Lavan is very pleased to announce the following promotions and appointments, effective from 1 July 2024. These appointments demonstrate Lavan’s recognition of professional excellence, legal expertise and dedication to client service.
Congratulations to Alex Biddulph on his promotion to partner in Lavan’s Banking & Finance team.
Alex specialises in commercial banking, finance and lending transactions. He has acted for all the major Australian banks on a range of corporate, project and property finance matters. Alex is highly regarded by clients and peers for his commercial approach to complex legal issues.
Commenting on Alex’s promotion, Banking & Finance lead partner Ben Fong said: “Alex’s promotion to the partnership is extremely well deserved. Alex has been instrumental in establishing important industry relationships within Lavan’s growing Banking & Finance team and his technical legal skills are of enormous value to our clients. I look forward to working closely with Alex as we continue to build Lavan’s banking and finance services.”
On further promotions and appointments across the firm, we are delighted to congratulate:
Caitlin Cook on her appointment as special counsel in Lavan’s Employment, Safety & Education team. Caitlin has extensive experience in a wide range of employment related matters including drafting, award compliance, workplace investigations, managing employee misconduct, investigations, and redundancy and restructuring.
Mandee de Reus on her promotion to special counsel in Lavan's Restructuring & Insolvency team. Mandee is a highly experienced dispute resolution lawyer, who advises and assists clients across a wide range of sectors in relation to restructuring, insolvency, and debt recovery. Mandee also assists clients with issues relating to trusts and contractual disputes.
Mihali Palassis on his promotion to special counsel in Lavan's Restructuring & Insolvency team. Mihali is a commercial litigator with a focus on the resources sector, in particular issues affecting mining tenure under the Mining Act 1978 (WA). He has strong industry knowledge in the mining space which he uses to his clients’ benefit.
Ahshiba Sultana on her promotion to special counsel in Lavan's Construction & Infrastructure team. Ahshiba specialises in dispute resolution arising from engineering and construction projects which includes disputes relating to time, cost or quality. She is experienced in trial and litigation, alternative dispute resolution processes, and acts for private and government clients in relation to matters in the building and construction, and ancillary sectors.
Andrew Sutton on his promotion to special counsel in Lavan's Litigation & Dispute Resolution team. Andrew is a highly competent practitioner with a broad range of legal expertise. He manages a large trademark portfolio and has been instrumental in the development of the firm’s intellectual property practice and is a key member of the Litigation & Dispute Resolution team.
Jesse Way on his promotion to special counsel in Lavan's Construction & Infrastructure team. Jesse advises clients on construction contracts and construction disputes. He assists clients with all aspects of construction projects, including contract preparation, claims for payment and time, suspension and termination issues, and formal dispute resolution.
Ilvana Arapovic on her appointment as senior associate in Lavan's Family Law team. Ilvana is a respected Family Law practitioner with a particular interest in complicated financial matters involving company, trust, partnership and valuation issues. Ilvana also has experience with Hague Convention abduction cases and international relocation applications.
Rebecca Cain on her promotion to senior associate in Lavan's Property & Leasing team. Rebecca is an experienced lawyer, who acts for property developers, strata managers and strata companies on all aspects of a strata schemes lifespan. Rebecca is highly valued by her clients for her ability to simplify complex legal scenarios and her vast knowledge of strata matters.
Alistair Graham on his promotion to senior associate in Lavan's Family Law team. Alistair is a valued member of the Family Law team. Alistair practices in all areas of family law, specialising in wills and estates matters. Alistair has experience in complex financial matters including those involving intricate business trust structures and high net worth individuals.
Jordan Grapsas on his promotion to senior associate in Lavan's Corporate Services team. Jordan is an integral part of the Corporate Services team and works on a wide range of corporate transactions with a focus on private and public mergers & acquisitions, capital raisings, ASX Listing Rules and JORC compliance. Jordan is well-regarded by clients and colleagues for his commercial and pragmatic approach to transactions.
Isabella Mosole on her promotion to senior associate in Lavan's Planning & Environment team. Isabella works closely with partners on large scale planning matters and is experienced in advising clients in areas including town planning, environment and liquor licensing approvals, land acquisition and disposals, local government, administrative and public law.
Jessica Pollock on her promotion to senior associate in Lavan's Planning & Envirnment team. Jessica is the lead practitioner of Lavan’s Native Title & First Nations practice and specialises in advising planning professionals, property developers, mining proponents, and other land users on matters relating to native title, Aboriginal heritage and land access.
