Almost 200 clients, associates and DWF people attended the Quay Restaurant on Sydney Harbour to network and raise a glass in celebration.

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An innovator in the international legal sector, UK-headquartered DWF has established a strong presence in the Australian market since the business expanded into Sydney in January 2017, following the acquisition of global claims management business, Triton. A subsequent merger with Kaden Boriss brought further offices in Melbourne and Brisbane and most recently, a series of senior hires and a new office led to the establishment of a fourth location in Newcastle, New South Wales.

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Chairman of DWF’s Asia Pacific division, Mark Hickey, said: “Australia and the wider Asia Pacific area is a key investment area for the business and we’re proud to celebrate the pace of our progression to date as one of DWF’s most rapidly-growing international regions.”

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Jamie McPherson, Managing Partner of DWF (Australia), said: “Since DWF entered the Australian legal market, we have cemented our reputation as a progressive and forward-thinking legal business. We’ve disrupted the market, attracting the best legal talent to grow our team here to 100 people and we’ve expanded our reach with offices in four locations to better serve our clients. It was fitting to thank our clients and colleagues who have supported us on this exciting journey.”

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Kirsten Farmer, Executive Partner of DWF’s Sydney office, said: “Our Sydney launch event was a timely opportunity to formally mark DWF’s rapid expansion across Australia’s East Coast and to show our appreciation to our clients for their continued support. It was a pleasure to host so many of our connections and indeed senior colleagues who travelled from our international offices, in such a spectacular setting at Sydney Harbour.”

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DWF serves clients Australia-wide, providing specialist, integrated advisory, transactional and dispute resolution services in every Australian jurisdiction.

Global law firm White & Case LLP has expanded its Global Mergers & Acquisitions Practice with the addition of Martin Järvengren as a new partner in Stockholm.

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“There is increased activity in all areas of financial institutions M&A in the Nordic region, where our ambition is to continue expanding our role advising clients on their most important, complex, cross-border deals,” said White & Case partner John Reiss, Head of the Firm’s Global Mergers & Acquisitions Practice. “As consolidation in the region’s financial services market continues, the regulatory burden on institutions will increase, and Martin’s arrival adds further strength and depth to the support our M&A team in the Nordics can provide to our clients.”

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Järvengren rejoins White & Case in the Firm’s Global Mergers & Acquisitions Practice from Swedish alternative investment management firm Brummer & Partners, where he was Head of Legal. In that role, Järvengren managed the full spectrum of the firm’s legal affairs, including the structuring, formation, regulatory and ongoing legal and operational needs of its investment vehicles and investment advisory entities. Prior to Brummer & Partners, Järvengren was an associate at White & Case, based in Stockholm. He gained extensive experience advising on a broad range of corporate transactions, including cross-border mergers and acquisitions, private equity deals, disposals, joint ventures and restructurings, and was also focused on advising managers on the formation and operation of private investment funds, including private equity and real estate funds. Martin brings more than ten years of experience.

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“Martin is an experienced financial institutions M&A lawyer with a combination of legal and commercial experience and a blend of transactional and regulatory skills that is unique in the Nordics,” said White & Case partner Allan Taylor, Regional Section Head, EMEA M&A/Corporate 2. “His addition to the team ensures that our clients benefit from the best financial institutions M&A and regulatory capabilities available in the market.”

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Oliver Brettle, a member of White & Case’s global Executive Committee, said: “The arrival of Martin represents further progress in our strategic focus on profitable growth in the global financial institutions industry, and in our Global Mergers & Acquisitions Practice. He joins a strong existing M&A team in the Nordic region that has grown recently with the additions of lateral partners Jan Jensen, Shoan Panahi and Johan Steen, and the internal promotion of Henrik Wireklint.”

International law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP announced today that Richard (“Rick”) Frye has rejoined the Firm as a partner in the Firm’s global Private Equity practice and is based in the Dallas office.

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“Rick’s significant experience in private equity ranges across many types of transactions and spans a wide variety of industries,” said Weil Executive Partner Barry Wolf. “We are excited to welcome him back to the Firm.”

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“Rick has a proven record in private equity and a keen business sense,” commented Courtney Marcus, co-Managing Partner of Weil’s Dallas office and a partner in the Firm’s Banking & Finance practice. “He will be an invaluable asset to the Dallas office.”

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Michael Aiello, Chairman of Weil’s global Corporate Department noted: “Rick brings broad market knowledge and will be an important part of our global Private Equity platform.”

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Mr. Frye rejoined Weil from Winston & Strawn LLP, where he was a partner in their Corporate & Finance department, concentrating on complex corporate transactions for public and private companies, private equity sponsors, and portfolio companies. His practice focuses on equity offerings, minority equity investments, joint ventures, venture capital investments, public company reporting issues, matters of corporate governance and fiduciary obligations, and other general corporate matters. Prior to joining Winston & Strawn, he was an associate at Weil.

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Mr. Frye commented: “I am thrilled to return to Weil and be part of its well-recognized global Private Equity practice. I look forward to collaborating with the Firm’s talented lawyers around the world to provide best-in-class advice to our clients.”

Dentons, the world’s largest law firm, announces that senior partner Jana Cohen Barbe has joined the board of the directors of Invitation Homes Inc. (NYSE: INVH).

