Sydney – Global law firm K&L Gates has further bolstered its Corporate practice with the appointment of Divesh Patel as a partner. Patel joins K&L Gates in Sydney from Johnson Winter Slattery, where he was a partner in the firm’s private equity and M&A practice groups.

Patel is dual qualified in Australia and South Africa and regularly advises leading domestic and international clients, including private equity sponsors, across a range of sectors including transport and logistics, manufacturing, retail, FMCG, financial services, infrastructure, aviation, media, technology and telecommunications. 

His extensive transactional experience and cross-sector insights gained from advising on private equity, joint ventures, and other complex commercial transactions, as well as distressed sale transactions and restructurings, will add depth and breadth to our global corporate offerings and foreign investment-related capabilities.

K&L Gates’ Regional Managing Partner, Australia, Jason Opperman said: “We are delighted to welcome Divesh to the firm; his appointment further strengthens our corporate and commercial capabilities in Australia. It also represents our continued commitment to deliberately and strategically growing and investing in areas that are in high demand by our clients and the wider market.”

Corporate practice area leader Chris Nikou commented: “We are thrilled to have Divesh join the team, he has an outstanding reputation for his skill in corporate M&A and private equity transactions, which aligns perfectly with our global platform.”

Patel is the third partner to join the firm’s Corporate practice in Australia in recent months. His arrival follows the appointments of Corporate partners Khilen Devani and Carl Hinze based in Brisbane in March 2024, Real estate partner Justin O’Callaghan, Brisbane and Finance partner Claudine Salameh in Sydney with the number of Australian partners rising to 77.

K&L Gates’ Corporate practice is one of the most substantial in the legal industry, with more than 500 lawyers in offices on five continents assisting clients in the structuring, financing, and completion of domestic, international, and cross-border transactions. The group serves as counsel to a broad array of Global 500, Fortune 100, FTSE 100 corporations, privately held and venture-backed companies, partnerships, private equity firms, other investment funds, management groups, and entrepreneurs.