Grace Coombs on her appointment as associate to Lavan's Family Law team. Grace practices in all areas of family aw, including complex financial matters and parenting matters. She has instructed both Senior Counsel and Counsel in trials in the Family Court of Western Australia, and has assisted in appeal matters in the Supreme Court of Western Australia.
Clarise D'Souza on her appointment as associate to Lavan's Construction & Infrastructure team. Clarise is experienced in building and construction, and general commercial disputes, including mediation and litigation. She specialises in providing clients with strategic advice on claims management and contract drafting.
Kerri Evangelista on her promotion to associate in Lavan's Litigation & Dispute Resolution team. Kerri's expertise is in wills and estates, and succession planning. Kerri is also the coordinator of Lavan’s pro bono practice and is actively involved in Lavan’s Community Committee. She is a valued member of the firm.
Andreas Geronimos on his promotion to associate in Lavan's Aged Care, Seniors Living & Disability team. Andreas provides expert legal advice for the aged care, seniors living & disability sector. Prior to joining Lavan, Andreas worked in financial services and is particularly adept at navigating the complexities of the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
Amanda Valenti on her appointment as associate to Lavan's Employment, Safety & Education team. Amanda has extensive knowledge across immigration law, policy and processes with a particular focus on migration law. She provides practical advice and assistance to help businesses and individuals from a range of backgrounds to navigate Australia’s immigration framework, particularly related to visas and migration issues.
On announcing these promotions and appointments, managing partner Dean Hely said:
“On behalf of everyone at Lavan, I am extremely proud to congratulate these outstanding lawyers on their appointment. They all bring immense skill, dedication and expertise to Lavan and make an enormous contribution to our firm. These promotions and appointments are testament to Lavan’s commitment to providing our clients with expert legal advice and a full-service offering. I am delighted to see Lavan continue to excel as a leading, independent, Western Australian law firm.”
Lavan is delighted to announce its recognition in the first edition of Best Law Firms™ - Australia, compiled by respected directory Best Lawyers™. Thirteen practice areas from across the firm have been ranked in the listings for Western Australia, with eight receiving Tier 1 rankings.
The Best Law Firm – Australia rankings encompass a total of 477 firms from across Australia and represent the top 2% of the market. Recognition by Best Lawyers is widely regarded as a significant honour by legal professionals and their listings are a definitive resource for top legal talent.
In response to the rankings, managing partner Dean Hely commented: “Lavan is very pleased to be recognised in the first edition of Best Law Firms – Australia. These listings demonstrate the breadth of our offering as a full-service law firm and reflect Lavan’s leading reputation among peers and clients for its legal expertise. As an independent Western Australian firm, we are particularly proud to be listed as Tier One in eight rankings. Congratulations to all the practice teams listed in this prestigious directory.”
The full list of Lavan rankings is below:
Lavan is delighted to announce that Ilvana Arapovic has joined our Family Law team in the role of senior associate. Ilvana is a highly regarded practitioner with extensive experience in a wide range of family law matters. Family Law partners, Framy Anne Browne. Tamara Arapovic and Jorja Brady share their excitement in welcoming Ilvana to Lavan's growing Family Law practice.
Commenting on the appointment, partner Framy Anne Browne noted "Ilvana is an exceptional senior in the family law industry who brings with her a wealth of experience in navigating the complexities of family law. She will undoubtedly add value to the calibre of our team and for the benefit of our clients. Our Family Law practice sits uniquely within Lavan's multi-faceted law firm. Ilvana joins a dynamic team of highly regarded practitioners and this new appointment demonstrates Lavan's continued focus on providing a full service offering across practice areas."
Lavan's team of family lawyers offer in-house expertise, advice and representation in all family law matters including divorce, property settlement, parenting arrangements, spousal maintenance, enforcement proceedings and dispute resolution. Further details can be found on our Services page.
Lavan is very pleased to announce that our lawyers have been recognised in The Best Lawyers in Australia™ (2025 Edition) and Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in Australia™ (2025 Edition) confirming Lavan’s long standing reputation as a leading, independent Western Australian law firm.
We are delighted that two of our senior partners have received Best Lawyers™ highly prestigious ‘Lawyer of the Year’ awards in 2025.
