Draft:Johnson Winter Slattery

Johnson Winter Slattery (JWS) is an independent Australian commercial law firm. With offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Brisbane and Canberra, the firm has 87 partners and over 250 lawyers, business development, finance, HR and IT professionals.

History
Johnson Winter Slattery was established in 1993 as a boutique commercial law firm in Adelaide by Tony Johnson, Nigel Winter and Peter Slattery. The firm began with nine partners and 20 staff. Five of those partners joined from Finlaysons.

JWS expanded interstate in 2004 when it opened its Sydney office. Within seven years, the firm opened additional offices in Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth. In 2022, JWS opened its office in Canberra.

Following the retirement of Peter Slattery in June 2021, Jeremy Davis was appointed Managing Partner.

Practice areas
JWS has expertise across a range of practice areas: • Competition/antitrust

• Corporate

• Corporate crime & investigations

• Dispute resolution

• Employment

• Energy & resources

• Environment & planning

• Finance

• Foreign investment

• Funds management

• Intellectual property & IT

• Media

• Private equity & venture capital

• Projects, infrastructure & construction

• Real estate

• Regulatory

• Restructuring & insolvency

• Tax

Clients
JWS is engaged by Australian and international corporations, investment funds and government agencies as legal counsel on transactions and disputes throughout Australia and surrounding regions. Its major clients include Qantas, Rio Tinto, Potentia Capital, Santos, TPG Telecom, Liverpool Partners, Microsoft, Origin Energy, ACCC and Unilever.

In 2022-2023, JWS recorded A$9.4m in government legal work, ranking it among the top 10 law firms in Australia.

Notable cases and transactions
The firm has advised on the following matters:
 * Represented Dow Jones & Co in defamation proceedings brought by Joseph Gutnick (2002).
 * Acted for Unilever on its acquisition of Weis Frozen Foods (2017).
 * Advised the State of South Australia on the world’s first grid-connected 100MW battery project, Hornsdale Power Reserve, and expansion to 150MW (2017-2020).
 * Obtained ACCC informal clearance for PepsiCo's US$3.2 billion acquisition of SodaStream (2018).
 * Helped secure ACCC approval for the proposed acquisition of Ruralco by Nutrien in a deal worth A$469m (2019).
 * Advised Base Resources on the Toliara Mineral Sands Project in Madagascar (2019).
 * Represented Michelle Guthrie in Federal Court litigation against the Australian Broadcasting Corporation for unfair dismissal and related parliamentary inquiries (2019).
 * Advised Carlton & United Breweries on its acquisition of Balter Brewing Company (2019).
 * Represented Lighthouse Corporation in proceedings against the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste regarding a US$328M oil contract dispute (2019).
 * Assisted AB InBev on its Hong Kong IPO and the sale of the group’s Australian business to Asahi (2019-2020).
 * Advised Microsoft on its acquisition of Clipchamp (2021).
 * Represented Google in defamation proceedings brought by criminal lawyer, George Defteros (2022).
 * Represented PwC (formerly PPB Advisory) in its capacity as liquidator of Gunns Group in the case of Bryant & Ors v Badenoch Integrated Logging Pty Ltd (2023).
 * Acted for Potentia Capital on its successful contested A$530m takeover bid for Nitro Software (2023).
 * Advised the sellers of DAOU Vineyards on its proposed A$1.6 billion sale to Treasury Wine Estates (2023).

Pro bono
JWS supports community initiatives and not-for-profit organisations across Australia through pro bono legal work, charitable donations and sponsorships.

Established in 2019 and led by two partners, the firm is a signatory to the National Pro Bono Target, committing to an average of 35 hours of pro bono work per lawyer, per year. Since 2020, JWS has exceeded this target. In 2022, it averaged 43 pro bono hours per lawyer.

Organisations they support and provide pro bono services to include:

JWS is a signatory to Reconciliation Australia's Reflect RAP, indicating the firm's commitment to fostering an inclusive culture for First Nations People.
 * Adelaide Symphony Orchestra
 * Art Gallery of Western Australia
 * Australian Museums and Galleries Association
 * Australian Science Media Centre
 * Photobiomics Research Institute
 * Royal Institution of Australia
 * Type 1 Diabetes Family Centre
 * WEHI.

Secondments
The firm has ongoing secondments with a number of community legal centres, including the Public Interest Advocacy Centre, Marrickville Legal Centre, the Human Rights Law Centre and Oxfam Australia.

Sponsorships
Since 2014, JWS has been a Major Partner and the official legal partner of the Australian Chamber Orchestra.

Associations
International bodies of which the firm’s lawyers are members include the International Bar Association, International Trademark Association, International Fiscal Association, International Wine Law Association, Women’s White Collar Defense Association, and the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators.

Awards
Recent awards won by JWS include:


 * Technology, Media and Telecom M&A Legal Adviser of the Year - Mergermarket M&A Awards Australia (2023).
 * Energy Law - Best Lawyers Law Firm of the Year (2023).
 * Oil and Gas Law - Best Lawyers Law Firm of the Year (2022).
 * Best Law & Related Services Firm (A$50-$200m revenue) - Beaton's Client Choice Awards (2021).
 * Dispute Resolution Team of the Year - Lawyers Weekly Australian Law Awards (2020).

Rankings
JWS is recognised in national and international directories. The Chambers Asia Pacific (2024) rankings recognise 34 practitioners across 18 practice areas.

The Legal 500 Asia Pacific (2023) lists nine partners as "Leading Individuals", with two partners in the "Hall of Fame".

84 practitioners were named in the 2025 Best Lawyers in Australia, including nine "Lawyer of the Year" award recipients and seven "Ones to Watch". Nationally, JWS was ranked as Tier 1 in Mergers and Acquisitions Law, Energy Law and Oil & Gas Law.

Offices
The firm has offices in the following cities:
 * Sydney (Quay Quarter Tower - Headquarters)
 * Melbourne (Collins Place)
 * Adelaide (211 Victoria Square)
 * Perth (Central Park (skyscraper))
 * Brisbane (One One One Eagle Street)
 * Canberra (5 Constitution Avenue)