July 2018 has been an historic month for Piper Alderman in Brisbane with a record-breaking five partner promotions and office relocation; topped off with an official new office opening on 19 July with Senator the Hon. Matt Canavan, Minister for Resources and Northern Australia.
On 1 July, the Brisbane office appointed five new partners: Mark Askin, Real Estate; Valerie Blacker, Dispute Resolution; Maria Capati, Commercial; Lillian Rizio, Dispute Resolution and Josh Steele, Corporate. The record-breaking five partner promotions doubled the Brisbane partnership and increased the female partner ratio to 30%.
The new Brisbane partners join an established team of partners including Nick Burkett, Dispute Resolution; Peter Dwyer, Commercial; Andrew Rankin, Corporate; Greg Whyte, Dispute Resolution and Ted Williams, Infrastructure & Projects.
In addition to the partner promotions, the firm also appointed a new special counsel and three associates in the Brisbane office, all in the Dispute Resolution team.
Managing Partner, Tony Britten-Jones commented:
“Our national strategy identifies Brisbane as one of our growth areas and these promotions reflect our commitment to Brisbane. Our five new partners all have national practices and we are investing in people with long-term relationships with our existing clients. The response to date about the promotions has been overwhelmingly positive and we are delighted to have this next generation of partners in Brisbane.”
Coinciding with the promotions, the Brisbane office relocated to a new office with operations commencing on 9 July from Riparian Plaza.
Head of the Brisbane Office, Ted Williams commented:
"Our team is delighted to have made the move to Riparian Plaza. Our new purpose-built offices are designed to enhance the collaboration across our practice teams to continue to provide our clients with the standard of service they have come to expect from Piper Alderman. The new office also provides us with increased workspace to accommodate our plans for strong future growth.”
The new office was officially opened at an event in the newly refurbished level 26 of Riparian Plaza, with Senator the Hon. Matt Canavan, Minister for Resources and Northern Australia doing the honours.
In his address to over 120 clients and staff of Piper Alderman, the Minister congratulated the Brisbane team on a successful year.
“Thank you for all the work you do with some of the most successful businesses in our country to create wealth and opportunity and keep people moving in our great State.”
As a former employee of KPMG in Riparian Plaza, the Minister outlined his understanding of the need for productivity in professional service organisations and compared this to his role as the Minister for Resources.
“Law firms understand that they need to bring in business to be successful and that’s what my focus has been as the Minister for Resources. As a country, we need to create value for our customers overseas whether in iron ore, coal or LNG… I am very focussed on keeping a successful economy.”
Minister Canavan’s official attendance at the event follows on from Piper Alderman Brisbane hosting Malcolm Turnbull, the Prime Minister of Australia at a private event in June.
Five new Brisbane-based partners. Left to right: Maria Capati, Mark Askin, Valerie Blacker, Lillian Rizio, Josh Steele.
