And the finalists are...

With Australia's corporate world transfixed on Macquarie Bank's takeover bid for the London Stock Exchange, as well as Alinta's acquisition of a stake in AGL, readers could be forgiven for casting one eye towards next year's ALB Australasia Law Awards.

Of course, only time will tell if either of these deals eventuates and is ultimately short-listed at the 2007 Awards. But the level of deal activity only two short months into a new year bodes well for the remainder of 2006.

Transactional counsel will certainly be hoping that this year is a continuation of the last. While the volume of mergers and acquisitions in Australia and New Zealand in 2005 showed a 3.5% decline from the previous year (US$99.1bn worth of transactions compared to US$102.6bn in 2004), there was a 17.2% upsurge in legal participation in M&A deals, as legal counsel was sought in 804 deals against 686 transactions in 2004 (source: Thomson Financial).

So while there are no deals of the magnitude of the A$26bn Westfield Group merger among this year's ALB finalists (the US$7.7bn tender offer by BHP Billiton for the entire share capital of WMC Resources was the largest announced deal for 2005), there is nonetheless a plethora of complex transactions that will be celebrated at the fabulous Sheraton on the Park in Sydney on 6 April.

ALB magazine is delighted to announce the official list of finalists for the second annual Australasia Law Awards.

Through a total of 27 award categories, the Awards aims to recognise the key transactions in Australia and New Zealand in 2005 and the firms that acted on them. We wish to thank the hundreds of legal and industry professionals who enthusiastically helped the Awards by assisting us with our months of research.

The finalists in each deal category have been assessed against a range of criteria: deal value, complexity, number of parties involved, innovative deal structure, timeframe for completion and significance to the market. Meanwhile, finalists in the firm categories have been recognised for their outstanding client service as well as their ability to combine rigorous analysis with astute judgment to give clients a competitive edge.

The following pages are the result of ALB research. The omission of a firm from a transaction does not mean that the firm did not play a role on the transaction. ALB would like to congratulate all of the finalists for the 2006 Australasia Law Awards and we look forward to you joining us and MC Julie McCrossin (of ABC TV and radio fame) at the Sheraton on the Park in Sydney on 6 April.

Project Control Group Award
Commercial Property and Construction Deal of the Year
This award recognises a deal involving outstanding work in advising a vendor, purchaser, financier or arranger on the sale or purchase, financing or refinancing, lease or other arrangement involving a major commercial property in the Australasian region. It also recognises outstanding work in advising a developer, sponsor, financier or project manager on a major construction project

FINALISTS
Chatswood Transport Interchange
Firms: Mallesons Stephen Jaques; Clayton Utz; Blake Dawson Waldron; Freehills; Piper Alderman
Banks: Commonwealth Bank of Australia; Babcock & Brown Real Estate Finance
Accountant: PricewaterhouseCoopers

Newcastle Mater Hospital redevelopment
Firms: Mallesons Stephen Jaques; Clayton Utz; Blake Dawson Waldron
Bank: Westpac Banking Corporation

Rhodes Peninsula redevelopment
Firms: Clayton Utz; Minter Ellison; Blake Dawson Waldron; Gilbert + Tobin
Bank: Bank of Scotland

Kooragang Coal Loader Project
Firms: Clayton Utz; Gilbert + Tobin

Darwin City Waterfront Project
Firms: Mallesons Stephen Jaques; Freehills; Cridlands; NT Department of Justice
Bank: ABN AMRO
Accountants: PricewaterhouseCoopers; KPMG

Sheraton Mirage
Firms: Deacons; Allens Arthur Robinson
Accountant: Deloitte

IHG property disposal
Firms: Baker & McKenzie; Henry Davis York

Energy & Resources Deal of the Year
The energy and resources market is in boom mode in Australia and there are plenty of deals being done in this sector. This category recognises the most significant one

FINALISTS
CLP - Singapore Power
Firms: Mallesons Stephen Jaques; Baker & McKenzie; Minter Ellison; Clayton Utz
Banks: JP Morgan; Morgan Stanley
Accountants: Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu; KPMG

AGL - Southern Hydro
Firms: Gilbert + Tobin; Allens Arthur Robinson; Russell McVeagh
Banks: Macquarie Bank; Credit Suisse First Boston
Accountant: KPMG

BHP Billiton - WMC Resources
Firms: Blake Dawson Waldron; Allens Arthur Robinson; Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz; Slaughter and May; Mallesons Stephen Jaques; Cravath, Swaine & Moore
Banks: Deutsche Bank; Carnegie Wylie & Company; UBS; Citigroup

