Headed by well-regarded partners Tom Story and Mark Malinas, market leader Allens delivers 'high-quality advice' to clients navigating boardroom and regulatory issues on a global and domestic basis. The team is well versed in advising private equity sponsors across the investment life cycle, from establishment through to eventual exit, and makes use of legal tech to maximise efficient services for its clients. The department is home to Guy Alexander, who has over 25 years of experience in the field, as well as Vijay Cugati and Richard Kriedemann. The team is further enhanced by Emin Altiparmak and Noah Obradovic, who leverage their expertise in private equity transactions.

Headed by Costas Condoleon, Gilbert + Tobin remains the trusted advisor to many of the most prominent corporates operating in Australia; the team fields 'exceptionally smart lawyers' and is equipped to provide an end-to-end service to their domestic and international clients. The department is home to renowned specialists Peter Cook, who has over 25 years of experience in the industry, and Rachael Bassil, who has notable expertise across private equity and equity capital markets transactions. Seasoned advisor Tim Gordon is another key practitioner, advising on both the regulatory and commercial aspects of transactions, in addition to Karen Evans-Cullen, whose knowledge spans the full range of corporate governance issues.

With deep expertise in public M&A, the team at Herbert Smith Freehills LLP advises on deals across a wide range of jurisdictions, benefiting from the firm's extensive office network. Its work also covers private equity deals in the energy, natural resources and infrastructure sectors. The Melbourne office corporate team, led by Carolyn Pugsley, is home to the highly experienced Baden Furphy and Rodd Levy. The well-known Philippa Stone leverages her expertise in privatisations and corporate reconstructions for listed companies. Stone works from the Sydney office, where key practitioners Tony Damian, Rebecca Maslen-Stannage, Damien Hazard and Andrew Rich are also based.

The corporate and M&A team at King & Wood Mallesons, led by practice heads David Eliakim and Rachael Lewis, has the size and resources to deal with a large volume of mining-related private equity and M&A work, and is 'differentiated by its deep knowledge of the clients it acts for'. The Sydney office is home to David Friedlander and top M&A and equity capital markets lawyer Meredith Paynter, who heads the firm’s market-leading food and agribusiness sector team. Jason Watts and Peter Stirling operate from the Melbourne office, in addition to Nicola Charlston, who plays a key role in the firm’s expansion into the health sector.

From its offices in Sydney and Melbourne, Ashurst advises on numerous high-profile deals across the real estate, private equity and infrastructure sectors and - in line with the social impetus towards clean energy - has increasingly been working on projects surrounding renewables. The team has been bolstered by the arrival of partners Neil Pathak and Susannah Macknay from Gilbert + Tobin. Pathak now shares leadership of the practice with John Brewster and Anton Harris. Other names to note include skilled practitioners Phil Breden, who specialises in construction, manufacturing and gaming, and Mark Stanbridge, who has over 25 years of experience advising on local and cross-border transactions.

With offices in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth, Clayton Utz fields a national practice with over 130 corporate M&A and capital markets lawyers nationwide. Stephanie Daveson leads the team and draws on over 25 years of experience advising on restructuring and demergers, public and private M&A, and equity capital market transactions. Within the Sydney office, Rory Moriarty handles corporate M&A and capital markets, while Niro Ananda and Johan Pietersz deal with private equity transactions. The team is highly sought after by key players both within the Australian market and across the Asia Pacific region.

Fielding over 70 specialists across four national offices, the group at Corrs Chambers Westgarth handles public and private M&A, private equity and corporate governance on both a national and global level. The team attracts mandates from across the real estate, agribusiness, TMT and financial services sectors, and – with the additions of Tracey Greenaway and Anthony Lepere – has seen a further increase in activity in the energy and natural resources space. Sandy Mak heads the firm’s corporate and private equity team, assisting a wide range of local and international clients with foreign investments, equity raisings, buy-backs and restructurings. Also practising from the Sydney office are M&A and PE experts Riccardo Casali and Glen Sauer, who handle cross-border transactions, namely acquisitions, restructurings and divestments.

