Introducing Will Mason: new Partner…and new father!
17 July 2025
Ahead of the Deal - Australian M&A Briefing
We've been delighted to announce several new partners in the Ashurst M&A team in Australia in recent months. It's been an exciting time as we continue to grow and build our capability.
Not only did we have the pleasure of welcoming Tony Damian, one of Australia's most prominent M&A lawyers, we also celebrated the appointment of Will Mason whom we are profiling this month:
Will's appointment to Partner will come as no surprise. He has built a stellar reputation among Ashurst clients for his work in the public and private M&A space, with a particular focus on large-scale private equity transactions.
As if that wasn't enough, Will is also the father of newborn baby Violet – just a few weeks old!
We thought this might be a good time to check in on Will to see how he is contending with all the changes.
Q: First, congratulations Will. It's been a life-changing year for you. How are you holding up?
Will:
It's certainly been a really exciting year.
I feel very fortunate to be given a platform to build my M&A practice at a time when Ashurst is experiencing significant growth both in Australia and overseas, and I have really enjoyed 'going to market' in my new role.
While there have been some challenges given that Violet was born only 5 weeks ago, I am very grateful for the support of the partners, but also our fantastic senior associates and lawyers who work in our M&A team.
Q: Lots of deals that went on hold earlier in the year, have come rushing back. What's the rest of 2025 looking like for you?
Will:
I think the rest of 2025 should be quite busy – we have a number of deals for private equity clients in particular which are just kicking off now.
It will be interesting to see whether there will be a rush of deals in the back half of this year, before the ACCC's new mandatory merger clearance regime (and the accompanying fees) comes into effect on 1 January 2026.
Q: Any tips for new parents juggling the demands of a busy role and a newborn?
Will:
I don't feel like I am quite qualified to answer that question – because our daughter was born a little premature, she spent her first few weeks in the NICU at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital.
She's back home now but it's early days. We are still finding our routine and taking each day as it comes.
While she was in hospital we got into a good routine where my wife spent the day with her, while I would leave the office to do her evening feed, and then go back home and log on.
Check back in with me in a few weeks when I hope to have some more practical tips. In the meantime, I will remain on call – whether it is for a client or a bottle feed!
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