Effy Li, Dealmaker of the Year Finalist

Brightstone Legal is excited to share that our founding Principal Solicitor, Effy Li, has been named a finalist for Dealmaker of the Year at the Lawyers Weekly Women in Law Awards 2026.

The 2026 finalists were announced at the end of last month, and Effy is one of just ten lawyers across Australia shortlisted in the category.

About the Women in Law Awards

Now in their 15th year, the Women in Law Awards celebrate the achievements of women across the Australian legal profession. This year, 266 finalists were shortlisted across all categories. Finalist submissions are now in the hands of an independent judging panel of respected legal professionals and business leaders, with winners to be announced at Crown Melbourne on Thursday, 12 November.

The Deals Behind the Nomination

Effy started Brightstone Legal and still leads our property and commercial practice, working with developers, overseas investors and businesses on complex property deals and foreign investment matters.

This nomination recognises her work over the past year on some significant cross-border property acquisitions.

“In the middle of a national housing crisis, my job was to make sure foreign investment did exactly what the policy wanted it to do: build homes,” said Effy. “We’re one of very few firms in Australia that can deliver this level of work entirely in our clients’ language, and these deals show that the need for that goes right to the top of the market.”

If you’d like to know more about this area of law, Effy has written about whether foreign buyers can purchase established dwellings under the commercial scale exception and what a complex strata acquisition taught us.

It’s been a big year for our property team, who were also named finalists for Property Team of the Year at the Lawyers Weekly Australian Law Awards back in June.