HFW hires a team of three disputes lawyers in Perth

HFW hires a team of three disputes lawyers in Perth

The top 30 UK firms say their Australia practice now accounts for 10 percent of their revenue

Three disputes lawyers from Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan have joined UK law firm, HFW's Perth office. They are led by Paul Evans, founding partner of the firm in Perth office.

During the past six years, HFW has increased its revenue in Australia by almost 80 percent, now making up 10 percent of the firm's revenues. Australia is now its third-largest market after London and Hong Kong.

In the meantime, Quinn has lost a second team from its Perth office in less than a year after losing four litigation lawyers to Jones Day in July, 2021. The office was launched in 2017, according to the firm's website and is home to two associates and one partner.

Having handled complex commercial litigation for 35 years, Evans's expertise underpins his new firm's focus on business disputes, transactions, mergers and acquisitions and competition law.

Before joining Quinn, he served five years as the state solicitor for Western Australia, where he managed a team of more than 200 and heard a number of civil and regulatory cases, including the towering Bell case, which is the longest insolvency dispute in the nation's history. A US$1.75 billion settlement was reached in 2013 following the liquidators' proceedings 26 years after the collapse of the Bell Group.

Gavin Vallely, the managing partner of HFW's Australia office, said that the firm's growth strategy in Australia depends on the development of its Perth office and dispute services.

HFW has "expanded significantly in Australia over the last 12 months and will continue to pursue opportunities across our industry sectors to implement our growth plans," he said. Paul is one of Australia's foremost litigators and brings a wealth of experience in commercial disputes, as well as energy and resources and construction.

Evans noted: "There is a real buzz about HFW in Australia at the moment - the firm is clearly on the rise and several firm's lawyers are regarded as industry leaders."

Additionally, special counsel Peter Sadler and senior associate Monika Mecevic are moving to the firm. The University of Western Australia professor of private law and commercial regulation, Dr. Elise Bant, who previously worked at Freehills with Evans, will join HFW as a consultant.

Mecevic deals with complex commercial litigation and insolvency disputes with a focus on the energy and resources, as well as the banking and finance sectors, while Sadler specializes in international arbitration and has litigated in the mining, energy and industrial sectors.

There have been eight new partners recruited by HFW since 2020 in Australia. Michael Debney in Melbourne joined Herbert Smith Freehills last December and Jo Delaney joined Baker McKenzie in Sydney in July. HFW now has over 100 lawyers in its Melbourne, Perth and Sydney offices - including 23 partners.

According to HFW managing partner Jeremy Shebson, Australia's central location for clients represents a significant opportunity for the firm, which serves clients across a wide range of sectors, including aviation, construction, commodities, energy and resources, insurance and shipping.

It has been a long time since we've been in Australia, but now we're really trying to increase our growth and take things to the next level. It is important for our organization to bring in an experienced practitioner like Paul in order to accomplish that goal," he said.

As revenue surged by 2.6 percent to reach the £200m mark for the first time, HFW reported an increase of 30 percent in last July profits per equity partner for the 2020/21 fiscal year.

The firm announced last month that it had acquired the British Virgin Islands office of Bahamas litigation firm Lennox Paton, creating a rare situation where a conventional law firm secures an offshore base. In addition to launching in Denmark a week later, the firm announced the hiring of Danish shipping lawyer Jens Mathiasen, which the company says makes it the only global shipping practice with a Scandinavian base.

A Quinn official wished the departing team well. Founded in 2013, the Sydney office was opened by Michael Mills and Michelle Fox, both of whom had previously worked at Herbert Smith Freehills. Both remain in charge of the firm's Australian operation.