Piper Alderman partner Amanda Banton will leave the firm and join the Sydney office of Squire Patton Boggs in January – taking a team of 11 lawyers with her – according to an exclusive report published in InvestorDaily sister title Lawyers Weekly.
Ms Banton, who ran the successful challenge against S&P over the AAA ratings awarded to certain financial products, is one of the highest billing lawyers in Australian private practice, commanding a salary of more than $3 million, the report suggested.
“We are very pleased to welcome Amanda and her team to our firm,” said Squire Patton Boggs managing partner John Poulsen.
“Amanda is known among her peers as a strategic thinker, a true leader and a lawyer of choice for complex litigation and insolvency recovery matters.”
Ms Banton will be an equity partner at the global firm.
In January 2014 the Federal Court ruled that S&P – as well as ABN Amro and Local Government Financial Services – were 100 per cent liable for the circa $25 million in damages sustained by the councils after investing in complex synthetic derivatives.
At that time Ms Banton said the case reflected a “landmark decision” with the potential to have significant legal implications for ratings agencies and product providers.
“The standard defence tactic of apportioning blame has only made proceedings more complex – the strategy of blaming other parties to lessen liability is now significantly more limited,” Ms Banton said.
