Lavan is very pleased to announce that our lawyers have been recognised in The Best Lawyers in Australia™ (2025 Edition) and Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in Australia™ (2025 Edition) confirming Lavan’s long standing reputation as a leading, independent Western Australian law firm.
We are delighted that two of our senior partners have received Best Lawyers™ highly prestigious ‘Lawyer of the Year’ awards in 2025.
Property & Leasing partner, Peter Beekink has been awarded Best Lawyers ‘Lawyer of the Year’ for the category of ‘Leasing Law (Perth)’ and Planning & Environment partner, Craig Wallace has been awarded Best Lawyers ‘Lawyer of the Year’ for the category of ‘Land Use and Zoning Law (Perth)’.
These awards are particularly significant as they are presented to a single lawyer in each practice area and geographic region. Recognition by Best Lawyers is based on peer review and reflects the high calibre of the award winner’s legal work.
Commenting on the announcement of the awards by the Best Lawyers, managing partner Dean Hely said:
“I would like to congratulate Peter and Craig on these significant and very well-deserved awards which represent the great esteem in which they are held by the legal profession. As an independent, Western Australian law firm, Lavan is always proud to have our partners acknowledged as outstanding legal practitioners. Both Peter and Craig consistently deliver excellent legal advice and these awards acknowledge the complex and large-scale work that our Property and Planning teams undertake for their clients.
We are also particularly proud to see so many of our partners, special counsel and senior associates recognised by Best Lawyers across multiple practice areas. It is very pleasing to see Lavan lawyers making their mark in the ‘Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in Australia’ listings. Congratulations to everyone on their achievements.“
The full list of Lavan lawyers who have been recognised by Best Lawyers in their 2025 editions is below:
Real Property Law
Leasing Law
Employee Benefits Law and Labour and Employment Law
Occupational Health and Safety Law
Planning and Environmental Law
Land Use and Zoning Law
Insurance Law and Privacy and Data Security Law
Alternative Dispute Resolution and Litigation
Insolvency & Reorganisation Law
Construction/Infrastructure Law
Mergers and Acquisitions Law
Family Law
Lavan is very proud to announce the launch of our Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan 2024–2026.
Our firm’s longstanding vision for reconciliation continues to be to work alongside Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to build relationships that create strong, connected and economically active communities. The focus of our latest RAP is to refresh and innovate our approach to reconciliation to take in to account the five dimensions of reconciliation including race relations, equality and equity, institutional integrity, historical acceptance and unity.
To celebrate the launch, Lavan was honoured to have respected Wadjuk Noongar Elder Prof Simon Forrest deliver the Welcome to Country at an event organised by our Reconicilation Action Plan committee. Staff and guests were entertained by the very talented Dylan Shillito who played on the didgeridoo. Other notable guests attending the event included Roni Forrest (RAP Committee Advisor), Marc Beattie from Urbis, Peter Docker and Maitland Schnaars from Yirra Yaakin Theatre Company, and former partner Dan Mossenson.
A specially commissioned artwork symbolising Lavan's vision for reconciliation was created by Rosie Paine, a Yilka, Wongutha, Noongar and Yamatji artist, living on Noongar country. This stunning image features on the cover of Lavan's Innovate Reconiliation Action Plan 2024-2026. The full plan can be found via this link.
Lavan is excited to announce the following promotions and appointments effective from January 2024.
In the past six months, we have also been pleased to welcome the following new practitioners to the firm:
On their promotions and appointments we congratulate:
James Barrett, on his promotion to senior associate in Lavan’s Litigation & Dispute Resolution team. Since joining the firm as an associate in 2021, James has been recognised for his outstanding contributions to the Litigation & Dispute Resolution team. James specialises in complex commercial disputes with domestic and international clients across multiple sectors.
Adri Lock, on her appointment to senior associate in Lavan’s Property & Leasing team. Adri joined Lavan as a senior associate in our Property & Leasing team in November 2023. Adri practices in all areas of property law, with a particular focus on commercial office and retail leasing. She has acted for several large commercial landlord and tenant clients.
Malini Tanabalan, on her appointment to senior associate in Lavan’s Restructuring & Insolvency team. Malini joined the Restructuring & Insolvency team in September 2023 as a senior associate. Malini has extensive experience in debt recovery matters and has acted for banks, commercial lenders, and debt recovery agencies in this area.
