K&L Gates welcomes corporate and funds partner trio in Sydney

K&L Gates welcomes corporate and funds partner trio in Sydney

James Lomie, Natalya Hards and Lisa Lautier arrived from HWL Ebsworth.

K&L Gates, a US law firm, has added three partners in Sydney from Australian firm HWL Ebsworth to strengthen its corporate, asset management and investment funds offerings in the city.

James Lonie, Natalya Hards, and Lisa Lautier have joined the firm from HWL Ebsworth.

Nick Nichola, managing partner at K&L Gates Australia, defined the trio as "key appointments" in areas of high client demand where the firm anticipates further expansion in the near future.

Nichola added that they offer substantial experience advising clients on crucial matters both in Australia and abroad, which complements the K&L Gates global platform.

Lonie is a well-known securities, funds, and transactional lawyer who concentrate his practice on M&A funds management, equity capital markets, securities and financial services regulation, along with joint ventures and start-ups. He also counsels clients on corporate governance and securities regulatory matters. Lonie was a partner at Australian firms Holding Redlich and Henry Davis York before joining HWL Ebsworth as a partner in 2016.

Hards has joined the corporate team at K&L Gates. She advises Australian and international clients on corporate mergers and acquisitions, wholesale funds and investments, infrastructure and energy projects, joint ventures and commercial and government contracting. She worked for HWL Ebsworth for five years, eventually becoming a partner there. During the course of her career, she worked as an associate at firms such as King & Wood Mallesons and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.

Lautier has re-joined K&L Gates' asset management and investment funds team after a three-year stint as a special counsel. Thereafter she became partner at HWL Ebsworth, having followed a number of years at K&L Gates in Sydney. She counsels Australian and international clients on fund formation, financial services law, structuring and the distribution of financial products and services to both wholesale and retail clients.

K&L Gates first entered Australia in 2013, when it merged with national firm Middletons, gaining 300 lawyers and offices in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, and Perth. The arrival of the trio brings Sydney office's partner count to 23 among a larger team of 76 lawyers, making it significantly more than the firm's Perth and Brisbane bases but lesser than its Melbourne office, which has more than 100 lawyers.