Loy Yang A refinancing
Firms: Freehills; Allens Arthur Robinson
Banks: ABN AMRO; ANZ Bank; Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi; Calyon Australia Limited; Mizuho Corporate Bank; National Australia Bank; Royal Bank of Scotland; Sumitomo Mitsui Finance Australia; West LB AG; Westpac
Accountant: Ernst & Young

West Kimberley Power Project
Firms: Freehills; Allens Arthur Robinson
Banks: ANZ Investment Bank; ABN AMRO; National Australia Bank
Accountant: PricewaterhouseCoopers

JFE Western 4 joint venture
Firms: Minter Ellison; Mallesons Stephen Jaques; Freehills

CIF - Inexus Group
Firms: Minter Ellison; Freehills; Clifford Chance
Bank: Macquarie Bank

CHH - Matariki Forests
Firms: Bell Gully; Mayne Wetherall; Buddle Findlay
Bank: Deutsche Bank AG
Accountant: PricewaterhouseCoopers

Infrastructure Deal of the Year
This award recognises a major deal involving a consortium, financier, sponsor, equity investor, government body or other party on a major project to build, finance, design, operate and maintain infrastructure like toll roads, railways, airports, electricity, gas and telecommunications. BOOT, BOT and PPP projects are included in this category

ARTC alliance contracts
Firms: Clayton Utz; Mallesons Stephen Jaques

Royal Melbourne Showgrounds redevelopment
Firms: Mallesons Stephen Jaques; Blake Dawson Waldron; Freehills; Allens Arthur Robinson; Corrs Chambers Westgarth
Banks: ANZ Bank; Société Générale; Babcock & Brown
Accountants: KPMG; Ernst & Young

Darwin City Waterfront Project
Firms: Mallesons Stephen Jaques; Freehills; Cridlands; NT Department of Justice
Bank: ABN AMRO
Accountants: PricewaterhouseCoopers; KPMG

Southbank PPP Project
Firms: Blake Dawson Waldron; Freehills
Bank: ABN AMRO
Accountants: KPMG; PricewaterhouseCoopers

Victoria SmartCard Solution
Firms: Clayton Utz; Mallesons Stephen Jaques

IT/Telco Deal of the Year
This category celebrates work in new and emerging technologies involving clients whose core business is in the technology and telecommunications sectors. One of the most fast-paced and most rapidly changing areas of the law, transactions are frequently characterised by strict commercial deadlines set within extremely tight timeframes

FINALISTS
Project Vipro joint venture
Firms: Freehills; Minter Ellison
Banks: National Australia Bank; Westpac Banking Corporation; Commonwealth Bank of Australia

Reach restructure
Firms: Mallesons Stephen Jaques; Gilbert + Tobin; Simmons & Simmons

Unwired - Intel
Firms: Clayton Utz; Blake Dawson Waldron

Insolvency & Restructuring Deal of the Year
This award recognises the most significant restructuring deal in the market that helped a company get back on its feet

FINALISTS
Westbus sale
Firms: Blake Dawson Waldron; Minter Ellison; Freehills; Pigott Stinson Ratner Thom
Bank: Deloitte Corporate Finance
Accountant: Deloitte

Australian Growth Limited
Firms: Clayton Utz; Mallesons Stephen Jaques; Piper Alderman; Deacons
Bank: National Australia Bank
Accountants: PPB; Ernst & Young; PKF

Rowena-Oakleigh liquidations
Firms: Clayton Utz; Solomon Brothers; Dibbs Abbott Stillman; Troika Legal
Accountant: RSM Bird Cameron

Reach restructure
Firms: Mallesons Stephen Jaques; Gilbert + Tobin; Simmons & Simmons

Securitisation Deal of the Year
The securitisation sector in Australia continues to perform as a growing and dynamic market. Since the first securitisations were undertaken in the mid-1980s, the domestic market has steadily matured in sophistication and product choice

FINALISTS
Adelaide Bank Series 2005-1 (AAA) TORRENS Trust
Firm: Clayton Utz
Banks: Deutsche Bank; National Australia Bank

RAMS Home Loans XCP program
Firms: Mallesons Stephen Jaques; Mayne Wetherell; Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw; Seward & Kissell; Clayton Utz
Banks: Merrill Lynch Money Markets Inc.; Citigroup Global Markets Inc.