Jay Bebbington, on his promotion to associate in Lavan’s Property & Leasing team. Jay is a vital member of the firm and the Property & Leasing team. He has maintained a broad practice across different areas including developments, asset acquisitions, disposals and commercial, retail and NDIS specialist disability accommodation leasing. Jay also sits on Lavan’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee.
Jack Hely, on his promotion to associate in Lavan’s Property & Leasing team. A member of the Property & Leasing team since 2021, Jack utilises his legal knowledge to provide pragmatic solutions to supervisors, colleagues and clients. As a transactional lawyer, he understands the importance of identifying commercial issues, and providing practical advice for clients.
Ben Kruize, on his promotion to associate in Lavan’s Corporate Services team. Since joining the firm in 2020, Ben has been an integral part of Lavan and the Corporate Services team. Ben specialises in mergers & acquisitions, energy projects & regulatory matters and general corporate advisory matters. Ben also regularly assists not-for-profit entities with the obtaining of charitable registration with the ACNC and DGR endorsement with the ATO.
Regina Nunag, on her promotion to associate in Lavan’s Construction & Infrastructure team. A member of the Lavan team since 2021, Regina goes above and beyond to meet client expectations and is an essential member of the Construction & Infrastructure team. Regina specialises in civil construction and residential building disputes including adjudication, arbitration, mediation and litigation. She is actively involved in firm life as co-president of Rostrum Club and a member of the Community Committee.
Jethro Schoeman, on his promotion to associate in Lavan’s Litigation & Dispute Resolution team. Jethro's broad litigation experience includes contractual disputes, board disputes regarding ASX listed entities, criminal matters, NDIS appeals, trust disputes and corporate governance issues. Jethro is recognized in the Litigation & Dispute Resolution team as reliable, commercially astute, and hard working.
Amanda Soh, on her promotion to associate in Lavan’s Restructuring & Insolvency team. A member of the Restructuring & Insolvency team since 2020, Amanda's strong technical skills and commitment to expanding her knowledge has rightfully earned a reputation in the team as being reliable, diligent and accessible. Amanda takes ownership of her work and is willing to go above and beyond for the team, the firm and our clients.
Nemanja Stepanovic, on his promotion to associate in Lavan’s Construction & Infrastructure team. Nemanja is a committed and resourceful member of the Construction & infrastructure team. Nemanja shows initiative, ensures he meets required deadlines and takes ownership for the delivery and outcome of the work he is involved in. Nemanja’s promotion to associate reflects his solid legal knowledge and commercial nous.
Commenting on these promotions and appointments, managing partner Dean Hely said:
“On behalf of the partners and everyone at Lavan, I am delighted to congratulate these outstanding lawyers on their promotions and appointments.
Each of these highly qualified practitioners are skilled at navigating legal situations, from simple to the complex. They have shown a real commitment to their practice, the firm and our wider society.”
Lavan is delighted to announce that Family Law partners Framy Anne Browne and Jorja Brady have both been recognised in the Doyle’s Guide Leading Family & Divorce Lawyers – Western Australia, 2024. Jorja Brady has also been listed as Recommended in Leading Family Lawyers (High-Value & Complex Property Matters) – Western Australia, 2024.
Congratulations also go to Family Law associate Alistair Graham, who has been recognised by Doyle’s Guide as a Family Law Rising Star - Western Australia, 2024. Lavan has also been listed as a Leading Family & Divorce Law firm in Western Australia 2024.
These recognitions reflect the extensive experience and talent of Lavan’s Family Law team and acknowledge the high quality of complex work that they undertake for their clients.
Lavan is pleased to have advised Tassal, Australia’s largest vertically integrated seafood grower, in its acquisition and restructure of MPA Fish Farms Pty Ltd and MPA Marketing Pty Ltd (“MPA”), which operate Australia’s only ocean-based barramundi farm at Cone Bay, Western Australia through a deed of company arrangement.
Lavan’s deal team was led by restructuring partners Joe Abberton and Leith Ayres, finance partner Ben Fong, and property partner Tamara Heng. The deal team was supported by Amanda Soh, Michael Pendlebury, Aleisha Anderson and Piper Higgins.
