EY hires Nikki Bentley from Norton Rose Fulbright
Nikki Bentley, a partner at Norton Rose Fulbright, has left the law firm last month to join EY in Sydney.
At the global accounting and consulting firm, Bentley has been appointed a partner in the firm’s Legal division. Continuing her work at Norton Rose Fulbright and previously Henry Davis York, where she spent a total of fifteen years, Bentley will focus on clients in the financial services industry, with a focus on the investment segment.
Her track record includes advising many leading Australian and global financial services clients on a wide range of corporate, commercial and regulatory issues facing their businesses. Bentley has for instance advised on onshore and offshore fund establishment, product disclosure, distribution and investment management, and on more strategic topics such as market entry into Australia.
Antoinette Elias, EY’s wealth and asset management leader in Oceania, said that the firm is “delighted to welcome Nikki to the team”, while Michelle Segaert, a partner at EY in Australia, added “Nikki’s skills and experience complement and add further depth to EY’s financial legal services and offerings.”
The move comes at a time when EY is growing strongly. The firm has boosted its local revenues by 20% in the past two financial years to $1.8 billion, with legal services on of the faster growing propositions. Similar to developments at the other Big Four firms, EY is investing heavily in its legal portfolio, with the aim of leveraging its financial muscle and global scale to nestle itself into the top tier of the law industry.
The financial services law team, which is one service line within EY Law, but one of the larger ones, has been “going from strength to strength in the past years,” commented Segaert, without disclosing more details on headcount.
Speaking of her move, Bentley said, “The opportunity to be part of such a highly-regarded team of financial services industry professionals was integral in my decision to join EY. The team is well-placed to assist clients with the complex challenges they are currently facing.”
Earlier this year, two Australia-based partner at rivals KPMG and PwC were promoted to global roles. KPMG Australia's Stuart Fuller now heads the firm's global legal arm, while Tony O'Malley holds the same role at PwC, the largest of the quartet in Australia.