National Australia Bank CLO
Firms: Mallesons Stephen Jaques; Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker
Banks: National Australia Bank; Citibank N.A; Citicorp Trustee Company Limited; Citibank International plc

OASIS/Orchid Series 2005-1
Firms: Mallesons Stephen Jaques; Russell McVeagh; Phillips Fox; Crengle Shreve & Ratner
Bank: ABN AMRO

Project Finance Deal of the Year
Deals eligible for nomination in this category are project financings across a range of industry sectors including energy, infrastructure, transport, telecommunications and resources

FINALISTS
Royal Women's Hospital redevelopment
Firms: Minter Ellison; Mallesons Stephen Jaques; Allens Arthur Robinson; Deacons; Freehills; Corrs Chambers Westgarth
Banks: Macquarie Bank, ANZ Bank
Accountants: KPMG; PricewaterhouseCoopers

Newcastle Mater hospital redevelopment
Firms: Mallesons Stephen Jaques; Clayton Utz; Blake Dawson Waldron
Bank: Westpac Banking Corporation

Braemar Power Station Project
Firms: Mallesons Stephen Jaques; Allens Arthur Robinson
Banks: ANZ Bank; Calyon; Suncorp Metway
Accountant: Ernst & Young

Southbank PPP Project
Firms: Blake Dawson Waldron; Freehills
Bank: ABN AMRO
Accountants: KPMG; PricewaterhouseCoopers

Woolnorth Bluff Point Wind Farm
Firms: Clayton Utz; Mallesons Stephen Jaques
Accountant: Deloitte

Otway Gas Project
Firms: Freehills; Clayton Utz; Blake Dawson Waldron
Banks: Calyon Australia Limited; Westpac Banking Corporation

Debt Market Deal of the Year
Rather than look to resource intensive work such as equity deals - where a lot of 'work in progress' is carried on the balance sheet - a lot of investment banking firms are looking at other niche areas, such as shorter dated products like debt, convertible bonds, equity-linked debt and straight debt (where the execution risk is lower)

FINALISTS
Allco Max Securities and Mortgage Trust
Firms: Mallesons Stephen Jaques; Freehills; Blake Dawson Waldron
Banks: Société Générale; Grange Securities Limited; JP Morgan; Allco Finance Group Limited; Allco Funds Management Limited

Mobius NCM 03 Trust
Firms: Mallesons Stephen Jaques; Clayton Utz; Allens Arthur Robinson; Henry Davis York
Banks: Allco Finance Group Limited; Commonwealth Bank of Australia; Macquarie Bank Limited

Tempo Services acquisition
Firms: Clayton Utz; Allens Arthur Robinson; Freehills; Minter Ellison
Bank: ANZ Investment Bank
Accountant: Deloitte

Great Southern Plantations - TREES3
Firm: Minter Ellison
Bank: Macquarie Bank
Accountant: PricewaterhouseCoopers

CLP - Singapore Power
Firms: Mallesons Stephen Jaques; Baker & McKenzie; Minter Ellison; Clayton Utz
Banks: JP Morgan; Morgan Stanley
Accountants: Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu; KPMG

Foodland Associated Limited
Firms: Freehills; Mallesons Stephen Jaques; Gilbert + Tobin; Bell Gully; Chapman Tripp
Banks: ABN AMRO; Deutsche Bank; UBS Warburg/Momentum Capital
Accountants: Ernst & Young; PricewaterhouseCoopers; Deloitte; Grant Samuel

Equity Market Deal of the Year
The leading equity capital markets practices will house capability across the full range of equity instruments, such as initial public offerings, stock exchange listings, capital raisings or other issuances

FINALISTS
Goodman Fielder
Firms: Freehills; Blake Dawson Waldron; Bell Gully; Sullivan & Cromwell; Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman
Banks: Credit Suisse First Boston; Macquarie Bank; UBS; First NZ Capital Securities Limited, ABN AMRO Rothschild
Accountants: Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu; KPMG

SP AusNet
Firms: Freehills; Allen & Gledhill; Sullivan & Cromwell; Allens Arthur Robinson; WongPartnership; Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman
Banks: DBS; UBS; Morgan Stanley
Accountants: KPMG/KPMG Transaction Services

Spark
Firms: Mallesons Stephen Jaques; Allens Arthur Robinson; Sullivan & Cromwell; Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman
Banks: Deutsche Bank; Citigroup; Merrill Lynch
Accountant: Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu

Tattersall's
Firms: Clayton Utz; Allens Arthur Robinson; Herbert Geer & Rundle; Norton Gledhill; Aitken Walker and Strachan; Hunt & Hunt; McKean & Park; Salans
Banks: Goldman Sachs JBWere; Macquarie Equity Capital Markets
Accountants: Moore Stephens HF; PricewaterhouseCoopers; KPMG

