National law firm Mills Oakley is very pleased to announce the appointment of three top practitioners to its Sydney office and three internal promotions to partnership.

The lateral hires include:

• Zein El Hassan joins the firm from KPMG following partnership at Norton Rose Fulbright, Clayton Utz and Corrs Chambers Westgarth. A leading financial services lawyer with over 30 years’ experience, Zein advises on product development, licensing, disclosure and distribution issues relating to financial services and products. Zein is looking forward to working on digital and AI risk
  management, regulatory reforms, regulatory response as well as mergers and investment transactions.
• Linda Holland is a specialist in Construction Law, having practised exclusively in the area for 25 years. She joins the firm from Eakin McCaffery Cox where she brings a wealth of knowledge regarding the challenges faced by stakeholders in construction projects. Linda is excited by the opportunity to work with Mills Oakley’s Projects and Construction team.
• Scott Alden is an expert in Government Projects, an area in which he has specialised for more than 25 years. Scott has a particular focus on advising Government clients in relation to their procurement, commercial, project and probity requirements, and his expertise includes all aspects of a project’s lifecycle from inception, through contract negotiation and execution, advising on contract management and disputes to project completion. Scott joins from HWL Ebsworth Lawyers.

Mills Oakley Chief Executive Officer John Nerurker said the arrival of the three new Partners reinforced the firm’s strategic focus across key markets.

“We are continuing to attract highly talented individuals to the firm, and the introduction of Zein, Linda and Scott will further boost our reputation in their respective areas of practice,” Mr Nerurker said.

In addition to the new recruits, Mills Oakley has promoted three lawyers to the Partnership, including Sally Baker in the Family Law team in Melbourne, Amy Burton, currently National Head of Pro Bono, and Adam Papaianni, in the Sydney Insurance team.

Mills Oakley’s pro bono program recently received international recognition at the Chambers Asia-Pacific and Greater China Region Diversity and Inclusion Awards 2024 in the category of Pro Bono: Outstanding Firm.

“Mills Oakley has a long history of assisting vulnerable members of the community through our pro bono program, and the recognition is a great reward for both Amy Burton and the firm as we continue to be a leader in the pro bono space,” Mr Nerurker said.

The internal appointments take effect from 1 July 2024.

About Mills Oakley
Mills Oakley is a national law firm with offices in Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Darwin, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney. With a proud history of 160 years, we remain innovative and focused on our clients.