15 August 2013: One of Australia's leading real estate lawyers, Andrew Norman, will join Clayton Utz in Melbourne as a partner in the firm's national Real Estate practice, from King & Wood Mallesons.
Andrew has over 20 years' experience in the property industry, having acted for and advised a range of clients on the acquisition, development, leasing and sale of land in the commercial, industrial and retail sectors.
Andrew has acted on some of the largest real estate deals that have been undertaken in the Sydney and Melbourne markets. His impressive transaction record includes acting on: the leasing and development of National Australia Bank's Commercial Office Headquarters in Docklands, Melbourne; the sale of the 11 property Australand National Industrial Airport Portfolio and Australand's Victorian portfolio of industrial and commercial properties; the financing of the acquisition of the $846 million Woolworths Distribution Centre Portfolio; the sale of GE Real Estate's Australian property portfolio, valued at over $1.4 billion over several tranches, and; the sale and leaseback of the $570 million Telstra commercial office portfolio.
The national head of Clayton Utz's Real Estate practice, Gary Best, said Andrew was a natural fit for Clayton Utz. "Andrew is a great addition to the Clayton Utz team. He is a lawyer of undoubted quality and tremendous experience, having acted for some of the largest players in the Australian market. Andrew has a strong industry reputation and is respected both personally and professionally as one of the market's leading practitioners in this area. His addition to the team complements our national practice and gives us a strong on-the-ground presence in Melbourne, where we anticipate significant future activity."
Clayton Utz is the firm of choice on some of Australia's most significant and complex property projects, including the A$3 billion Sydney International Convention, Exhibition and Entertainment Precinct Project (as primary legal adviser to Infrastructure New South Wales and Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority) and the landmark Barangaroo urban renewal project (advising the Barangaroo Delivery Authority), the largest CBD development in the history of Sydney, and Australia.