Property & Leasing partner, Peter Beekink has been awarded Best Lawyers ‘Lawyer of the Year’ for the category of ‘Leasing Law (Perth)’ and Planning & Environment partner, Craig Wallace has been awarded Best Lawyers ‘Lawyer of the Year’ for the category of ‘Land Use and Zoning Law (Perth)’.
These awards are particularly significant as they are presented to a single lawyer in each practice area and geographic region. Recognition by Best Lawyers is based on peer review and reflects the high calibre of the award winner’s legal work.
Commenting on the announcement of the awards by the Best Lawyers, managing partner Dean Hely said:
“I would like to congratulate Peter and Craig on these significant and very well-deserved awards which represent the great esteem in which they are held by the legal profession. As an independent, Western Australian law firm, Lavan is always proud to have our partners acknowledged as outstanding legal practitioners. Both Peter and Craig consistently deliver excellent legal advice and these awards acknowledge the complex and large-scale work that our Property and Planning teams undertake for their clients.
We are also particularly proud to see so many of our partners, special counsel and senior associates recognised by Best Lawyers across multiple practice areas. It is very pleasing to see Lavan lawyers making their mark in the ‘Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in Australia’ listings. Congratulations to everyone on their achievements.“
The full list of Lavan lawyers who have been recognised by Best Lawyers in their 2025 editions is below:
Real Property Law
Leasing Law
Employee Benefits Law and Labour and Employment Law
Occupational Health and Safety Law
Planning and Environmental Law
Land Use and Zoning Law
Insurance Law and Privacy and Data Security Law
Alternative Dispute Resolution and Litigation
Insolvency & Reorganisation Law
Construction/Infrastructure Law
Mergers and Acquisitions Law
Family Law
Lavan is very proud to announce the launch of our Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan 2024–2026.
Our firm’s longstanding vision for reconciliation continues to be to work alongside Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to build relationships that create strong, connected and economically active communities. The focus of our latest RAP is to refresh and innovate our approach to reconciliation to take in to account the five dimensions of reconciliation including race relations, equality and equity, institutional integrity, historical acceptance and unity.
To celebrate the launch, Lavan was honoured to have respected Wadjuk Noongar Elder Prof Simon Forrest deliver the Welcome to Country at an event organised by our Reconicilation Action Plan committee. Staff and guests were entertained by the very talented Dylan Shillito who played on the didgeridoo. Other notable guests attending the event included Roni Forrest (RAP Committee Advisor), Marc Beattie from Urbis, Peter Docker and Maitland Schnaars from Yirra Yaakin Theatre Company, and former partner Dan Mossenson.
A specially commissioned artwork symbolising Lavan's vision for reconciliation was created by Rosie Paine, a Yilka, Wongutha, Noongar and Yamatji artist, living on Noongar country. This stunning image features on the cover of Lavan's Innovate Reconiliation Action Plan 2024-2026. The full plan can be found via this link.
Lavan is excited to announce the following promotions and appointments effective from January 2024.
In the past six months, we have also been pleased to welcome the following new practitioners to the firm:
On their promotions and appointments we congratulate:
James Barrett, on his promotion to senior associate in Lavan’s Litigation & Dispute Resolution team. Since joining the firm as an associate in 2021, James has been recognised for his outstanding contributions to the Litigation & Dispute Resolution team. James specialises in complex commercial disputes with domestic and international clients across multiple sectors.
Adri Lock, on her appointment to senior associate in Lavan’s Property & Leasing team. Adri joined Lavan as a senior associate in our Property & Leasing team in November 2023. Adri practices in all areas of property law, with a particular focus on commercial office and retail leasing. She has acted for several large commercial landlord and tenant clients.
Malini Tanabalan, on her appointment to senior associate in Lavan’s Restructuring & Insolvency team. Malini joined the Restructuring & Insolvency team in September 2023 as a senior associate. Malini has extensive experience in debt recovery matters and has acted for banks, commercial lenders, and debt recovery agencies in this area.
Jay Bebbington, on his promotion to associate in Lavan’s Property & Leasing team. Jay is a vital member of the firm and the Property & Leasing team. He has maintained a broad practice across different areas including developments, asset acquisitions, disposals and commercial, retail and NDIS specialist disability accommodation leasing. Jay also sits on Lavan’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee.
Jack Hely, on his promotion to associate in Lavan’s Property & Leasing team. A member of the Property & Leasing team since 2021, Jack utilises his legal knowledge to provide pragmatic solutions to supervisors, colleagues and clients. As a transactional lawyer, he understands the importance of identifying commercial issues, and providing practical advice for clients.
