Sharon Liu, Wilson Liu, John McKellar, Libby McKillop, Srishti Natesh, Nick Perkins also promoted
Ashurst has announced the elevation of 18 lawyers to its partnership as of 1 May 2026, with half of the new partners practising across the global law firm’s Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, and Sydney offices.
“I am delighted to welcome our 18 new partners, who have all played a significant role in serving the needs of our clients,” said Paul Jenkins, Ashurst’s global chief executive officer, in a news release.
“I’d like to congratulate our 18 new partners on this very well-deserved milestone,” added Karen Davies, Ashurst’s global chair. “They each represent the best of us as a firm: high-quality talent, and, importantly, trusted advisers.”
Promoted to partners in Australia were Phillip Aquilina, Kate Gould, Arjuna Guruge, Sharon Liu, Wilson Liu, John McKellar, Libby McKillop, Srishti Natesh, and Nick Perkins.
These new Australian partners belong to Ashurst’s antitrust, regulatory, and trade; corporate; dispute resolution; eDiscovery and digital services; global loans; intellectual property and media; planning, environment, and First Nations; and projects and real estate practices.
Specifically, prior to their promotions, they served in the following roles at the firm:
Ashurst shared that its recent batch of promotions encompassed 11 practice groups and nine of the firm’s 32 offices across the Asia-Pacific (APAC); Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA); and the US.
“Each of our new partners has made an outstanding contribution to our clients and the global firm, and I’m sure they will continue to do so,” Davies said in Ashurst’s news release. “This promotion reflects not only their individual accomplishments but also the collaborative, forward-thinking culture that defines the firm.”
Among those elevated, 61 percent were in Ashurst’s disputes, global loans, and energy transition practice groups, while 50 percent were women, thus maintaining the firm’s five-year rolling average.
“These appointments reflect Ashurst’s strategic priorities as we move toward our exciting combination with Perkins Coie, and continue to strengthen the depth of capability across our global platform,” Jenkins said.
“We remain deeply committed to investing in our people and nurturing the future generation of leaders and we are confident that this group will be instrumental in shaping the next phase of our growth,” Davies added.
