most high profile matters of recent times. There’s a buzz about Gadens and it’s a transition I am excited be part of.

“Gadens and its clients have tackled 2020 head on, proving to be resilient in the face of uncertainty. Our multidisciplinary teams have worked on a range of market-leading matters this year, including the sale of Citadel to PEP, two successful IPOs in Aussie Broadband and 4D Medical and the restructuring of LJ Hooker. Gadens is in prime position to continue to grow and partners like Kate are what we are looking for to help us do so”, concludes Mark.