Resources specialists Paul Harley and Sarah O’Brien-Smith have joined Thomson Geer as partners, along with a mining tenement management team led by Yvette Collins, bolstering Thomson Geer’s six-partner Perth corporate team. 

Mr Harley advises on transactions, operations and the full range of issues faced by mining and energy companies and infrastructure providers in project development, including acquisition, structuring, tenure, native title, financing and commercial dealings.

Ms O’Brien-Smith handles all commercial, transactional and litigious matters that can affect mining and energy companies. Her experience includes advising on sale and purchase agreements for exploration and mining projects, farm-in and joint venture agreements, split commodity/mineral rights agreements, royalty deeds, access and compensation deeds and operational contracts, such as mining services contracts and offtake agreements. 

Samantha Brooks and Ruth Kooy also join the firm as associates, as well as tenement managers Rachel Ramsden, Charis Bloomer and Kate Goodwin.

The eight new appointments bring deep sector knowledge to the firm, complementing the corporate team’s extensive transactional experience.

In recent months, there have been a string of BigLaw firms poaching teams and sets of partners from their rivals in the big end of town.

These include Wotton + Kearney’s adding of a team from Corrs Chambers Westgarth in mid-January and its taking of a team from MinterEllison the following week, K&L Gates appointing three partners from HWL Ebsworth in December and then another partner and four more lawyers from the same firm in late January, and Bartier Perry taking four partners from mid-tier firm Coleman Greig earlier in February.

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These latest developments follow a string of poachings in Perth in 2022, the sum of which was reported by way of an in-depth exploration of the West Australian market in November.

Since joining Thomson Geer in 2020, the firm’s Perth corporate team has been focused on establishing itself as a leading corporate practice in the mining and energy sectors, according to chief executive partner Adrian Tembel.

“Paul, Sarah, Yvette and the team add very important capabilities for us. We are deeply embedded in the vibrant, world-class West Australian mining and energy ecosystem, and we are very pleased with our work in the sector’s transactional activity,” he said.

“Since establishing our office in Perth in 2019, building up a mining and energy services team has been a priority of us, and we’re delighted Paul, Sarah, Yvette and [the] team have joined us. We know them well, and we see many attractive synergies they can bring to the firm.”

The firm’s new tenement management service offering will be known as TG Mining Title Services — and will help Australian and international companies to manage their mining titles, including applications, objections, compliance, due diligence, transfers and reporting.

The Thomson Geer Perth office had grown from 25 people when it opened to 60 now, with the new appointments bringing the firm’s national partnership to 139.

“Perth has become an important part of our national capability,” Mr Tembel added.