Steven Humphries

Partner Corporate Law

Steven is an M&A specialist with more than 25 years’ experience. He brings industry-leading expertise to all stages of corporate transactions, from pre-deal structuring and strategy, to due diligence, negotiation, execution and post-closing restructuring.

Other areas of specialisation include securities law and capital-raising, private equity, joint ventures, corporate governance and foreign investment matters.

Through his experience and network, both locally and internationally, Steven enables our clients to access skillsets and successfully achieve outstanding commercial outcomes. His experience and proactive approach to his work and to meeting his clients’ objectives has seen him  recognised in the 2021-2024 editions of The Best Lawyers in Australia for his expertise in Commercial Law.

Trent Le Breton

Partner Corporate Law

Trent has over two decades experience in advising on mergers and acquisitions, debt and capital raisings and general corporate law.

He has a special interest in technology and its application to the practice of law and enjoys developing new approaches to transactional services to deliver a more valuable service to his clients. It is this mindset that led him to co-found Walter Baden.

Trent provides commercially astute advice on the sale and divestiture of businesses and other corporate transactions, including secondary and exempt offers for start-ups and private companies. Clients also seek Trent’s advice on general corporate matters, such as contract preparation and negotiation.

Brian Powles

Partner Workplace Law

An innovative and client focused lawyer, he has experience in both contentious and non-contentious matters. He acts for employers across Australia in all areas of workplace law, including general protection applications, unfair dismissals, employment contracts, policies and breach of contract, workplace investigations, redundancy, restraint of trade, intellectual property disputes and discrimination. He has an intricate understanding of the industrial relations system, including modern award interpretation, and enterprise bargaining

Prior to law, Brian had a successful career in hospitality and was the employer of a very significant workforce, giving him client-side insights into key issues affecting employers. He brings a uniquely practical and contextual approach to advising on workplace issues.

Jacqueline Monk

Special Counsel Commercial Law

Jacqueline is a senior commercial lawyer with both private practice and inhouse experience. She offers agile and practical legal advice for today’s fast-paced businesses, with an eye to clients’ strategic objectives. Her expertise encompasses documenting and negotiating a broad range of commercial agreements, including procurement, service, supply, distribution, manufacturing, consultancy and licensing arrangements. Jacqueline also advises Walter Baden clients on their compliance obligations in the fields of privacy, modern slavery reporting, notifiable data breaches and unfair contract terms. With her background in M&A, Jacqueline is uniquely placed to assist the corporate team with their due diligence projects, bringing clarity and valuable insights into the commercial risks and opportunities within target businesses.

Kien Ng

Special Counsel Corporate Law

Kien specialises in negotiated mergers and acquisitions and corporate advisory law.

A senior and respected member of the Walter Baden team, Kien is known as a legal technician with a passion for documenting and closing complex transactions.

He brings a meticulous approach to all stages of the deals he works on, including when managing large-scale due diligence and other projects.

Bilgen Bayraktar Abali

Lawyer Corporate Law

Bilgen specialises in M&A, financing projects and corporate governance.

As a dual-qualified lawyer with a solid foundation in civil law and extensive experience practising in Europe, she brings a global perspective to our team.

Her international experience includes working with global banking institutions and multinational corporations on high-profile cross-border M&A and financing deals, as well as advising clients on corporate governance matters.

Brittany Morgan

Lawyer Workplace Law

Brittany is an experienced HR professional. With a Bachelor of Business (Human Resources) and a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) and Master of Laws (Dispute Resolution) Brittany has a strong understanding of workplace dynamics and its interaction with the law.

Admitted in 2022, she brings a holistic approach to advising Walter Baden’s clients on all areas of workplace law and has a particular passion for HR policies, procedures, and navigating employment legislation.

Georgia Cameron

Lawyer Workplace Law

Georgia is a new addition to Walter Baden’s employment team. With a double degree in Law and Psychological Science, she has a strong understanding of the human context of workplace law issues.

Having spent time working in hospitality management, Georgia possesses strong communication and customer service skills. These qualities contribute to a well-rounded professional who prides herself on delivering commercially practical driven solutions to our clients’ workplace issues.

Michelle Lai

General Manager

Michelle is a former practising lawyer turned legal operations specialist. She has over 20 years’ experience in the legal profession. She has previously held roles as a lead regulatory investigations solicitor with our professional regulator and a senior commercial litigator at a national law firm.

Michelle is a specialist in getting complex and difficult things done for the benefit of the Walter Baden team and its clients. She excels at delivering projects on time and is highly skilled in communicating and engaging with stakeholders. Her meticulous, proactive and energetic approach ensures the smooth running and success of the firm’s operations. She plays a key role in helping us deliver exceptional, commercial outcomes for our clients.