A&O Shearman, with bases in Perth and Sydney, advises on public and private M&A transactions across Australia, Asia and further afield, drawing on its broad network of offices. The team stands out in particular for its in-depth sector knowledge of energy and TMT. Practice head Aaron Kenavan advises on complex corporate transactions across a breadth of industries and jurisdictions; he has over 20 years of experience in the field, as does Michael Parshall.

Headquartered in Melbourne and Sydney, Arnold Bloch Leibler’s corporate and M&A practice attracts ASX-listed companies, large Australian private corporations and international players. The firm is a first point of contact for publicly listed companies which come under attack from short sellers, or when shareholder activist campaigns are being contemplated. The team is co-headed by Jonathan Wenig, whose practice and expertise spans the breadth of commercial and corporate law, and shareholder activism expert Jeremy Leibler. Other names to note include Jason van Grieken, who specialises in venture capital, and Scott Phillips, whose focus lies within the fields of real estate and funds management.

With expertise spanning from financial services right through to intellectual property, the team at Baker McKenzie LLP offer a full-service M&A practice. Department heads Lance Sacks and Simon De Young co-chair the transactional practice together, with Sacks handling M&A and De Young focusing on private equity. The practice is further bolstered by Richard Lustig, head of mergers and acquisitions, and the highly regarded Kate Jefferson, who is well versed in high-profile and cross-border takeovers, mergers and schemes of arrangement.

Offering an end-to-end M&A experience, the team at Clifford Chance attracts a national and global client base and is best known for its ability to adeptly navigate cross-border and multi-jurisdictional transactions. Mark Currell handles work in the energy and resources, education and healthcare sectors, while David Clee deals with work in the real estate and finance sectors. Other names to note include corporate specialists Reuben Van Werkum, Nadia Kalic and Jacob Kahwaji, who practice from the Sydney office.

DLA Piper's group is led by newly appointed practice head Shane Bilardi, an expert in the digital infrastructure, food, agribusiness and life sciences sectors. The team is bolstered by the expertise of Brisbane-based partner Lyndon Masters, who advises on a wide range of multi-jurisdictional deals, including joint ventures and commercial transactions, in addition to non-transactional advice, as well as that of Grant Koch, who has 25 years of experience advising successful private equity funds and corporations on acquisitions, divestments, investments and restructurings in Australia, the Asia Pacific region, the US and the UK. Accordingly, Koch now leads the firm’s private equity practice in Australia.

Led by Paul Vinci in the Perth office, Johnson Winter Slattery has notable expertise across public and private M&A transactions and, due to the strength of its private equity and venture capital offering, is sought out by many leading domestic and international businesses. The deep bench includes James Rozsa, whose strength lies in cross-border mergers and acquisitions as well as capital markets transactions, and Byron Koster, who is known for his work on public M&A.

Minter Ellison is equipped to handle domestic deals and also has notable cross-border capabilities, offering an end-to-end service on a full range of M&A, joint ventures, spin-offs and demergers, private equity, joint ventures and strategic alliances. The team is co-headed by Constantine Boulougouris and Joseph Pace, and the private equity team is led by Kimberley Low, a new addition from Linklaters LLP, London. Other key individuals include Bart Oude-Vrielink, who is sought out by clients for assistance on schemes of arrangement, governance and regulation, and foreign investment, and Jeremy Blackshaw, who has over 30 years’ experience advising on public and private M&A deals.

Under the leadership of Sydney-based partner Bryan Pointon, the corporate group at Norton Rose Fulbright continues to advise on high-value transactions, with a dominant focus on disposals, joint ventures and governance, especially within the energy, natural resources and financial services sectors. Pointon is a senior corporate lawyer with 35 years of experience in M&A and private equity transactions and has headed the corporate team since 2020, during which time he has worked to significantly further the firm’s M&A offering. Marshall Bromwich, in the Brisbane office, is a trusted advisor to domestic and international market leaders alike, while John Elliott draws upon his wealth of experience to act in major transactions for governmental and regulatory bodies.

