Clayton Utz features prominently among winners at the 2017 Australasian Law Awards

Sydney, Friday 2 June 2017: Clayton Utz was the proud recipient of the JLT Employee Health & Wellbeing Award at the 2017 Australasian Law Awards in Sydney recently, recognising the quality, innovativeness and impact of the firm's health and wellbeing initiatives. This was one of seven accolades Clayton Utz secured at the Awards, which celebrate excellence in the legal profession in Australia and New Zealand.

Chief Executive Partner (CEP) Rob Cutler was also named Scarlis Pringle Law Firm Leader of the Year (>200 employees), while Environment and Planning lawyer Tom Dougherty was named Young Private Practice Lawyer of the Year (30 or Under).

Clayton Utz also had roles on three transactions that won Deal of the Year awards:

• Arrium Group Insolvency - Insolvency & Restructuring Deal of the Year

  Advisors to the board of directors of Arrium Ltd on Arrium's initial recapitalisation plan and subsequently dealing with its administrators (KordaMentha), through to management of the Arrium Mining businesses. Lead partners: Jennifer Ball for Arrium's board of directors and Cameron Belyea, Alistair Fleming and Clive Luck for KordaMentha, and Orla McCoy for Toyota Finance (a critical creditor).

• Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investing and Investa Property Group - Property, Infrastructure & Projects Deal of the Year

  Adviser to Investa Office Management on the restructure of the Investa Commercial Property Fund and its acquisition of the Investa Office Management Platform from Morgan Stanley; Lead partner: Matt Anderson.

• Acquisition of Asciano by Brookfield and Qube - M&A Deal of the Year and Australian Deal of the Year

  Adviser to the financiers to the consortium that acquired the rail assets of Asciano Limited as part of the demerger of Asciano into separate rail, ports and bulk automotive businesses; Lead partner: Dan Fitts.

Commenting on the accolades, CEP Rob Cutler credited the recognition to the exceptional talent and commitment of the firm's partners and employees.

"Our people do fantastic work for our clients and in making Clayton Utz a better workplace. This is evident in the breadth and scope of the matters our clients consult us on and the innovative employee programs we have in place, such as our health and wellbeing initiatives. The awards reaffirm this and are a credit to their efforts."