Sullivan & Cromwell has had strong ties to Australia for decades, and its relationships with the largest Australian resource companies and financial institutions go back more than a quarter of a century. S&C regularly advises clients on a wide variety of securities offerings, privatizations, project financings, and mergers and acquisitions.
The Australian offices currently advise more than 80 major clients in Australia and New Zealand, including most of the top-20 companies listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. Our client base comes from a broad variety of sectors, including resources, banking and finance, retail, telecommunications, property, insurance, industrial and commercial, energy, leisure, infrastructure, and investment and financial services.
In recent years, Australia has also served as a critical nexus for the Firm’s practice across the Asia-Pacific region. Our lawyers in Melbourne and Sydney function within a regionally and globally integrated practice and regularly advise on transactions that link Australia and New Zealand to China, Hong Kong, Korea, Japan, Singapore and other jurisdictions in the region and around the world. All of our Australia-based lawyers have previously been based in the United States and/or elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific region, and a number of the Firm’s partners who are currently based in the United States or Europe were previously posted in Australia.
Our Melbourne office was established in 1983 and, together with our Sydney office, is regarded as the pre-eminent U.S. legal practice in Australia and New Zealand. In 1992, we moved to 101 Collins Street, which, when completed, was the largest granite-clad building in the Southern Hemisphere and remains the premier business address in Melbourne. The office is located in the legendary “Paris End” of the city, where Melbourne’s founders chose to locate the Victorian State Parliament and the State Treasury. It is also home to many leading Australian law firms, investment banks and major corporations.
Established in November 2001, the Sydney office is our newest in the Asia-Pacific region. In keeping with the rise of Sydney as a major center for global financial services, the Sydney office has expanded our capabilities in this area. The office works closely with our Melbourne office, serving clients in Australia and New Zealand, with particular emphasis on Sydney-based corporations, financial institutions and investment banking clients. Our office in Chifley Tower is located in the heart of Sydney’s financial center, near the Circular Quay ferry complex on Sydney Harbour.
S&C’s U.S. legal practice in Australia and New Zealand covers a wide variety of capital markets transactions, corporate transactions, project financings, and mergers and acquisitions. In addition, we provide advice on regulatory and corporate governance matters and also assist in the handling of litigation and investigations.
Incoming lawyers for the Melbourne and Sydney offices are assigned to the General Practice (corporate) Group. Priority for these positions is given to incoming lawyers who have participated in one of our U.S. office summer programs.
U.S.-Qualified Lawyers
The Melbourne office is interested in hiring U.S.-trained practicing lawyers with securities, leveraged finance, mergers and acquisitions and/or project finance experience. Applicants for associate positions must have a U.S. J.D. or a U.S. LL.M. degree.
To learn more about our associate and summer associate positions, please see Your Career at S&C. Hiring for our Melbourne office is coordinated out of the New York office. Please see the Apply section of our website for information on how to submit an application.