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

Blake Dawson houses a leading labour and employment practice. “This is the only legal firm we use for employment issues,” says a client.

The team is led by Melbourne-based partner Richard Bunting, who is described by one client as “extremely knowledgeable and able to help significantly with transactions”.

The team last year advised PetroChina on employment and industrial relations issues relating to its joint bid with Shell for the Australian operations of Arrow Energy. This was the first significant Australian acquisition for this Chinese state-owned entity, and the deal was the largest Chinese joint venture bid in Australian corporate history.

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.

Freehills retains its status in the top tier with its labour and employment team having enjoyed strong year. One client of the firm says: “It finds solutions for difficult problems and it offers solutions that I had not thought of.”

Partner Graham Smith is “an exceptional lawyer that provides excellent advice and manages difficult situations very well”, says a competitor. Smith is respected by peers as “a skilled practitioner”.

“The firm’s ability in projects to draw on its depth in Australia and internationally allows DLA Piper to provide a range of innovate advice,” says one client. “The firm’s labour and employment team has very consistent depth of knowledge and technical expertise.”

Partner Allan Drake-Brockman has a “breadth of experience while also maintaining an integrated approach on how legal services are provided,” says another client. “He seems to strike the right balance.”

The team is led by Simon Billing, who successfully defended ASX-listed iron ore mining company Fortescue Metals Group against 18 criminal charges brought under the Western Australia Occupational Safety and Health Act.

The firm also acted for Melbourne’s internationally renowned Alfred Hospital in defending a US$32.5 million defamation and unfair dismissal claim brought by its former Head of Trauma surgeon Dr Thomas Kossmann.

Harmers Workplace Lawyers “is highly professional and its standards are very high”, says one client.

“Michael Harmer, Sandra Max, Irma Prichard are absolutely brilliant,” comments another client. “Their professionalism and standard of advice is top tier. And James Robertson and Greg Robertson are also both wonderful to work with.”

Acting for Kristy Fraser-Kirk in the high profile sexual harassment case against David Jones and its former CEO, the team achieved its pro-bono objective in its punitive damages claim by gaining corporate reform and awareness in the area. The team was also able to recover compensation in damages that was far in excess of any precedent.

Norton Rose defended David Jones and its directors in the sexual harassment claim brought against them by former employee Kristy Fraser-Kirk. This was arguably the most highly publicised sexual harassment case in Australian history and one of the most significant pieces of litigation at the time.

Another highlight was acting for McDonald’s in its successful appeal to the Full Bench of Fair Work Australia, which allowed for the approval of an enterprise agreement covering 80,000 employees. The agreement was designed to establish streamlined and uniform conditions of employment in areas that had previously been affected by different State-based instruments.

Justitia

Justitia is a boutique law firm in Melbourne dedicated to employment and work place related matters. It represented a Victorian statutory authority in a matter concerning allegations of discrimination on the grounds of disability and religious belief in the Victorian Civil & Administration Tribunal.