With a highly experienced team, Hall & Wilcox attracts clients from across a host of industries, and – through its recent expansion into Western Australia – the department has a corporate offering across Australia’s major states. The group includes Oliver Jankowsky, who specialises in high-value cross-border deals, Ed Paton, head of the Southeast Asia desk, and Martin Ross, the sports and entertainment practice leader. Chris Brown and Jacqui Barrett deal with matters overseas, with Brown heading the UK desk and Barrett coordinating the US desk.

Hamilton Locke further deepened its bench with the recent hires of Justin Fox, Clementyne Rawlyk and Kathryn May from Corrs Chambers Westgarth. Fox now heads the Melbourne office, where he continues to guide international investors and ASX-listed companies through their strategic transactions. Brett Heading leads from the Brisbane office and brings over 43 years of experience in property, corporate law and tax planning to the table, while Shaun Hardcastle heads the corporate team in Perth, balancing a busy practice that spans cross-border and domestic transactions, including corporate restructurings, equity capital markets and M&A. Hal Lloyd and Nick Humphrey co-lead the Sydney practice.

Led by practice head Mark Crean in the Sydney office, Jones Day stands out for its full-service global and cross-border transactional offering, which it provides to its Australian client base. The team is regularly sought after to advise on a variety of public company takeovers, restructurings, joint ventures and schemes of arrangement and is particularly active in the real estate, media and financial services sectors.

K&L Gates is known for its national and sector specific expertise across Australia – excelling in education and childcare in Sydney, agribusiness in Brisbane, health and life sciences in Melbourne and sports in Perth – and retains its standing as a go-to mid-market advisor, attracting a wide range of start-ups and fintech companies nationally as well as globally. The team has recently welcomed three new partners, James Lonie, Natalya Hards and Naomi Philp from HWL Ebsworth, into the department. They practice from the Sydney office, while team head Chris Nikou oversees work from the Melbourne office, dealing predominantly with private equity, mergers and acquisitions, franchising and corporate governance.

Lander & Rogers leverages its expertise in mid-market transactions and is highly sought after by clients in the real estate, technology and financial services sectors. Practice head Jackie Solakovski leads from the Melbourne office, routinely advising listed and unlisted companies on commercial agreements, corporate governance and mergers and acquisitions, while David Morris, former partner of KPMG Law in Australia, practices from the Sydney office, where he adeptly navigates cross-border transactions between Australia and the US.

Under the guidance of Brisbane-based partners Damien Clarke and Ben Wood, McCullough Robertson specialises in public and private deals, managing them from start to finish. The team is well versed in dealing with a variety of corporate work, though transactions in the technology, media, natural resources, agribusiness and financial spaces form much of their workload. Other standout lawyers are Reece Walker (in Brisbane) who, with his strong international reputation, is entrusted with a plethora of cross-border deals, in addition to Ben Mortimer (in Sydney), who is the go-to for governmental agencies and financial institutions.

Mills Oakley further strengthened its corporate offering with the recent hire of Gaurav de Fontgalland to its headquarters. The practice fields four skilled practice heads, one in each of its national offices: Tony Symons (Melbourne) is known for his ability to guide founders through full or partial exits to financial or corporate buyers; Gavin Douglas (Sydney) deals primarily with cross-border transactions; Tim Cox (Brisbane) specialises in private equity and joint ventures; and Simon Panegyres (Perth) has expert knowledge of the natural resources sector.

The team at White & Case has grown further with several significant recent hires: Belinda Harvey joined from Norton Rose Fulbright; Stefanie Benson arrived from A&O Shearman; and Caroline Sherrell moved across from the firm's London office. Practice head John Tivey, who specialises in energy and natural resources transactions, co-heads the team from the Melbourne office with Nirangjan Nagarajah, whose client list includes a number of listed companies. In the Melbourne office, Christopher Flynn is called upon to advise domestic and international companies and governments on energy, resources and infrastructure projects.

The corporate and M&A team at Colin Biggers & Paisley is able to draw on the expertise of employment, property, tax and banking experts, offering a complete and multidisciplinary service to SMEs and other companies in mid-market deals. The work is overseen by the Brisbane-based Jon Meadmore, who has extensive experience advising clients on all aspects of mergers, acquisitions, investments, corporate governance and structuring.