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Barbe is the former Global Vice Chair of Dentons, the first woman appointed to the Dentons’ Global Board. She leads the Firm’s Tax-Oriented Investments Practice, which she founded and continues to grow and manage, advising many of the nation’s leading financial institutions and insurance companies in connection with affordable housing and community development investments.

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“We congratulate Jana on her appointment to the board of directors,” said US CEO Mike McNamara. “The leadership she has shared with our Firm and clients will now be of benefit to Invitation Homes.”

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Equally committed to serving her community, Barbe is the president emerita of Thresholds, Illinois’ oldest and largest provider of supportive services and housing to individuals with severe and persistent mental illnesses. Her service to Thresholds has spanned more than 25 years. As an impassioned advocate for women in law and business, Barbe frequently speaks and writes on professional advancement and leadership.

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Barbe earned her JD from the University of Chicago Law School and her B.A., with honors, from Northwestern University.

Kirkland & Ellis is pleased to announce that leading intellectual property attorney Nicola Dagg joined the Firm’s London office today. In addition, a talented group of IP lawyers that includes partners Daniel Lim and Katie Coltart and associates Jin Ooi and Steven Baldwin will also join Kirkland in London.

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“Nicola is one of the leading lights of the UK intellectual property community. She, Daniel, Katie, Jin and Steven form a first-class team of litigators with comprehensive experience across the spectrum of IP matters that are important to our clients,” said Jeffrey C. Hammes, Chairman of Kirkland’s Global Management Executive Committee. “They are a perfect match for Kirkland’s premier complex litigation practice, and will expand our IP litigation capabilities in Europe.”

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Previously the global head of IP at Allen & Overy in London, Ms. Dagg brings more than 20 years of experience handling complex IP disputes and advisory work. Her international practice focuses on patent litigation and breach of confidence disputes. She has particular experience in dealing with the legal and commercial aspects of highly scientific and technologically advanced matters.

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Chambers UK ranks Ms. Dagg as a Band 1 attorney for Patent Litigation and Life Sciences: IP/Patent Litigation (2018), noting that she is “obviously excellent,” “brilliant with clients,” and possesses “fantastic commercial judgement.” She is also rated as a “leading individual” for IP by The Legal 500 UK (2017), which calls her a “fantastic rainmaker with a large following.” She has an individual gold ranking in IAM Patent 1000, which noted her “impressive team-building and client-handling skills,” adding that “few people can knit together a multi-disciplinary team so that everyone genuinely pulls together and feels their contributions are valued and respected.”

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“Kirkland’s entrepreneurial culture provides a strong platform for building a business,” Ms. Dagg said. “The Firm’s ambition, drive and confidence were very attractive for our team, and we see a huge opportunity to build a top IP litigation practice in London and to serve clients on a global scale.”

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Mr. Lim’s practice focuses on life science patent litigation, particularly in the pharmaceutical industry, diagnostics and the emerging fields of precision medicine and cell and gene therapy. His experience spans a broad range of technical fields within life sciences, including oncology, immunology, neurology, molecular diagnostics, formulation science, pharmacokinetics, clinical pharmacology and biostatistics. He also assists clients with the strategic coordination and alignment of complex patent strategy to address loss-of-exclusivity events at a pan-European and global level. Mr. Lim has been recognized as a Rising Star in IP by Managing Intellectual Property in both 2017 and 2018.

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“I’m excited about this once-in-a-career opportunity to build a new team from scratch. We believe our team and the Kirkland platform will be a powerful combination for clients,” said Mr. Lim.

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Ms. Coltart focuses her practice on patent litigation, particularly in the life sciences and tech sectors. Her experience includes a broad spectrum of technological subject matters including those relating to antibody and other protein biologics, biological product development and screening platforms, checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapies, diagnostics and next generation sequencing technologies, wireless and mobile telecommunications, and e-cigarette/vaping technologies. She also advises on trade secrets, trademark and IP licensing matters in the finance, media and retail sectors.

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“We are very excited by this unique opportunity to grow a leading IP litigation practice at Kirkland in London,” Ms. Coltart said. “We believe the Kirkland business model provides an incredibly strong platform for serving our clients globally across the range of IP rights.”

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Mr. Ooi’s patent litigation practice focuses on the pharmaceutical and life sciences fields. Most recently, he has grappled with issues of second medical use and plausibility in the Patents Court of the High Court of Justice, English Court of Appeal and U.K. Supreme Court. Mr. Ooi is also experienced in litigating and arbitrating trade secrets disputes in the medical device, tech and aviation sectors, in addition to handling antitrust claims.

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Mr. Baldwin has extensive experience representing clients in contentious and non-contentious patent, life sciences regulatory, copyright, trademark and trade secrets matters. He was recognized as a Rising Star in IP by Managing Intellectual Property in 2018. He regularly acts on complex cross-border life sciences and telecommunications patent disputes, former employee trade secrets cases and cases involving the law governing Supplementary Protection Certificates. Mr. Baldwin’s non-contentious experience includes a billion-dollar IP portfolio purchase and other high-value acquisition and licensing deals. He also has advised world-renowned soccer clubs and automotive clients on issues including image rights, sponsorship and global celebrity advertising campaigns.