Jones Day appoints new office leaders in Australia

The global law firm Jones Day announced several leadership appointments as part of its client-driven strategy to grow its presence in Australia. Jones Day has more than 100 lawyers spread across its offices in Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, and Sydney.

John Cooper will serve as Partner-in-Charge of Jones Day’s Sydney office. Mr. Cooper will be relocating back to Sydney from Brisbane, where he served as Partner-in-Charge since 2016. One of the leading construction and infrastructure lawyers in Australia, he has worked on many of Australia’s largest projects in the transport, energy and resources, defense, and social infrastructure sectors and has represented owners, contractors, and consultants in complex disputes on procurement projects in Australia and overseas. Mr. Cooper has acted on major disputes across Australia and is currently representing an international contractor on a large dispute connected with a gas project, and an owner on a dispute in respect of the development of a private hospital. He has represented clients in litigation in the superior courts in Australia, arbitrations, expert determinations, and statutory adjudications. Mr. Cooper is active in industry bodies including the Construction and Infrastructure Law Committee of the Business Law Section of the Law Council of Australia. He has been advising Standards Australia on the review of its standard form contracts in Australia.  He is a member of a number of professional bodies including the Resolution Institute and sits on a number of advisory boards including the Centre for Professional Legal Education Advisory Board. He succeeds Chris Ahern, who remains Partner-in-Charge of Japan—where he will focus—and continue to split his time between the Firm’s Tokyo and Sydney offices. Mr. Ahern has advised on Australian corporate law for over 20 years.

Annie Leeks will succeed Mr. Cooper  as Partner-in-Charge of Jones Day’s Brisbane office. Ms. Leeks focuses her practice on high-stakes litigation and arbitration, acting for major corporations across mining, energy, technology, financial services, aviation and construction sectors, with a particular focus managing and resolving significant disputes for energy sector clients with cross-border operations in Australia and across the Asia-Pacific. Her recent matters include acting for a global coal mining company in a multibillion-dollar ICC arbitration arising from the termination of agreements for the purchase of coal assets following a material adverse change; acting for a multinational oil and gas company in a long-running, multibillion dollar dispute in the Supreme Court of Queensland arising from the farm out of CSG assets; acting for a global chip manufacturer in an ICC arbitration seated in Singapore arising from a joint venture dispute regarding a joint venture in the PRC; and acting for an oil major in a dispute in the Federal Court of Victoria related to the pass through of resource taxes to its joint venture partners under a gas processing agreement. Prior to joining Jones Day, she served as lead legal counsel and privacy officer at a major airline and practiced at top-tier international law firms in Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia.

Dr. Niv Tadmore has been appointed Partner-in-Charge of the Melbourne office. He is widely regarded as one of the premier tax controversy lawyers in Australia, chiefly representing multinationals in disputes concerning the taxation of intangibles and the digital economy, transfer pricing, international tax and tax treaties, energy & resources and the operation of anti-avoidance powers in cross-border settings. Dr. Tadmore is a Band 1 lawyer who leads a highly experienced team that Chambers Asia-Pacific described as “an elite team,” and he was named Taxation Partner of the Year at the Lawyers Weekly “Partner of the Year” Awards 2021. He is the President of the Australian Branch of the International Fiscal Association and was the founding chair of the global IFA Supervisory Board; he has served on key Australian Taxation Office and Federal Treasury committees, including Dispute Resolution, Large Business Stewardship, and BEPS. Dr. Tadmore is also a member of the Melbourne University Tax Advisory Board and the New York University International Tax Board. He succeeds Lisa Taliadoros, Jones Day’s senior IP partner in Australia, who will focus on serving clients and growing that practice in Australia.

“These leadership appointments, and our addition of up-from-the-ranks and lateral partners over the past two years, demonstrate the Firm’s continued investment in Australia and our sustained commitment to serving clients on their most complex matters across key industries and markets,” said Chris Lovrien, Jones Day’s Partner-in-Charge of Australia. “We will continue to add talent and expand in areas where clients’ needs are intensifying—complex disputes, cross-border transactions, energy, critical infrastructure, competition and regulatory enforcement, and taxation. And we will continue to identify and invest in the next generation of leaders. In Australia and across the globe, Jones Day is building enduring client relationships, delivering outcomes that matter, and strengthening the culture and values that have been the foundation of the Firm for more than 125 years.”