Dentons is a go-to advisor for clients seeking assistance in cross-border mergers and acquisitions. The team is co-headed by Sydney-based partner Kym Livesley, who has over 30 years of experience in the industry and is highly sought after in Australia and Asia Pacific alike, and Caroline Snow in Brisbane, who is recognised for her expert advice on complex regulatory, governance and compliance issues. John Mollard leads the mining and natural resources team in Melbourne.

Handling a range of public and private M&A, Gadens Lawyers specialises in technology, health and life sciences, energy and natural resources, financial services and real estate. Newly appointed practice head Jol Rogers advises domestic and international clients across a wide range of sectors, including share and asset acquisitions and disposals, private equity and corporate governance. Other names to note include Clare Miller, Jeremy Smith and Richard Partridge.

The Australia team at Hogan Lovells forms part of a large, global and fully integrated corporate practice. The group assists on a full spectrum of M&A transactions, attracting a wide spread of market-leading multinationals and corporate organisations as well as governmental bodies. The Sydney office is co-headed by David Holland, whose practice spans public takeovers and M&A to corporate governance and compliance, and Charles Bogle, who has in-depth knowledge of infrastructure investment, private equity and direct investments for superannuation funds.

Maddocks regularly acts for clients operating in the energy and mining, financial services, technology and education sectors. It has also recently seen significant growth in work within the health sector. The practice is co-led by Damien Wurzel, who specialises in M&A transactions and advises clients from across Australia as well as the EU and Southeast Asia, and Duncan Hall, who regularly assists a range of privately held corporates and publicly listed companies in joint ventures, compliance and M&A. Other key practitioners include Andrew McNee, who is noted for his expertise in private equity.

Under the leadership of Ewan Robertson, the Melbourne-based team at Pinsent Masons LLP advises on the full range of corporate and commercial matters, including divestments, joint ventures and corporate governance issues, especially within the infrastructure, renewable energy, science and technology spheres. Experienced practitioner Tim Dorgan has been entrusted with some of the largest wind, solar and pumped hydro projects in Australia.

With offices in Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Sydney and Melbourne, the corporate and M&A practice at Piper Alderman attracts clients from across key sectors in the Australian market, including private equity, health and life sciences, and energy and natural recourses. James Dickson has significant experience in corporate structuring as well as mergers, acquisitions and takeovers; he co-leads the group with James Macdonald, who specialises in disposals, venture capital and corporate governance.

Squire Patton Boggs acts for both buyers and sellers on a range of transactions, from mergers and de-mergers to joint ventures and privatisations. The corporate team is renowned for its ability to navigate cross-border transactions, especially those within the technology, energy, media and life sciences sectors. Tony Chong, who leads from Perth, is a first point of contact to a host of domestic and international corporates and high-net-worth individuals.

Thomson Geer is a go-to for mid-market companies seeking help with acquisitions or divestments from across all industry sectors, from natural resources and agriculture to retail and healthcare. Leadership of the firm is shared between four key partners: Dan Kramer, who acts for private equity funds; Matthew Reynolds, who handles corporate advisory within the energy and resources sectors; Adam Brooks, who deals with mergers and acquisitions; and Michael Bowen, who balances a broad range of domestic and cross-border transactions.

Boutique firm Kain Lawyers routinely advises on mid-market transactions, including public and private M&A and reverse takeovers, and is also equipped to advise on corporate disputes. In Sydney, John Kain, the founder and managing director of the firm, has over 25 years of experience in M&A and equity capital markets, and his practice also extends to private equity transactions. Michael Garry and James Burchnall co-lead the group in Adelaide, where they oversee the firm’s public and private M&A offering.

Under the leadership of Sydney-based partner Sally Weatherstone, Sparke Helmore Lawyers' corporate offering spans a wide range of private equity transactions, mergers, acquisitions, buyouts and exits, and is noted for its ability to navigate both the transactional and regulatory aspects of deals. Its client base is likewise varied, consisting of blue-chip companies, private equity sponsors, financial institutions and SMEs.