Global firm appoints Australian project finance head

Melbourne-based project finance partner Jo Crew has been appointed Australian head of project finance and head of infrastructure.

Crew has extensive experience and the firm says her new leadership role reflects the significant contribution she has made to the firm as a senior partner.

She will have a new partner in her team as Chris Pattern joins the firm’s Brisbane office from Allens where he’d been for 13 years.

“Our global capability in project finance is market leading and has been further strengthened by our combination in the US last year with Chadbourne & Parke,” Norton Rose Fulbright managing partner Wayne Spanner commented. “Jo’s appointment as Australian head of project finance and head of infrastructure and Chris’ appointment as a new partner reflects the firm’s intention to further invest in this area in Australia.”

Projects team boost for Ashurst in Brisbane
Two new appointments have been made to bolster the projects team at Ashurst in Brisbane.

Partners Alex Guy and Dan Brown were previously with DLA Piper where Guy was the head of their finance and projects practice group in Brisbane.

Ashurst’s projects team is currently advising on several large projects including Transport for NSW’s Sydney Metro Project; Sydney Motorway Corporation on the A$14.9 billion WestConnex motorway project; and WSA Co in respect of the development of Sydney's second airport.

Former HSF India practice chief joins Squire Patton Boggs
Squire Patton Boggs has strengthened its London-based India practice with a senior hire.

Nimi Patel joins as a director of the practice with many years of experience including twenty as head of the India practice at Herbert Smith Freehills which she launched in 1994, growing it to a market leader.

The practice has more than 50 lawyers across the globe including Singapore, Hong Kong, and Shanghai.

Ambassador Frank Wisner, former US Ambassador to India and international affairs advisor at the firm, says that Ms. Patel’s appointment underlines the firm’s ambition for the continued growth of its India Practice.

“We have developed a high-quality inbound and outbound practice to assist Indian clients globally on legal, public policy and regulatory matters, which, we believe, sets us apart from other international firms. The fact that someone of Nimi’s calibre has chosen to join us is perhaps the best endorsement of our achievements to date.”