Leading independent Australian law firm HWL Ebsworth Lawyers has announced the appointment of Ailbhe Kirrane, James Lonie and Sophie Given as partners within its Insurance, Commercial and Litigation teams.
Ailbhe Kirrane joins the firm’s Melbourne Insurance team from Lander & Rogers where she was a partner.
Ailbhe’s has extensive experience in advising insurers in relation to directors’ and officers’ insurance, financial lines, professional indemnity and public liability.
Prior to joining Lander & Rogers, Ailbhe practiced in Ireland, having been admitted there as a solicitor and also a tax advisor.
James Lonie joins the firm’s Sydney Commercial team from Holding Redlich where he was also a partner.
James is a highly experienced transactional corporate partner specialising in mergers and acquisitions, funds management and equity capital markets, with a particular focus on the financial services industry.
James also often advises boards on regulatory and corporate governance issues.
Sophie Given joins the firm’s Litigation team in Sydney from Sparke Helmore where she was a Special Counsel.
Sophie specialises in government and administrative law, primarily in Commonwealth jurisdictions and Commissions of Inquiry, and regularly appears for government agencies in matters that are the subject of judicial review.
Prior to joining Sparke Helmore, Sophie acted as Principal Legal Officer, Case Studies at the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, and also practiced at the New South Wales Bar for almost a decade.
“The appointments of Ailbhe, Sophie and James to our three largest Practice Groups are a clear indication that we are continuing to seek growth opportunities in areas of importance to our national and international clients, notwithstanding our rapid growth over the last ten years” said Juan Martinez, HWL Ebsworth Managing Partner.
“Many people have queried me about our ultimate ambition in terms of partnership size. Our unique model enables us to continue to grow without risking the sustainability of our business. For that reason, we have no need to place a limit on our future growth. Our existing team members have the ability to progress within the firm in the absence of any artificial ceilings, and we also have the capacity to welcome high quality lateral recruits that are culturally aligned to our firm and our clients. Ailbhe, Sophie and James each demonstrate that outstanding opportunities continue to become available to us” added Juan.
Note to Editors:
HWL Ebsworth is the largest legal partnership in Australia according to the most recent partnership surveys published by The Australian and the Australian Financial Review.
Following the abovementioned appointment, the firm will comprise 1,002 staff including: 198 Partners, 491 other legal staff and 313 support staff across offices in nine locations – Adelaide, Alice Springs, Brisbane, Canberra, Darwin, Melbourne, Norwest (North West Sydney), Perth and Sydney.
HWL Ebsworth is an independent, nationally integrated, full service commercial law firm, providing tailored and commercially oriented legal services.
HWL Ebsworth operates a different business model to the other leading national law practices, and this allows us to offer unrivalled value for money without compromising quality and service. Our low ratio of solicitors to partners ensures that our clients receive optimal access to partner resources for all matters.
For further information, please contact:
Russell Mailler, National Marketing Manager (03) 8644 3569 or rmailler@hwle.com.au.