Gavin MacLaren leads Corrs Chambers Westgarth. He has over 30 years’ experience as a lawyer, including a decade based in Asia.
Gavin has acted for multinational corporations, governments, international organisations, financial institutions, private equity investors, and sovereign wealth funds across the Asia Pacific region.
His experience encompasses corporate advisory, mergers and acquisitions and dispute resolution.
Gavin is also one of the most experienced lawyers and negotiators of international maritime boundaries. He has extensive experience advising on complex public international law matters, including overlapping international boundary claims, sovereignty over territory and the intersection of public international law with the energy and natural resources sector. He has represented governments and negotiated directly on their behalf in relation to public international law rights of States and has advised numerous oil companies on the exploration and development of oil and gas resources in overlapping claims areas around the world.
Recognised as an Innovative Leader in the 2020 Financial Times Innovative Lawyers Awards Asia Pacific, Gavin has represented numerous governments and many of the world’s largest corporations in some of their most challenging negotiations. His experience spans more than 25 countries, with responsibility for negotiating complex transactions valued at over $200 billion and the resolution of an equivalent value of politically sensitive disputes.
Gavin previously held senior partnership roles at Freshfields and Allens. He has received numerous awards including, International Deal Counsel of the Year at the Asian Legal Awards and has consistently been recognised as a leading lawyer by Chambers and Partners (Global and Asia-Pacific), The Legal 500 Asia-Pacific, Who’s Who Legal, Best Lawyers and other leading legal directories, achieving Band 1 rankings over several years.
Gavin is also the Chair of Proto Axiom and Garran Advisory.
Gavin is admitted as a solicitor in Australia, England and Wales.