Christa Lenard comes from Clayton Utz to join the firm’s Sydney office in the labour & employment group, while Betsy Ann Howe (pictured) joins that office as a tax partner from Sparke Helmore.

The firm’s final new hire is finance partner Alan Maclean, who joins K&L’s Melbourne office from HWL Ebsworth.

K&L Gates’ managing partner Australia, Nick Nichola, commented: “As we continue to grow the K&L Gates brand locally and throughout the region, it is paramount that we have the very best people to work collaboratively with our clients.

 “These five partners are a testament to this, each bringing with them strong capabilities and decades of experience in their respective areas of law.”

Stanton is an experienced corporate lawyer who has worked on award-winning IPOs in the resources sector and advises on corporate law and corporate governance, particularly issues regarding the Corporations Act and ASX Listing Rules, as well as on public and private mergers and acquisitions, due diligence, joint ventures, IPOs, and secondary capital raisings.
Howe is a highly-regarded corporate and international tax and tax controversy lawyer with more than 25 years’ experience. She counsels on tax-effective structured finance transactions and cross-border leasings, along with tax implications for M&A transactions.

Maclean also has more than two-and-a-half decades of experience as a banking & finance lawyer, both in private practice and in-house. He acts predominantly for banks and other financial institutions, and has advised on the financing for some of Melbourne’s most significant property developments and more broadly on leveraged, acquisition and project finance transactions.

Employment lawyers Kennedy and Lenard work with clients on a range of workplace and safety matters across a variety of industries. Kennedy has extensive experience providing strategic advice in employment and industrial relations matters. Before joining K&L Gates, he spent four years working in-house with Newmont, including leading a team of lawyers in Newmont’s Asia-Pacific region.

Lenard advises public sector departments and agencies as well as large and medium private sector companies on a multitude of workplace matters. She has a strong diversity practice, counselling clients on anti-discrimination law, workplace flexibility and equal opportunities.

Nichola added: “We are delighted to welcome these partners to the firm. They will each bolster our service offering both here in Australia and in conjunction with our firm around the world.”