Alinta
Firms: Blake Dawson Waldron; Mallesons Stephen Jaques; Bell Gully
Banks: UBS AG
Accountants: PricewaterhouseCoopers

Challenger Infrastructure Fund
Firms: Blake Dawson Waldron; Mallesons Stephen Jaques
Banks: JP Morgan Australia Limited; Citigroup Global Markets Australia Pty Limited
Accountants: Ernst & Young Transaction Advisory Services Limited

Vector
Firms: Russell McVeagh; Chapman Tripp

Swift + Moore Award
M&A Deal of the Year
The award recognises the leading merger or acquisition deal of 2005, taking into account the deal value, complexity, number of parties involved and the deal's significance to the market

FINALISTS
BHP Billiton - WMC Resources
Firms: Blake Dawson Waldron; Allens Arthur Robinson; Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz; Slaughter and May; Mallesons Stephen Jaques; Cravath, Swaine & Moore
Banks: Deutsche Bank; Carnegie Wylie & Company; UBS; Citigroup

GPT - Babcock & Brown
Firms: Allens Arthur Robinson; Baker & McKenzie; Freehills; Mallesons Stephen Jaques
Bank: Macquarie Bank
Accountant: PricewaterhouseCoopers

Fosters - Southcorp
Firms: Corrs Chambers Westgarth; Allens Arthur Robinson; Freehills; Jones Day
Banks: Deutsche Bank; Goldman Sachs JBWere; Credit Suisse First Boston; Citigroup; JPMorgan
Accountant: KPMG

Ramsay Health Care - Affinity Health
Firms: Blake Dawson Waldron; Mallesons Stephen Jaques; Allens Arthur Robinson
Banks: Goldman Sachs JBWere; Gresham and Ernst & Young Corporate Advisory; Ernst &Young - Corporate Advisory
Accountants: Ernst & Young; PricewaterhouseCoopers

San Miguel - National Foods
Firms: Blake Dawson Waldron; Freehills; Mallesons Stephen Jaques; Russell McVeagh
Banks: ABN AMRO; UBS; Credit Suisse First Boston
Accountant: Grant Thornton

CLP - Singapore Power
Firms: Mallesons Stephen Jaques; Baker & McKenzie; Minter Ellison; Clayton Utz
Banks: JP Morgan; Morgan Stanley
Accountants: Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu; KPMG

Investment Bank Team of the Year
The winning investment bank team will have demonstrated excellent skills in coordinating deals, working cooperatively with external legal advisers and helping to achieve outcomes that represent outstanding results for their business

FINALISTS
ABN AMRO
Deutsche Bank
Goldman Sachs
Macquarie Bank Limited
Merrill Lynch
UBS

New Zealand Deal Team of the Year
This award is in recognition of New Zealand's leading law firm practice group that has stood out for its innovation, commercial acumen and outstanding service to clients across a number of transactions in 2005

FINALISTS
Bell Gully - Corporate/M&A
Chapman Tripp - Corporate/M&A
Russell McVeagh - Corporate/M&A

Australian Deal Team of the Year
This award is in recognition of Australia's leading law firm practice group that has stood out for its innovation, commercial acumen and outstanding service to clients across a number of transactions in 2005

FINALISTS
Allens Arthur Robinson - Corporate/M&A
Blake Dawson Waldron - Corporate/M&A
Clayton Utz - Major Projects
Freehills - Capital Markets
Mallesons Stephen Jaques - Project Finance
Minter Ellison - Energy & Resources

New Zealand Dealmaker of the Year
This individual has been the outstanding rainmaker in the NZ legal services industry over 2005

FINALISTS
Garth Sinclair - Russell McVeagh
Gavin Macdonald - Bell Gully
John Strowger - Chapman Tripp

Wordwave International Award
Australian Dealmaker of the Year
This individual has been the outstanding rainmaker in the Australian legal services industry over 2005

FINALISTS
David Williamson - Blake Dawson Waldron
Ewen Crouch - Allens Arthur Robinson
Philippa Stone - Freehills
Stephen Minns - Mallesons Stephen Jaques

New Zealand Deal of the Year
Neither a high kiwi dollar or constant talk of an economic slump has slowed down the local NZ M&A market. There has been a significant inflow of private equity into New Zealand from cash-rich Australian superannuation funds

FINALISTS
Rank Group - Fonterra
Firms: Bell Gully; Russell McVeagh
Banks: Stephen Walker Limited; First NZ Capital; BCG

