Nine DLA Phillips Fox partners have defected only weeks out from the official commencement of the DLA Piper merger.
The partners, all from the Brisbane office, will join Thomsons Lawyers as it seeks to establish itself in the Brisbane market.
Chief executive partner at Thomsons Lawyers, Adrian Tembel, said the opening of the Brisbane office was in line with the firm’s national growth strategy. “My partners and I signed-off on a three-year strategic plan late last year. Our expansion into Brisbane will achieve a number of our key financial and geographic objectives,” he said.
The appointments will expand the Thomsons partnership to 56 and will lead to a total headcount across its 4 offices of well over 400 partners, lawyers and staff. While DLA Phillips Fox remains committed to its integration on 1 May, these departures indicate that a number of partners believe that joining a global law firm is not the right future for them as individuals.
"Integration with DLA Piper has been an aspiration of the firm ever since the alliance was formed in 2006, and has been actively pursued by both firms in recent years,” DLA Phillips Fox chief executive, Tony Holland, said. "DLA Phillips Fox and DLA Piper remain committed to the Brisbane market and our local clients. We intend to strengthen and grow the office in Brisbane," he added.
The appointments will expand the Thomsons partnership to 56 and will lead to a total headcount across its four offices of well over 400 partners, lawyers and staff. The recent departures take the total number of partner resignations since the merger announcement to 11.
The partners that will depart the firm are:
• Tony Conaghan, IP & Technology
• Philip Byrnes, Corporate
• James Daniel, Corporate
• Andrew Kelly,Finance & Projects
• Ron Eames, Real Estate
• Michael Marshall, Real Estate
• Chris O'Shea, Real Estate
• Philip Dowling, Corporate
• Eugene Fung, Corporate
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