Who we are

Kenneth Stanton is a highly accomplished Principal Lawyer and founder of Stanton & Stanton. With over two decades of experience in the Wine, Food and Beverage, Agribusiness, Real Estate & Projects, and Water sectors, Kenneth is renowned for his strategic mindset and commercial acumen. Specialising in corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, insolvency, turnaround restructuring, and family office advisory, Kenneth consistently delivers exceptional results tailored to his clients' unique goals.

A skilled negotiator, Kenneth excels in navigating intricate legal landscapes with care, precision, and a deep focus on delivering impactful outcomes. His commitment to staying ahead of legal and industry trends ensures his advice is both forward-thinking and practical. His intellectual astuteness combined with his direct, yet empathetic communication style, has solidified his reputation as a trusted, innovative, and highly regarded legal expert.

Kenneth began his career specialising in mergers and acquisitions, playing a pivotal role in significant onshore and offshore deals at Herbert Smith Freehills. Kenneth went on to work with global investment bank Deutsche.

Kenneth has extensive experience negotiating, structuring and financing deals including the acquisition of a new winery in South Australia. This particular matter culminated in the largest sale of an Australian vineyard in history, valued at over $500 million AUD. His expertise also extends to structuring and securing over $300 million AUD in international financing for petroleum terminals. Additionally, Kenneth has overseen the corporate restructuring of McWilliams, Australia’s oldest winery, and facilitated the aggregation and sale of Australian spirits brands in global markets. Kenneth has a WSET Level 3 qualification in wine with a deep understanding of the sectors he represents.

Beyond his legal practice, Kenneth is a thought leader within the legal industry and the sector’s he specialises in. He frequently gets invited to present his expertise at industry conferences worldwide. Engages in pro bono work, supporting his local community. Kenneth has also published a series of insightful articles.

Outside of his professional endeavours, Kenneth dedicates his time to the North Bondi Surf Life Saving Club as an active reserve patrol member and serves as a judiciary member for the NSW Suburban Rugby Judiciary.

Laura is a principal lawyer with over a decade experience in the food and beverage, agribusiness, real estate and project sectors. Laura’s focus is always on the best commercial outcome for her clients. She takes a no nonsense approach to her work, offering helpful advice that’s tailored to her client’s particular business needs. Laura has a high settlement rate of matters outside of court, solving her client’s problems quickly and amicably.

Laura’s expertise includes complex corporate and commercial litigation matters, property law, environment and planning, dispute resolution and restructuring and insolvency. Passionate about the needs of the businesses she represents, she takes a proactive approach to resolving matters with out of the box thinking and a nouse for clever commercial resolutions. Brought up in regional New South Wales, Laura comes with a more personal and hands on experience of the businesses she represents.

Her expertise in settling complex corporate and commercial litigation, the sale of large agri businesses, resolving complex family provision claims, tackling difficult regulatory investigations and disputes, together with her responsiveness and strategic thinking make her an excellent principal lawyer.

As a sponsor of the Women in Wine Symposium and volunteer for the Aboriginal Employment Strategy, Laura is committed to giving back to her industry and local communities across Australia.