Mills Oakley promotes 79, including 4 to partner

The appointments, which will take effect from 1 July 2025, span all practice areas and the firm’s seven offices across Australia.

The newly promoted partners include Andrew Hazer (projects and construction, Sydney), Emma Whitney (planning and environment, Sydney), Tara Plumbe (insurance, Sydney), and Emre Ozgezici (insurance, Melbourne).

This follows 19 lateral partner hires completed during the current financial year, bringing the firm’s total number of partners to 173 as of 1 July.

In addition to its partner promotions, Mills Oakley has also elevated 13 to special counsel, 22 to senior associate and 40 to associate.

The firm's new special counsel: Kylie Seifert, Claire Laizans, Teora Bombek, Taylor Young, Jaqueline Fryar, Laura Glover, Courtney Prior, Enoch Hui, Julide Ayas, June Lee, Luke Stirton, Matthew Skelly, and Kirby Dixon.

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The new senior associates include Lachlan Goddard, Amy Stinson, Dayna Morcus, Edward Cope, Maxwell Hopkins, Nicole Muscat, Russell Buckley, Maria Nazir, Hannah Robbins, Vijay Adithya, William Gordon, Amberley Speak, Bryn De Bes, Emma Clarence, Antonia Marran, Caitlin Cleary, David Cilona, Jacqueline Ziesel, Kate Garnock, Mitchell Gooley, Nicole Mouyat, and Thalia Piperaris.

The firms new associates are Amy Davies, Erin Hill, Georgina Gabrielli, Kirby Carder, Nica Manosca, Riley Huntley, Daniel Page, Alexandra Lean, Amy Lim, Bella Green, Brendan Gonano, Elinor Riley, Eliza Nugent, Gianluca Rossi, Glen Falkenstein, Jami Klisaris, Jessica Gordon, Joshua Leith, Kirra Griffin, Matthew Boxshall, Namita Gosai, Nathan Toner, Olivia Henson-Inkster, Prue Tyson, Zoe Vlahogiannis, Harrison Beaton, Joseph Creese, Aleena Akram, Annabel Cheung, Bronte McAlpin, Chloe Kennedy, Elizabeth Clarke, Gabrielle Croese, Hilda Shlemon, Imogen Scott, Isabella Marriott, Leon Chen, Sajia El Assaad, Somalii Siv, and Tamara James.

The firm also noted that 66 per cent of the lawyers promoted in this round are women.

Speaking about the promotions, Mills Oakley’s chief executive, John Nerurker, said the record-breaking number of promotions reflected both the exceptional talent within the firm and the strength of Mills Oakley’s growth strategy.

“This is a tremendous achievement and a real reflection of the exceptional calibre, hard work and dedication we continue to see across every office and team,” Nerurker said.

“Each of these individuals has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to excellence, client service, and collaboration – qualities that define Mills Oakley. We’re proud to support their continued growth and leadership within the firm.”

This news follows the firm's appointment of five new partners to its Sydney office in late April, hiring two partners from rival firms in the same month, having previously poached a former MinterEllison partner and his Adelaide-based insurance team in February.