Ben Kruize, on his promotion to associate in Lavan’s Corporate Services team. Since joining the firm in 2020, Ben has been an integral part of Lavan and the Corporate Services team. Ben specialises in mergers & acquisitions, energy projects & regulatory matters and general corporate advisory matters. Ben also regularly assists not-for-profit entities with the obtaining of charitable registration with the ACNC and DGR endorsement with the ATO.
Regina Nunag, on her promotion to associate in Lavan’s Construction & Infrastructure team. A member of the Lavan team since 2021, Regina goes above and beyond to meet client expectations and is an essential member of the Construction & Infrastructure team. Regina specialises in civil construction and residential building disputes including adjudication, arbitration, mediation and litigation. She is actively involved in firm life as co-president of Rostrum Club and a member of the Community Committee.
Jethro Schoeman, on his promotion to associate in Lavan’s Litigation & Dispute Resolution team. Jethro's broad litigation experience includes contractual disputes, board disputes regarding ASX listed entities, criminal matters, NDIS appeals, trust disputes and corporate governance issues. Jethro is recognized in the Litigation & Dispute Resolution team as reliable, commercially astute, and hard working.
Amanda Soh, on her promotion to associate in Lavan’s Restructuring & Insolvency team. A member of the Restructuring & Insolvency team since 2020, Amanda's strong technical skills and commitment to expanding her knowledge has rightfully earned a reputation in the team as being reliable, diligent and accessible. Amanda takes ownership of her work and is willing to go above and beyond for the team, the firm and our clients.
Nemanja Stepanovic, on his promotion to associate in Lavan’s Construction & Infrastructure team. Nemanja is a committed and resourceful member of the Construction & infrastructure team. Nemanja shows initiative, ensures he meets required deadlines and takes ownership for the delivery and outcome of the work he is involved in. Nemanja’s promotion to associate reflects his solid legal knowledge and commercial nous.
Commenting on these promotions and appointments, managing partner Dean Hely said:
“On behalf of the partners and everyone at Lavan, I am delighted to congratulate these outstanding lawyers on their promotions and appointments. Each of these highly qualified practitioners are skilled at navigating legal situations, from simple to the complex. They have shown a real commitment to their practice, the firm and our wider society.”
Lavan is delighted to announce that Family Law partners Framy Anne Browne and Jorja Brady have both been recognised in the Doyle’s Guide Leading Family & Divorce Lawyers – Western Australia, 2024. Jorja Brady has also been listed as Recommended in Leading Family Lawyers (High-Value & Complex Property Matters) – Western Australia, 2024.
Congratulations also go to Family Law associate Alistair Graham, who has been recognised by Doyle’s Guide as a Family Law Rising Star - Western Australia, 2024. Lavan has also been listed as a Leading Family & Divorce Law firm in Western Australia 2024.
These recognitions reflect the extensive experience and talent of Lavan’s Family Law team and acknowledge the high quality of complex work that they undertake for their clients.
Lavan is pleased to have advised Tassal, Australia’s largest vertically integrated seafood grower, in its acquisition and restructure of MPA Fish Farms Pty Ltd and MPA Marketing Pty Ltd (“MPA”), which operate Australia’s only ocean-based barramundi farm at Cone Bay, Western Australia through a deed of company arrangement.
Lavan’s deal team was led by restructuring partners Joe Abberton and Leith Ayres, finance partner Ben Fong, and property partner Tamara Heng. The deal team was supported by Amanda Soh, Michael Pendlebury, Aleisha Anderson and Piper Higgins.
The Lavan team was assisted by deals advisor Kordamentha and their team ably led by Richard Tucker, Craig Shepard and Jared Palandri.
Lavan would like to thank the administrator team at McGrathNicol led by Rob Kirman, Rob Brauer and Mark Knight and their legal advisors at Clayton Utz, led by special counsel Rebecca Hanrahan and partner Alistair Fleming for their hard work and assistance in achieving an expedited result that delivers a superior outcome for creditors, secures more than 50 local jobs in the Kimberley region, and provides a future for sustainably grown barramundi in WA.
The restructure and transaction, necessary to save the fish-stock, would not have been possible without the support of secured creditor National Australia Bank (Vic Yaschenko) and its legal advisors NRF (Jeff Black) and feed supplied Skretting (Joe Tidey).
