The new partners advise clients on "key matters both in Australia and overseas"
K&L Gates has strengthened its corporate and asset management and investment funds practices with the addition of three new partners from HWL Ebsworth.
James Lonie and Natalya Hards are now part of the corporate group, while Lisa Lautier joins the asset management and investment funds group. All three operate from the Sydney office.
Lonie is a renowned securities, funds and transactional lawyer in Australia. His practice focuses on M&A, funds management, equity capital markets, securities and financial services regulation, and joint ventures and start-ups. He also advises on corporate governance matters and securities regulatory issues.
He has worked with public and private sector clients in regulated and unregulated environments. Early in his career, he was seconded for nine months to work as a legal assistant to the GC of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.
Hards is an experienced M&A, funds, and projects transaction lawyer. She assists Australian and international investors with M&A, wholesale funds and investments, joint ventures, infrastructure and energy projects, and commercial and government contracting.
She also has experience practising overseas, having worked at various law firms across Hong Kong, China, London, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Bahrain. She has completed secondments at the Treasury of New South Wales, Transport for NSW, and Nomura bank in London.
Lautier advises Australian and international clients on a broad range of matters, including fund establishment, financial services law, structuring, and the provision of financial products and services to wholesale and retail clients. She previously worked at K&L Gates from 2014 to 2020.
She also spent three years in London and served as legal counsel for Australian fund manager Babcock & Brown. She has completed secondments with investment management firms Dimensional Fund Advisors and PIMPCO.
“We are very pleased to welcome James, Natalya, and Lisa to K&L Gates,” K&L Gates Australia managing partner Nick Nichola said. “They bring with them extensive experience advising clients on key matters both in Australia and overseas, which fits in perfectly with the K&L Gates global platform.”
