The appointments take the lead in several practice groups, including the firm’s China and Asia team
Aitken Partners has welcomed four new principal lawyers to its roster, bolstering the leadership of several of its practice groups.
Jodylee Bartal has been appointed to take the helm on the firm’s family law team. She has practiced in the fields of family and relationship law for over two decades, and has been accredited by Law Institute Victoria as a family law specialist.
She has handled issues resulting from the separation and divorce of married and de facto couples, as well as those related to property/financial settlements and disputes including complex multi-jurisdictional and high net worth matters. She has experience with all aspects of parenting and children’s matters, binding financial agreements (including pre-nuptial agreements and agreements designed to facilitate and protect intra-family gifts and succession planning) and matters involving the joinder of third parties to proceedings.
Bartal expressed her excitement at being given the chance to take charge of Aitken Partners’ family law practice, saying that in the current environment, the provision of expert advice on matters in this field is particularly crucial.
“Family law matters can be complex and require an individual and specialist approach to achieve the best possible outcome. The proposed changes to family law as well as the challenges posed by COVID-19 related restrictions mean that now more than ever our clients need expert, responsive and compassionate assistance,” she said. “Although it is a challenging time to be starting a new role, I am excited by the opportunity to lead and grow the team at Aitken Partners.”
Principal lawyer Ed Clark praised Bartal’s appointment, pointing out the interconnection of the family law practice with other areas of law.
“Our family law team is a core part of our business. People tend to overlook that family law interacts with commercial, tax, insolvency, property, elder and succession planning and law, as well as trusts and wills and estate matters,” Clark said. “You must have the best and with the appointment of Jodylee we have. Her reputation is first class and adds to an already strong team.”
Daniel Black takes point on the firm’s wills and estates team, which specialises in contested wills and complex succession plans. He joins from Geelong firm Coulter Roache.
Having observed Aitken Partners’ lawyers in professional encounters, Black said that the quality of the firm’s service appealed to him.
“I was drawn to join Aitken Partners firstly by the quality of the lawyers working here, and in particular the quality and reputation of the wills and estates team,” he said. “Aitken Partners’ connection with farming clients was also a big draw card. Having grown up in a small country town in Central Victoria, and previously working in a regional law firm, it was great to be able to join a Melbourne-based firm and maintain a connection to rural and regional clients.”
The firm said that depending on business conditions in the country, Black will be working from a satellite office on the Bellarine Peninsula or in Geelong, “helping the firm to return to its pre-1920s roots.”
Meanwhile, accredited immigration law specialist Chong Quaik heads up Aitken Partners’ China and Asia team. He has particular expertise in cross-border transactions and disputes, advising both locals aiming to conduct overseas business and foreign investors looking to enter the Australian market.
Over an eight-year period, he worked in Malaysia as private secretary and press secretary to a former cabinet minister. He was also appointed president of the country’s Consumer Claims Tribunal and the Strata Management Tribunal. He is fluent in several languages and dialects, including Mandarin, Malay, Cantonese and Hokkien.
Following his return to Australia, Quaik said that he had been “looking for a law firm that has a focus on the Chinese and Asian markets, but is not too big to ignore the vast client base generated by normal cross-border transactions and disputes.”
“I also need somewhere for my Australian-based clients to get legal advice outside of my expertise areas including employment, insolvency and family law, and I had seen the work Aitken Partners had been doing in the local Chinese community and felt it would be a good fit for me and my practice,” he said. “Combining my legal knowledge and experience with multicultural and multi-ethnicity exposures in Malaysia, I believe I am better equipped to provide clients with comprehensive and sound strategies to solve their problems.”
Clark said that Quaik was “an outstanding pick up” for the firm, citing the experience Quaik gained in Malaysia.
“We have been working hard on our China team for a couple of years, and Chong’s experience in China and Asia in general allows us to step up to the biggest tables as a luxury brand for those markets,” Clark said. “While his work in migration is exemplary, we wanted his general business and disputes expertise, and since he has been with us we have been impressed with both the quality of work and the quality of clients. After all it is not often a law firm in Australia gets to employ a lawyer who has had involvement in the Malaysian government at its highest levels.”
Finally, Alex Nicol makes a triumphant comeback to Aitken Partners after a decade. He beefs up the firm’s insolvency team under principal lawyer Michael O’Brien.
During his time away from Aitken Partners, Nicol was the founding director of a boutique disputes and insolvency firm. He was also a senior associate at a national firm.
“Joining Aitken Partners this time proved both easy and hard, not least because of the strange times we are all dealing with,” he said of his appointment. “I was enjoying many parts of being involved in and running a boutique practice, but I missed the ability to call on lawyers from other disciplines easily, and with Aitken Partners being essentially full service I am looking forward to working with lawyers from departments as diverse as family law and business law.”
Nicol also praised the firm’s tech adaptability in light of the changes forced by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The firm has also developed significantly on the technology front which has allowed the firm to work through the COVID-19 crisis with things like a paperlite office and the ability to work from home, and I’m thrilled to bring my experience in a NewLaw firm to bear in assisting Aitken to become a truly paperless, collaborative and modern law firm,” Nicol said.
Aitken Partners also welcomed corporate and commercial lawyer John McCombe as a new special counsel.
Daniel Black
Chong Quaik
Alex Nicol