Given Tassal’s successful turnaround of Australia’s salmon and prawn industries, Lavan is excited to be part of Tassal’s turnaround of the barramundi industry in Western Australia.
Lavan is delighted to announce our most recent appointments and promotions. The well-earned promotions to special counsel of Michael Jensen in our Employment, Safety & Education team and Stephanie Tan in our Litigation & Dispute Resolution team are a true reflection of their market-leading legal expertise.
Since joining the firm in 1995, Michael Jensen's considerable expertise in employment and workplace & safety related matters has been highly valued and respected.
Stephanie Tan advises clients on all areas of litigation law and has significant experience with general commercial disputes including in the areas of corporate law, insolvency, construction, insurance and local government.
In the past six months, we have also been pleased to welcome the following senior staff: partner Leith Ayres and senior associate Abhinav Sharma to our Restructuring & Insolvency team, partner Jorja Brady and associate Alistair Graham to our Family Law team, associate Kate Daniels to our Aged Care, Seniors Living & Disability team, associate Calvin Warries to our Employment, Safety & Education team and Hal Jenkins as Chief Information Officer to our Executive team.
Full details of the promotions and appointments are below.
Lavan is excited to welcome respected practitioner Leith Ayres as a partner in our leading Restructuring & Insolvency team. Leith has worked with some of Australia’s largest financial institutions and insolvency practitioners in a notable career that spans more than 30 years.
Jorja Brady joined Lavan in Feburary as a partner in our Family Law team. Jorja specialises in the management of complicated financial and parenting matters in the Family Court with a particular interest in financial cases involving substantial asset pools, including matters with complex company, trust, partnership, and valuation issues.
Abhinav Sharma joins Lavan's Restructuring & Insolvency team as a senior associate. Abhinav practises in all areas of restructuring and insolvency law and has significant experience in insolvency investigations, recoveries and litigation as well as corporate restructuring and turnaround.
Lavan welcomes Kate Daniels as an associate to our Aged Care, Seniors Living & Disability team. Kate is a commercial lawyer providing specialised legal and strategic advice to clients in disability services, aged care, retirement and lifestyle villages, community housing, not-for-profit and Indigenous corporations.
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Alistair Graham joins Lavan's Family Law team as an associate. Alistair specialises in all areas of family law and wills and estate matters. Alistair is experienced in complex financial matters including those involving intricate business trust structures and high net worth individuals. |
Calvin Warries joins Lavan as an associate in our Employment, Safety & Education team. Calvin is an experienced commercial, dispute resolution and litigation lawyer who manages all aspects of the employment relationship from engagement to termination.
Lavan is happy to welcome back Hal Jenkins into a new role of Chief Information Officer. Hal's expertise in the cyber and technology space will play a key part in driving the firm to provide focussed IT solutions to benefit our staff and clients.
Commenting on these promotions and appointments, managing partner Dean Hely said: “On behalf of the partners and everyone at Lavan, I am delighted to congratulate these outstanding lawyers and senior executives on their promotions and appointments. Lavan is extremely fortunate to have welcomed so many accomplished professionals to the firm in the last six months and I am excited for what the future holds for the firm as we strive to make a real difference together."
Lavan is very pleased to welcome respected practitioner Leith Ayres as a partner in our leading Restructuring & Insolvency team.
Leith is a highly regarded litigator with extensive experience in complex insolvency matters, dispute resolution and corporate finance.
Leith has worked with some of Australia’s largest financial institutions and insolvency practitioners in a notable career that spans more than 30 years. His practice encompasses many areas of corporate finance including financial services and business structuring. Leith is a specialist in insolvency and reconstruction, and regularly acts in insolvency and general commercial proceedings in the Supreme Court of Western Australia and the Federal Court of Australia.
Managing partner Dean Hely commented: “I am delighted to announce Leith’s appointment as a partner at Lavan. Leith will bring valuable additional depth to our experienced Restructuring & Insolvency team as well as our Litigation team and will add greatly to our capacity to handle large, complex matters, ensuring our clients’ interests are in excellent hands at all times.”
Restructuring & Insolvency partner Joseph Abberton said: “Leith is a well-respected practitioner with a significant amount of restructuring experience who will add to the strength and depth of our team. He will be a great addition and help us to continue to deliver the best outcomes for our clients. The team is very much looking forward to having Leith on board."