PGG - Wrightson
Firms: Chapman Tripp; Jones Young
Bank: Antipodes Capital
Accountants: PricewaterhouseCoopers; KPMG; CRA

INL - Sky TV
Firms: Bell Gully; Buddle Findlay; Allens Arthur Robinson; Chapman Tripp; Linklaters; Sullivan & Cromwell; Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer; Lindsay McKay QC
Banks: First NZ Capital; UBS NZ Limited
Accountants: KPMG; PricewaterhouseCoopers; Ernst & Young; Grant Samuel; Ferrier Hodgson

Law Image Services Award
Australian Deal of the Year
This category recognises the most significant deal involving an Australian party or Australian subject matter

FINALISTS
To be announced on the evening

Employment Specialist Firm of the Year
With the practice of employment law becoming increasingly complex, the leading firms have developed specialist, dedicated groups of lawyers to cope with the upturn in workload

FINALISTS
Australian Business Lawyers
Carroll & O'Dea
Harmers Workplace Lawyers
Fisher Cartwright Berriman

IP Specialist Firm of the Year
With the continuing increase in sophistication of intellectual property laws in Australia and New Zealand, this once niche area of law is now the terrain of general practices while the traditional boutique leaders use their IP client bases to broaden into other areas

FINALISTS
Davies Collison Cave
Griffith Hack
Phillips Ormonde & Fitzpatrick
Spruson & Ferguson

Transport Firm of the Year
The downturn in the global shipping and aviation industries in the past few years has undoubtedly affected practices in Australia and New Zealand. Hopefully the worst is now over, and the firms that have battled through the hard times should be able to capitalise on their industry lead

FINALISTS
Blake Dawson Waldron
Clayton Utz
Ebsworth & Ebsworth
Middletons
Minter Ellison
Norton White
Phillips Fox

La Trobe University Award
International Firm of the Year
Although only a few non-Australian/New Zealand firms actually have a presence on the ground in this part of the world, they are becoming evermore active in the region as more transactions incorporate cross-border elements

FINALISTS
Jones Day
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
Sullivan & Cromwell

Banking & Financial Services In-house Team of the Year
The winning banking and finance in-house team will have demonstrated a thorough knowledge of all relevant aspects of the finance industry, such as an ability to respond to and anticipate a range of market trends, up-to-date knowledge of relevant legislation and regulations, as well as the confidence to embrace new products and approaches to achieve maximum benefit for the business

FINALISTS
ANZ Bank
Babcock & Brown
BankWest
CUSCAL
Perpetual Limited
Westpac

Government In-house Team of the Year
The 2005 Audit Report on the in-house capability of government departments revealed a mixed use of legal services. Summed up, it is the normal bureaucratic battle between the desire for excellence and the need to focus on value for money. There has been a huge growth in the number of in-house lawyers in government departments but no corresponding reduction in the volume of work for external firms in this area

FINALISTS
Australian Taxation Office
Department of Defence
Department of Finance and Administration
Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs
Department of Employment and Workplace Relations

Insurance In-house Team of the Year
Closing a deal and getting it to the market can depend as much on those lawyers sitting on the in-house side of the table as those in private practice, if not more so. And lawyers have a natural affiliation with the insurance industry: risk aversion being the name of the game. Since HIH, the in-house teams at insurance companies have had to cope with a great deal more compliance and corporate governance issues than in the past

FINALISTS
Allianz
IAG
Promina
QBE
Zurich Group

Chapman Tripp Award
New Zealand In-House Team of the Year
The winning New Zealand in-house team will have played a significant role in achieving completion of a number of major transactions for its employer

FINALISTS
Air New Zealand
ANZ Bank
Contact Energy
Fonterra Co-operative Group
Meridian Energy
Telecom New Zealand
Vector
Westpac

Australian In-House Team of the Year
The winning Australian in-house team will have demonstrated excellent skills in coordinating a number of major transactions for its employer

FINALISTS
AGL
Alinta
AMP
BHP Billiton
IBM
Network Ten
Telstra

Australasian In-House Lawyer of the Year
The recipient of this award will have played a significant role in achieving completion of a number of major transactions for his or her employer. He or she will have demonstrated excellent skills in coordinating deals, worked cooperatively with external legal advisers and helped achieve outcomes that represent outstanding results for the business

FINALISTS
David Cohen - AMP
David Matthews - Fonterra
James Coyne - GPT
John Fast - BHP Billiton
Mark Verbiest - Telecom New Zealand
Murray King - Alinta
Nicolas Short - Carter Holt Harvey


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