Gadens has added three well-known corporate partners to its ranks, bolstering the firm’s corporate and M&A offering. Danny Simmons and Lynda Reid joins the firm in the first quarter, and Franki Ganter joins in the second quarter of FY26. Simmons and Reid started at the firm on July 1, 2025 in Sydney, bringing a team of four, composed of Special Counsel Jana Jordan, Associates Charlotte Ambler and Matilda Unwin, and Legal Assistant Toni Jones. Simmons brings over 30 years’ experience to the firm. He was a founding partner of Clifford Chance in Australia, and its inaugural corporate head. Most recently, he was a partner at Mills Oakley. Simmons is widely regarded as a corporate law expert, specialising in public and private M&A, proxy contests, board advisory, corporate governance and corporate disputes. He also advises several prominent family offices. Reid is a seasoned corporate expert advising on complex deals, public and private M&A, fundraising, corporate disputes and shareholder activism. Formerly a senior lawyer of ASIC, where she began her career, and then partner of Mills Oakley, Reid has a strong grounding in financial regulation, bringing sharp insight to her clients’ most complex matters. Previously a long-time corporate partner at Allens, Ganter is a public and private M&A and corporate advisory specialist. She advises domestic and foreign clients across a range of sectors, including infrastructure, energy and renewables, funds and financial services, agribusiness and government, working closely with boards, executives and legal teams on complex transactions and strategic advice. Ganter will straddle the firm’s Brisbane and Sydney offices from October 1, 2025.
