KWM appoints new M&A and tax group head
Sydney-based King & Wood Mallesons partner Michael Barker has been appointed as managing partner of the firm’s M&A and tax practices in Australia.

Barker (pictured), who has been a partner at KWM for the past nine years, will step into the new role on 1 January. He replaces Tim Bednall, who recently relocated to the UK to join the firm’s M&A practice in London.
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KWM has also appointed two partners to its Australian executive team: David Friedlander, who will become head of public M&A, and Mark McNamara, who will take on the role of head of private equity.
Lawyers Weekly recently broke the news that KWM had recruited another senior partner to its executive committee – former head of Henry Davis York, Sharon Cook.
Last month, KWM made two more lateral hires from rival firms, poaching M&A partner Heath Lewis from Clayton Utz and industrial relations and employment law partner Jamie Wells from Allens, which was exclusively reported by Lawyers Weekly.
The global firm also lost a handful of senior legal and executive staff earlier this year, including construction partner Adam Wallwork, senior associate Natalie Kurdian and head of client development Halina Kochanowicz.