The Lavan team was assisted by deals advisor Kordamentha and their team ably led by Richard Tucker, Craig Shepard and Jared Palandri.
Lavan would like to thank the administrator team at McGrathNicol led by Rob Kirman, Rob Brauer and Mark Knight and their legal advisors at Clayton Utz, led by special counsel Rebecca Hanrahan and partner Alistair Fleming for their hard work and assistance in achieving an expedited result that delivers a superior outcome for creditors, secures more than 50 local jobs in the Kimberley region, and provides a future for sustainably grown barramundi in WA.
The restructure and transaction, necessary to save the fish-stock, would not have been possible without the support of secured creditor National Australia Bank (Vic Yaschenko) and its legal advisors NRF (Jeff Black) and feed supplied Skretting (Joe Tidey).
Given Tassal’s successful turnaround of Australia’s salmon and prawn industries, Lavan is excited to be part of Tassal’s turnaround of the barramundi industry in Western Australia.
Lavan is delighted to announce our most recent appointments and promotions. The well-earned promotions to special counsel of Michael Jensen in our Employment, Safety & Education team and Stephanie Tan in our Litigation & Dispute Resolution team are a true reflection of their market-leading legal expertise.
Since joining the firm in 1995, Michael Jensen's considerable expertise in employment and workplace & safety related matters has been highly valued and respected.
Stephanie Tan advises clients on all areas of litigation law and has significant experience with general commercial disputes including in the areas of corporate law, insolvency, construction, insurance and local government.
In the past six months, we have also been pleased to welcome the following senior staff: partner Leith Ayres and senior associate Abhinav Sharma to our Restructuring & Insolvency team, partner Jorja Brady and associate Alistair Graham to our Family Law team, associate Kate Daniels to our Aged Care, Seniors Living & Disability team, associate Calvin Warries to our Employment, Safety & Education team and Hal Jenkins as Chief Information Officer to our Executive team.
Full details of the promotions and appointments are below.
Lavan is excited to welcome respected practitioner Leith Ayres as a partner in our leading Restructuring & Insolvency team. Leith has worked with some of Australia’s largest financial institutions and insolvency practitioners in a notable career that spans more than 30 years.
Jorja Brady joined Lavan in Feburary as a partner in our Family Law team. Jorja specialises in the management of complicated financial and parenting matters in the Family Court with a particular interest in financial cases involving substantial asset pools, including matters with complex company, trust, partnership, and valuation issues.
Abhinav Sharma joins Lavan's Restructuring & Insolvency team as a senior associate. Abhinav practises in all areas of restructuring and insolvency law and has significant experience in insolvency investigations, recoveries and litigation as well as corporate restructuring and turnaround.
Lavan welcomes Kate Daniels as an associate to our Aged Care, Seniors Living & Disability team. Kate is a commercial lawyer providing specialised legal and strategic advice to clients in disability services, aged care, retirement and lifestyle villages, community housing, not-for-profit and Indigenous corporations.
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Alistair Graham joins Lavan's Family Law team as an associate. Alistair specialises in all areas of family law and wills and estate matters. Alistair is experienced in complex financial matters including those involving intricate business trust structures and high net worth individuals. |
Calvin Warries joins Lavan as an associate in our Employment, Safety & Education team. Calvin is an experienced commercial, dispute resolution and litigation lawyer who manages all aspects of the employment relationship from engagement to termination.
Lavan is happy to welcome back Hal Jenkins into a new role of Chief Information Officer. Hal's expertise in the cyber and technology space will play a key part in driving the firm to provide focussed IT solutions to benefit our staff and clients.
Commenting on these promotions and appointments, managing partner Dean Hely said: “On behalf of the partners and everyone at Lavan, I am delighted to congratulate these outstanding lawyers and senior executives on their promotions and appointments. Lavan is extremely fortunate to have welcomed so many accomplished professionals to the firm in the last six months and I am excited for what the future holds for the firm as we strive to make a real difference together."
Lavan is very pleased to welcome respected practitioner Leith Ayres as a partner in our leading Restructuring & Insolvency team.
Leith is a highly regarded litigator with extensive experience in complex insolvency matters, dispute resolution and corporate finance.
