Simon Ashworth is a partner in the firm's Real Estate practice. As many of his clients can attest, he is known as an imaginative thinker who develops innovative solutions and focuses his advice on helping create value for his clients and get the deal done.
Simon advises consortia, contractors and construction companies on a wide range of infrastructure procurement in both Australia and New Zealand. He specializes in procurement strategy and contractual drafting and negotiations, including for infrastructure projects (in particular transport and social infrastructure) and energy and resources projects. He has advised on a number of government infrastructure projects for both public and private sector clients including the Sydney Light Rail PPP, Grafton Prison PPP, Auckland Prison PPP, South Auckland (Wiri) Prison PPP, Gold Coast Light Rail PPP, Cross River Rail PPP, Sydney Growth Trains, NSW Social and Affordable Housing Fund Phase 2, Sydney Ferries Outsourcing and Australia's new Antarctic Icebreaker.
Simon is highly regarded in the market as one of Australia's leading practitioners and is recognised by Chambers Asia-Pacific (2017 to present), The Legal 500 Asia Pacific (2017 to present) and Best Lawyers (2015 to present) directories for his deep experience.
Prior to joining the firm, Simon was a partner at one of Australia's leading independent law firms.
- Recognised as a recommended lawyer by The Legal 500 Asia Pacific
- Infrastructure Projects and Construction, 2024
- Project Development, 2020
- Construction, 2017-2020
"Simon Ashworth stands out - incredibly knowledgeable and responsive" and "Simon Ashworth is user friendly and hands-on." (The Legal 500 Asia Pacific, 2024)
"Simon Ashworth is a consummate professional; always attuned to client needs, very responsive and provides sound commercial advice." and "Simon Ashworth is an exceptional lawyer with a deep understanding of the Australian projects market, deal norms, and market participants. More importantly, Simon has taken the time to understand my business, its needs, and its complexities. As such, Simon delivers expert, relevant and practical advice." (The Legal 500 Asia Pacific, 2021)
"Simon Ashworth is able to bring his vast experience to provide pragmatic solutions to legal issues. Simon makes great efforts to understand his client’s businesses and as such can tailor solutions to the business context." and "seasoned practitioner Simon Ashworth … brings impressive expertise in these [road, rail, port, social infrastructure, energy and renewables] sectors including PPP experience." (The Legal 500 Asia Pacific, 2020)
"A strong solutions provider." (The Legal 500 Asia Pacific, 2017)
- Recognised by Chambers Asia-Pacific for Construction in Australia, 2017-2024
"Simon is very personable to work with and provides a good level of customer service" and "Simon gives prompt and well thought-out advice on and attention to complex documents and issues relevant to construction contractors. He is a charismatic and caring person." (Chambers Asia-Pacific, 2024)
''Simon is a very experienced and pragmatic lawyer. He is a delight to work with and is always there to provide sound advice and support.'' (Chambers Asia-Pacific, 2023)
Clients say that "he's very legally astute" and "he's legally very smart and he aims to provide the most efficient legal service." (Chambers Asia-Pacific, 2020)
"Clients praise the depth of his knowledge." (Chambers Asia-Pacific, 2019)
"He knows the market, he's very measured and considered, and he gives practical advice that is underpinned by a good knowledge of the legal situation." (Chambers Asia-Pacific, 2019)
"His attention to detail and ability to turn around significant volumes of work at short notice is why we continue to brief him." (Chambers Asia-Pacific, 2018)
"He is a very good negotiator, always coming up with a good solution, and he is very imaginative." (Chambers Asia-Pacific, 2017)
- Listed in the Who’s Who Legal for Construction in Australia, 2022-2024
- Listed in the Thomson Reuters Stand-out Lawyers, 2022-2023
- Recognised in the IFLR 1000 as a notable practitioner for project development, Australia, 2021-2024
- Listed in Best Lawyers in AustraliaTM for Project Finance and Development Practice, 2015-2024
"Simon is like a member of my own legal team, only at a different level. He works with our in-house team bringing skills we don't have." (Infrastructure client)
"I'm confident in saying that if we did not have Simon negotiating on our behalf we would not have had such a successful outcome. I would not hesitate to recommend him for work involving the Commonwealth and am confident that he would bring value to any such transaction." (Engineering client)
- Law Society of New South Wales, member
- Law Society of England and Wales, member
