DibbsBarker opened the New Year with a boost to its partnership numbers with the appointment of John Oakes, Employee and Industrial Relations (E&IR) specialist and the promotion of Jeff Baker, Financial Services and Mark Wiemers, Insurance to the partnership.
John is a partner of the Employee and Industrial Relations team and he is a recognised leading employment lawyer in Australia. His expertise includes providing strategic advice to clients operating in highly unionised environments, in particular enterprise bargaining & dispute resolution. He also advises clients on all aspects of employee equity, employee benefits, remuneration and incentive programs with an interest in the involvement of benefits from one country to another and the integration of international incentive schemes into Australia.
‘We’re very pleased that John has joined the firm and our E&IR group,’ said Managing Partner Alan McArthur. ‘He and members of our team regularly advise business on all aspects of human resources and industrial relations law for clients including banks, financial institutions, construction companies, manufacturers and employer associations. The team regularly works on mergers and acquisitions, company floats and restructurings, ensuring the identification and early resolution of any human resources and industrial relations issues.
John’s work is also consistent with the firm’s industry focus on the consumer goods, property, financial services, medical/pharmaceutical and insurance industry sectors. His depth and experience together with a further three top class employment lawyers who have recently joined the team are a great complement to our firm’s existing legal services,’ he said.
Mr Oakes is enthusiastic about joining a firm which continues to grow and strengthen: ‘I like the firm’s collaborative approach to its clients – practical, direct and decisive. I am keen to broaden the offering to our clients this year and look forward to developing my relationships with them. I also see the recent changes to legislation and the move to Federal awards as an opportunity to grow the firm’s practice regardless of geographical location.’
When many firms are placing a hold on both promotions and recruitment, DibbsBarker is challenging current trends and doing both. Alan McArthur commented, ‘Jeff Baker’s promotion to partner further consolidates the banking credentials of the firm’s Financial Services industry group. The firm has a strong reputation in the sector and Jeff’s appointment supports our growth strategy for the sector.
Mark Wiemer’s promotion to partner continues the firm’s growth of services to the insurance industry. Mark is an advisor to self-insurers, corporates and domestic and overseas insurers.’
DibbsBarker is a commercial law firm that delivers legal advice with industry insights.
