Leading independent Australian law firm HWL Ebsworth Lawyers has announced two new partner appointments within its recently launched Perth office.
Erica Hartley will be joining the firm as the head of the Workplace Relations & Safety Group in Perth and Paul Wilson will be joining as a partner in the Property Group.
Erica and Paul join HWL Ebsworth from Herbert Smith Freehills and Minter Ellison respectively.
Since first joining Freehills in 1992, Erica has focused on all aspects of employment and industrial relations, including advising on enterprise agreements, employment contracts, equal opportunity matters, industrial disputes, workplace safety issues, adverse action and unfair dismissal claims.
Erica’s clients span a range of industries, including energy and resources, banking and finance, government (local, state and Commonwealth), property, construction and transport.
As a senior partner within Herbert Smith Freehills’ Employment team, Erica has developed an outstanding reputation for advising on employment litigation and breach of contract related matters, and for developing and delivering training on equal opportunity, change management and legal aspects of employment.
Paul has over twenty years experience acting for significant publicly and privately owned property companies and government agencies.
He has particular expertise in property development, major acquisitions and disposals, infrastructure projects and commercial leasing.
In the area of property development, Paul’s experience includes acting on greenfield master planned communities, strata residential complexes, major urban renewal and government development projects.
His broader property experience includes acting on the acquisition, development, sale and leasing of commercial, retail and industrial property assets and distressed property sales.
Paul has also developed a particularly strong reputation for providing strategic, transactional and operational advice to key operators within the retirement village industry.
“We have a stated desire to double the size of our recently opened Perth office, and we couldn’t have hoped for a more positive start than welcoming new partners of the calibre of Erica and Paul to the firm” said Juan Martinez, HWL Ebsworth’s Managing Partner. “To have two of Perth’s leading practitioners elect to join our firm so soon after entering the Western Australian market is a testament to the growing recognition that our unique business model enables leading practitioners to deliver greater value for money to their clients than ever before“.
“Given that Property and Workplace Relations and Safety are core service areas for our firm, it is vital that we are able to offer our clients access to outstanding technical and commercially oriented offerings in these areas in each of our offices. In this regard, we look forward to introducing Erica and Paul to our clients nationally” added Juan.