Leith has worked with some of Australia’s largest financial institutions and insolvency practitioners in a notable career that spans more than 30 years. His practice encompasses many areas of corporate finance including financial services and business structuring. Leith is a specialist in insolvency and reconstruction, and regularly acts in insolvency and general commercial proceedings in the Supreme Court of Western Australia and the Federal Court of Australia.
Managing partner Dean Hely commented: “I am delighted to announce Leith’s appointment as a partner at Lavan. Leith will bring valuable additional depth to our experienced Restructuring & Insolvency team as well as our Litigation team and will add greatly to our capacity to handle large, complex matters, ensuring our clients’ interests are in excellent hands at all times.”
Restructuring & Insolvency partner Joseph Abberton said: “Leith is a well-respected practitioner with a significant amount of restructuring experience who will add to the strength and depth of our team. He will be a great addition and help us to continue to deliver the best outcomes for our clients. The team is very much looking forward to having Leith on board."
Lavan is pleased to share that respected legal directory Doyle’s Guide has ranked Lavan as a First Tier firm in its 2023 listing for Property & Real Estate Law.
Partner Peter Beekink has once more been ranked as a preeminent lawyer for Property & Real Estate Law in Western Australia, a title he has held since 2015, as well as being recognised as a leading lawyer for his work in Leasing Law.
We are also pleased to share that partner Tamara Heng has been recognised as a leading lawyer in both Leasing Law and Property & Real Estate Law. Other recognitions include partner Tim Morgan as a leading Property & Real Estate lawyer, and partner Anka Burns who has been recommended for her work in Property & Real Estate Law. Special counsel Rebekah O’Brien has been recognised as a leading Leasing lawyer.
Congratulations also go to special counsel Jennifer Tropiano who has been recognised as a 2023 Rising Star for Property & Real Estate Law in WA.
These recognitions for so many of our Property team members are testament not only to Lavan’s high-level expertise in this area of law, but also to our continued development of talented lawyers in the real estate market.
Lavan is delighted to announce that we have again been recognised by respected international legal directory The Best Lawyers in Australia™ for the experience and expertise of our lawyers.
The latest rankings demonstrate Lavan’s deserved reputation as a leading Western Australian law firm. Best Lawyers has listed 22 of our partners and lawyers across 14 different categories. and has also recognised seven Lavan lawyers in The Best Lawyers in Australia: Ones to Watch™.
Commenting on the results, Lavan managing partner Dean Hely said "It is very pleasing to see Lavan recognised in The Best Lawyers in Australia 2024 rankings. This prestigious listing reflects Lavan’s pre-eminence across practice areas. We are particularly proud to see so many of our younger lawyers making their mark and congratulate them on their personal success and excellent contributions to Lavan. Recognition in Best Lawyers is a significant acknowledgement of the high quality of work the Lavan team consistently produces for our valued clients."
The full list of the Lavan lawyers recognised in the 2024 directory includes:
Real Property Law
Leasing Law
Employee Benefits Law and Labour & Employment Law
Occupational Health and Safety Law
Planning & Environmental Law
Land Use & Zoning Law
Insurance, Litigation, Privacy and Data Security Law
Insolvency & Reorganisation Law
Construction/Infrastructure Law
Mergers and Acquisitions Law
Family Law
Best Lawyers is the oldest and most respected peer review publication in the legal profession globally. Inclusion in Best Lawyers is a considerable honour and is conferred on a lawyer by his or her peers. These latest results would not be possible without the relationships Lavan shares with our trusted clients. The work we do with them and their continued support is greatly appreciated by everyone at Lavan.
Lavan is delighted to announce that respected legal directory Doyle’s Guide has once again ranked Lavan as a First Tier firm in Western Australia for Planning and Environment Law in their 2023 rankings.
Identified by clients and peers for their market-leading expertise, we are proud to announce that Paul McQueen has been ranked as a preeminent lawyer, Craig Wallace as a leading lawyer and Alex McGlue has been recognised as a recommended lawyer.
Congratulations also goes to Isabella Mosole who has once again been recognised as a Rising Star for Planning and Environment Law in WA.
These recognitions are testament to Lavan’s market-leading expertise in planning and environment law and the complex work we continue to undertake with our trusted clients.
