Date: 11 March 2010
Author: Jeff Mansfield, Partner

Sydney based law firm Addisons[1] has welcomed corporate lawyer Laura Hartley to the partnership. Hartley has many years experience providing practical, strategic and commercially focused legal advice to enterprises of all sizes. She has particular expertise in the areas of mergers and acquisitions and competition law.

Hartley's clients cross a number of industries and she has extensive knowledge of the consumer goods industry having acted for enterprises such as Coca-Cola Australia, Colgate-Palmolive and Sanitarium Health Food Company for many years. She has also carved out a strong reputation in the advertising sector where she advises the Australian Association of National Advertisers, the Australian Advertising Standards Council and the Advertising Standards Bureau.

With corporate Australia showing a renewed appetite for growth following the global financial crisis, Hartley believes the time is ripe for companies to broaden their horizons as far as the provision of legal services is concerned.

"Clients now more than ever want to work with a law firm that keenly understands commercial realities. They want to work with a firm that understands the industries in which they operate, can provide legal advice that is focused and relevant, and delivers efficiency and excellent value. Quite simply Addisons ticks all the boxes," said Hartley.

Addisons managing partner David Blackburn said Hartley's skills and experience made her a natural fit for the firm, which has a strong reputation for providing commercially focused legal strategy and support. "Laura is extremely well regarded both by her clients and her peers. She, like all Addisons lawyers, has a keen understanding of the commercial realities which clients face each day.

"She also has a great practical understanding of the consumer goods industry, adding to the knowledge Addisons has built up over years acting for clients such as Dairy Farmers. With this appointment Addisons once again extends the range of services and expertise we can provide to all our clients. We are delighted to have Laura on board."

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[1] Note to editors: Addisons is a Sydney based law firm offering a range of high quality specialist legal services. Its key practice areas include corporate, mergers and acquisitions; commercial property; commercial litigation and dispute resolution; competition, trade practices and regulatory; intellectual property, ecommerce and media; insolvency and corporate reconstruction; sports and gambling.