Leading national law practice Colin Biggers & Paisley scores yet another win for their property and development legal services offering, with two new appointments bringing more than 35 years of property experience to the East Coast team.

Deanne Methven joins the Sydney property and development team as Special Counsel, and the bourgeoning Melbourne team welcomes Marina Basile as Senior Associate.

The announcement follows a month after the commencement of David Passarella, Partner in the Planning and Environment team in Melbourne, whose appointment completed a strategic objective of the practice to have an end-to-end property and development legal services offering in the southern state.

Partner and National Head of Property and Development, Rhett Oliver said the team was moving from strength-to-strength following the consecutive appointments, with the practice continuing to focus on expanding the end-to-end property development team, and embedding a strong collaborative culture across the states.

"We are thrilled to welcome Deanne and Marina onboard. Experience as a client, and a senior lawyer, makes Deanne an incredibly strategic, effective property lawyer with extensive experience negotiating and drafting leases, leading to commercial outcomes for her clients," Mr Oliver said.

"One of our major priorities for the next year is to continue to secure greater share of the institutional office, retail and industrial leasing market, and Deanne's expertise in this area, including with GPT and Lendlease, working with our senior property partner Matthew Castley, will help enormously to bring this vision to life. 

"We intend to focus very heavily on 'staking our claim' in the Melbourne legal services market and leveraging our profile as one of the pre-eminent east coast property and development practices offering end-to-end legal services for property development projects.

"As such, Marine Basile's appointment to the Melbourne team, and her experience across some of Victoria's premier developments, will further underpin our investment in this state, with David Passarella, and the arrival last year of Michael Lanyon and his team aligning well with our existing substantial client base in Victoria."

Deanne has significant experience working with institutional landlords, not for profit and private clients across a number of sectors, including retail and commercial leasing and acquisitions and disposals.

Marina Basile has more than a decade's experience in project management, due diligence, acquisitions, sales and commercial and retail leasing, providing clients with advice on planning and land use issues including the impact of zoning, overlays and any proposed amendments to the planning scheme.

For more information please contact Linda Branton on 02 8281 4594 or linda.branton@cbp.com.au.

This is commentary published by Colin Biggers & Paisley for general information purposes only. This should not be relied on as specific advice. You should seek your own legal and other advice for any question, or for any specific situation or proposal, before making any final decision. The content also is subject to change. A person listed may not be admitted as a lawyer in all States and Territories. © Colin Biggers & Paisley, Australia 2024.