Asialaw Profiles
The Guide to the legal markets of the Asia-Pacific

Clayton Utz rebounded strongly from the partner defections the previous year with the hiring of Andrew Jinks from Allens Arthur Robinson. “Andrew is a special talent that is always great to see on the opposite side,” says one competitor.

Clients of the firm have found the team to be “very good operators” with the knowledge to provide “high quality advice”. One international client praises the team as being especially “knowledgeable in its field in Australia”, and “very good for my local market”.

The team acted for a syndicate of 10 lenders on a A$1 billion syndicated term loan and revolving credit facilities to SPI (Australia) Assets (SPIAA), a subsidiary of Singapore Power Limited (SPL). The facilities were secured by a guarantee from SPL. They were to be used for the repayment and cancellation of part of an existing US$3.7 billion SPIAA facility and for the financing of SPIAA’s general corporate requirements.

“I find the Clayton Utz M&A team to be committed and professional,” says one satisfied client. “Senior partner Rod Halstead impresses me with his dedication, mastery of all the key issues in a transaction, and his attention to detail. He has extensive experience and a good grasp of Australian market practice.”

Another client reserves praise for Halstead’s colleague, partner Karen Evans-Cullen. “She is similarly dedicated and is technically very good. She is a very capable and efficient operator, and she fits our work style which has a tendency to demand instant answers.”

The team advised AMP Limited on its US$15.1 billion merger with AXA Asia Pacific.

Clayton Utz retains its top tier position after another strong year. A client of the firm says: “The Clayton Utz team has extremely talented lawyers and is very knowledgeable in the construction field.”

Sydney-based partner Doug Jones is “one of the best structural lawyers in Australia” says one client, while a rival lawyer gives praise for Jones’ “diligent work on major infrastructure matters”.

A major highlight for the team was its role on the Peninsula Link project, which is a 25 kilometre road link in Victoria, Australia. The firm is advising on all legal aspects of the project. This includes strategic and commercial advice on the delivery method, which is a first for PPP road projects in Australia, and the payment mechanism.

The Clayton Utz dispute team had a busy year acting in high profile cases. For example, it advised Merrill Lynch in proceedings brought by Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings in the Federal Court arising from the failed sale of an iron sands mine in New Zealand for US$209 million.

Another deal highlight was representing ASIC in relation to civil proceedings brought against 12 defendants. This is a leading case on the duties of directors and officers. It is also the first case to establish that ASIC’s duty of fairness in civil penalty proceedings extends to calling witnesses to give evidence in certain circumstances.

“The Clayton Utz energy and natural resources team is outstanding”, says one client. This “very knowledgeable” practice excels at all sectors across the energy and natural resources sector. “It is just a very high calibre energy team supported by high quality practitioners in all the key areas,” says another client.

The team acted for Origin Energy on the security and financing aspects of its US$3.51 billion acquisition of the retail businesses Integral Energy and Country Energy, and the entry into GenTrader arrangements with Eraring Energy.

Another highlight was advising Canadian-based Anatolia Minerals Development on its merger with Avoca Resources via a scheme of arrangement.

Clayton Utz’s ability to provide “excellent and relevant trade mark law advice” keeps this premier firm in the upper echelons, says one client. “The firm’s IP team finds innovative solutions to complex problems.”

The firm houses a team full of talented individuals, including partner John Collin who “tailors his advice to address our business and strategic business requirements”, says another client.

The firm advised Free TV Australia in Copyright Tribunal proceedings commenced by Phonographic Performance Company of Australia. PPCA grants licences on behalf of record labels and Australian recording artists. The proceedings related to a licensing scheme for the television broadcast of commercial sound recordings in Australia.

The team was also acted for Amgen in defending patent revocation proceedings brought by Hospira concerning a patent owned by Amgen.

The Clayton Utz TMT team “delivers pragmatic, innovative and high quality advice”, says one client. The team has extensive resources upon which it can draw to provide services of the highest standards.

“Our experiences with law firms in Australia is that they are not fully resourced to handle the work we require, but Clayton Utz is one of the few firms that does have the capability”, says one international client. “It has been working with us for the last year and partner Jim FitzSimons is a specialist in IT work.”

The team is advising Australia’s state-owned broadband company NBN on two separate acquisitions of broadband networks, with a combined value of US$13.4 billion. The deal is part of a 10 year US$41 billion project to revamp Australia’s broadband internet access.

The Clayton Utz labour and employment team is first rate. “We find the firm to be efficient with a good understanding of the law,” says one client.

Partner Joe Catanzariti leads the practice, and is “highly regarded as one of Australia’s foremost experts in this field”, adds another client.

The firm has a labour and employment network that spans its multi-jurisdictional M&A capability. It is able to advise clients on a full range of services in connection with Hong Kong and China labour and employment law and employee relocation. The firm’s litigation team is also an asset to those clients that find themselves involved in high stakes labour disputes.