Mills Oakley has made key hires in Western Australia and Queensland, with lateral partner appointments in the Perth Disputes team and the Brisbane Corporate Advisory team.
Brendan Taylor is an experienced Perth-based litigator with a focus on construction and corporate disputes, regulatory investigations and prosecutions and media and defamation. He joins the firm’s Perth Disputes team.
Mills Oakley is also expanding in Brisbane, with the hire of Corporate partner Tony Lalor from
Clayton Utz.
Taylor commenced with Mills Oakley in early October, while Tony Lalor will commence later this month.
Taylor, who has represented ASX-listed and private companies in construction disputes across Australia and in arbitrations, has appeared as Counsel in several leading construction cases in Western Australia.
He acts for directors, shareholders and companies in corporate disputes and investigations, administrative actions and prosecutions by regulatory agencies (predominantly ASIC) and law enforcement bodies.
As one of Western Australia's leading media and defamation lawyers, he acts for media organisations in suppression, copyright and defamation matters.
Taylor, who was previously the head of the litigation practice at Rockwell Olivier and more recently operated his own practice, brings with him a team of six lawyers and support staff from this practice to Mills Oakley.
This hire is part of a sustained investment in Western Australia and follows the official launch of the firm’s Perth Workplace Relations practice last month and the hire of Corporate Advisory partner Julian Atkinson and Insurance partner David McKenna in recent weeks.
Meanwhile, Lalor specialises in M&A and equity capital markets and boasts a diverse client base including the mining, telecommunications, financial services, agribusiness and automotive sectors.
He is listed in the AFR/ Best Lawyers Australia Guide as a leading lawyer in the areas of Commercial Law, Corporate Law, Equity Capital Markets and M&A.
Last year, Lalor co-led the team advising booking service Wotif.com on its $700 million merger with Expedia and on Japan Post’s $8bn acquisition of Toll Holdings.
Mills Oakley CEO John Nerurker said that these hires were the latest example of the firm’s capacity to attract and retain sought-after talent.
“We were one of many firms to express interest in Brendan when he left Rockwell Olivier back in 2015. It has been a long process, but we see Brendan’s decision to join Mills Oakley as a real endorsement of what we have achieved in the West since launching in Perth nearly two years ago,” Nerurker said.
“Over half our partnership has joined us from tier one firms and Tony fits well with the Mills Oakley value proposition of top-tier expertise, combined with the value of a mid-size firm,” the top executive said, welcoming Taylor and Lalor.
