Investing in the Next Generation: Three senior hires to boost Perth energy and natural resources offering
Global law firm DLA Piper has today confirmed three recent senior hires in Perth including Owen Alcorn (Partner), Matthew Watkins (Partner) and Neil Macdonald (Special Counsel).
“We’re thrilled to secure such high calibre lawyers in the competitive Perth market. The appointments will bolster our capabilities in the energy and natural resources sector and enable further growth,” said Amber Matthews, Australia Managing Partner, DLA Piper.
Owen Alcorn has been appointed as partner in our Finance, Projects & Restructurings (FP&R) practice in Perth and commences today. He is returning to Australia, having joined from Herbert Smith Freehills in London. Owen brings deep international experience on a wide variety of financing transactions, including project finance, acquisition finance and general corporate finance. Owen will be focused on supporting the mining industry, particularly in Perth where we have a substantial portfolio of projects in the pipeline. He will also act for lenders and sponsors on infrastructure and renewables projects across Australia.
Matthew Watkins will join the firm on 12 September as partner in our Corporate practice in Perth, moving across from Gilbert + Tobin. Matthew is an experienced corporate lawyer who advises on the full spectrum of private and public M&A and equity capital markets transactions, particularly in the energy and natural resources sector. The addition of Matthew, following the appointment of James Nicholls (Partner) last year, gives us strength and depth to support the heavy domestic demand we are seeing in the junior and mid-cap markets.
Neil Macdonald has joined our Perth office as special counsel in FP&R. Neil has returned home to Perth after recently relocating from our Hong Kong office. Neil has extensive projects experience in the energy and natural resources sector, in particular in natural gas and LNG. Neil will continue with his focus on Asia but also strengthen our domestic offering.
“This is about investing in the next generation that are going to lead DLA Piper’s ENR sector offering for years to come,” said Alex Jones, Global Co-Chair Energy & Natural Resources, DLA Piper Australia.
“These three hires significantly strengthen our transactional capability in the energy and natural resources sector. As well as allowing us to meet demand in Perth, this growth allows us to better leverage the benefits of DLA Piper’s global footprint on cross-border mandates involving in-bound and out-bound investment,” said Alex.
