Having left Perth in 2004 in a move to London, Lewis was picked up by magic circle firm Slaughter and May, where he specialised in areas such as private equity, equity capital markets, energy and resources, and M&A.

“I am genuinely excited by the prospect of leveraging my first-rate experience, and building a practice during what I believe will be a significant period in Western Australia’s history,” Lewis said.

According to the firm’s partner-in-charge in Perth, Geoff Simpson, the corporate team is enjoying a period of growth.

“Western Australia is experiencing strong growth which is driving activity in a range of sectors,” Simpson said. “[Lewis’] hire reflects our desire to further boost our Perth-based teams to respond to that activity.

“We are getting a strong flow of instructions from both existing and new clients in areas which match [Lewis’] experience, including M&A, energy & resources and private equity.”