Dentons hires Baker McKenzie mining expert for Melbourne team

Respected corporate and mining law expert John Mollard has joined Dentons in Melbourne as a partner.

Mollard was previously with Baker McKenzie for almost 10 years and Hogan Lovells for 11 years before that.

He has a particular focus on mergers & acquisitions and foreign direct investment for major projects in the energy and resources sectors in Australia and globally and has worked in a number of major markets including London, Beijing and Singapore.

“John’s appointment to the partnership is reflective of Dentons’ strategy to grow the Australia region and follows a number of significant hires across corporate, life sciences, and intellectual property and technology,” said Dentons’ Australia CEO Ian Dardis.

Hoyland re-elected to lead Simmons & Simmons for third term}
Jeremy Hoyland will serve a third term as managing partner of Simmons & Simmons.

He has been re-elected to continue in the role he has held since May 2011 with the third beginning on 1st May 2019.

Hoyland joined the international firm as a trainee in 1989 and has worked in its Hong Kong and London offices including several leadership roles.

“Over the past four years, we have seen developments in innovation, the use of new game-changing tools and technology and the rise of resourcing models that have had a real impact on the firm and our offering

to clients,” he said. “My focus now will be on driving Simmons & Simmons’ creativity and adaptability and further embedding our sector approach that we know is so important to our clients. The firm I know is bold and agile and these are going to be key attributes in dealing with the uncertainty in the months and years ahead.”

Ashurst advises on Westside on AU$100m reserve-based lending facility
Ashurst has advised Commonwealth Bank of Australia on a AU$100 million reserve-based lending facility in favour of Australian-bsaed oil and gas producer WestSide Corporation Pty Limited (and certain subsidiaries).

The bank is lender and mandated lead arranger of the facility which is in connection with WestSide's interest in the Greater Meridian Gas Fields west of Gladstone in Queensland's Bowen Basin.

The Ashurst team was led by project finance partner Chris Redden, supported by senior associates Elouise Dellit and Alison Sawers, and associates Wilson Lu and Jason Wong.