The firm has also promoted three lawyers to senior associate. Zoe Chung previously worked as a tax consultant at KPMG and spent four years in the tax and commercial group at Arnold Bloch Leibler before joining Middletons. Martin Richardson is a member of the corporate and commercial team where in recent years he has worked with national and international franchise clients. Leh Tan is a member of the firm’s capital markets sub-group and has worked on several major transactions, including IPOs and listings on the Australian Stock Exchange.

Specialist workplace law firm Australian Business Lawyers has appointed Leigh Johns, formerly a senior associate at Malleson Stephen Jaques, as a partner in its Melbourne office. Johns’ practice encompasses workplace relations, equal opportunity and employment law.

MacDonnells Solicitors recently appointed Andrew Evans as a solicitor in its insolvency and debt recovery team. The firm said Evans’ experience includes many facets of insolvency law and he has previously acted for some of Australia’s top companies including CSR, Smorgan ARC and James Hardie. MacDonnells has also appointed Bhaskaran Sivasamy as a solicitor in the firm’s planning and environment team in Cairns. In 2002, Sivasamy relocated to Australia from Singapore and worked for a Sydney law firm after he was admitted as a solicitor in Australia.

Russell Kennedy has appointed Ben Lloyd (commercial litigation) and Solomon Miller (corporate and commercial) as senior associates.

Talbot & Olivier Lawyers has appointed Carolyn Meighan as an associate. She represents clients in commercial litigation and dispute resolution matters, as well as property and general commercial transactions. Darryl Ryan has joined the dispute resolution group as a solicitor. Formerly he worked as a state prosecutor for the WA Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.