For weeks now, mystery has surrounded the relationship between law firm Mills Oakley and the alleged ‘fugitive’, ex-Emirati Anthony Brearley.

everyone deserves the chance to recover

Brearley, who was once a property partner at Baker & McKenzie in Australia, apparently took flight to the lucrative Middle Eastern shores of Dubai on the back of the property boom. He certainly isn’t the only Australian who shot through, looking for greener pastures in the UAE. But for Brearley, as well as many other ex-patriates, things came to a crashing holt with the emergence of the GFC, and all of a sudden the lure of a dash home to Australia emerged.

What made Brearley’s case unique, however, against the backdrop of a crashing property market and a likely desire to flee home, was the dark pall of a ‘property deal gone bad’. Like others wanting to make a getaway, no doubt the potential fallout of the deal intensified Brearley’s desire to skedaddle. He soon got on the phone to find a job back home.

On 2 July 2009, it was reported that Brearley had indeed found a job - at Mills Oakley lawyers. It is our understanding that Brearley was reported in the original version of this article (ALB has since scampered away from the original wording, we believe) as having been appointed a partner at Mills.

However, as reported by the Brisbane Times, scurrilous allegations emerged against Brearley in the period following that appointment:

Australian lawyer, Anthony Brearley, [is] believed to have left Dubai before a police investigation, thus avoiding jail. Well-placed sources last night confirmed that… Mr Brearley [has] been declared [a] “fugitive” in Dubai and will be tried in [his] absence.

When we subsequently couldn’t locate Brearley on the Mills Oakley website, we queried whether he was still employed by the firm. Did Mills Oakley abscond from the employment contract? His profile had gone AWOL!

Well, the mystery has finally been solved! Anthony Brearley has been named in the current edition of the Victorian Law Institute Journal as having been appointed ‘Special Counsel’ at Mills Oakley Lawyers.

We wish Anthony the best of luck as he embarks on this new chapter of his professional career.

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In late July we reported that mid-sized law firm Mills Oakley had hired ex-Baker & McKenzie partner Anthony Brearley. In that post we also reported that Mr Brearley, who until recently worked for Nakheel Corporation in Dubai, allegedly fled the UAE when allegations arose against him.

As reported by the Sydney Morning Herald:

running into chilly water

Australian lawyer, Anthony Brearley, [is] believed to have left Dubai before a police investigation, thus avoiding jail. Well-placed sources last night confirmed that Mr Reed and Mr Brearley have been declared “fugitives” in Dubai and will be tried in their absence.

On the weekend, we received the following comments from an anonymous source:

I notice Anthony Brearley isn’t listed on Mills Oakley’s website. I thought he was previously. I don’t have any inside info, so maybe its just an oversight, but might be worth you checking.

Great idea! We also checked the Mills Oakley website and noted the conspicuous absence of Mr Brearley. Yesterday, we therefore telephoned Mills Oakley media spokesperson Kristie Jordon asking for confirmation that Mr Brearley was still employed by the firm. After demanding first that we give her our phone number, and second that we reveal our identities (nice try!), Jordon responded to our straightforward yes/no question by saying:

I will have a comment for you in the morning.

No comments yet, but we will post any updates we receive tomorrow. Send the Firm Spy your news and views!

You do not want to be an alleged fraudster in Dubai. The tribulations of convicted frauster George Atkinson and his

get the hell out of Dubai

‘I am in a cell with four others. There are two double bunk beds just centimetres apart, pushed right up against the cell door. There are only 122 beds in my block to accommodate 246 men. We’ve just heard about an HIV epidemic in here and 70 inmates have been isolated… I was convicted even though the prosecution admitted they had no evidence against me. I am being arbitrarily detained and the British government don’t give a damn.’

Presumably armed with this knowledge, it is little wonder that ex-Baker & McKenzie partner, and newly appointed Mills Oakley partner Anthony Brearley allegedly left Dubai when allegations apparently arose against him while working for Nakheel Corporation. As reported by the Sydney Morning Herald:

Australian lawyer, Anthony Brearley, [is] believed to have left Dubai before a police investigation, thus avoiding jail. Well-placed sources last night confirmed that Mr Reed and Mr Brearley have been declared “fugitives” in Dubai and will be tried in their absence.

In relation to Mills Oakley’s recruiting practices, CEO John Nerurker recently said:

What we do is add that little bit extra; like only hiring lawyers who share our passion for an unwavering client focus and making absolutely sure that all our lawyers are as well, if not better, trained than their top-tier counterparts… This is one way we will continue to differentiate ourselves.

Does your firm have a point of differentiation?

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