This is Anna, a lawyer in our Sydney office, who specialises in banking and finance. She works with non-bank lenders, property investors and borrowers. We chatted with Anna about her experience in ABL’s Banking & Finance team.
Can you tell us a bit about your career path in law so far, particularly your experience with property transactions?
I started my career in law as a paralegal back during the era of paper-based property and finance settlements. We’d pack into crowded settlement rooms, each carrying stacks of paperwork, original certificates of title, and cheques. Post-COVID, the rules shifted towards mandatory electronic lodgement, and I was introduced to PEXA, an online property settlement network. I jumped right in and learned the ropes and became the go-to person for real property transactions and financial settlements.
Now, I’m a lawyer here at Arnold Bloch Leibler in Sydney, focusing on areas of property, project and corporate financing as well as advising on structuring of transactions. I collaborate closely with our Property & Development team, our Commercial M&A team and our Tax team, handling all aspects of advice required related to projects, construction, sales, and acquisitions. My clients encompass a broad spectrum of individuals and companies from the financial services industry, including non-bank lenders, high-net-worth individuals and borrowers.
Can you tell us about some of your recent transactions you've worked on?
I recently was part of the team representing real estate developer Anka Property Group in their sale of a site in Edgecliff. The purchaser plans to develop the site into a $500 million mixed-use project. This transaction was particularly interesting as the setup of the security was quite bespoke and allowed us to work closely with the Property team.
Another notable transaction involved setting up a fund between our client (a non-bank lender) and an international investment management firm. They co-invested in a highly structured senior/junior fund with an initial commitment of $100 million which had several underlying senior secured property finance facilities as seed investments.
What's your experience been like working at the Sydney office at Arnold Bloch Leibler?
ABL’s environment fosters one where you can grow and thrive quickly, as you are not siloed in one area in your practice or working for just one partner. This breadth of experience develops your commercial acumen along with your crucial legal skills building you into a trusted advisor for your clients. Additionally, there is a lot of responsibility, and you are client-facing, which allows you to develop professional relationships early on in your career. However, the thing that really sold me on ABL was the people and the culture. I’m surrounded by a great team who are approachable and support each other. In Sydney we’re a close-knit team and you get to know everyone really well, making it a pleasure to come to work every day.
