One swallow does not a summer make, but a recent raid by Christchurch-based Anthony Harper on Hesketh Henry in Auckland may say something about the respective fortunes of the two firms. AH has picked up corporate specialist Ewe Leong Lim and property expert Sylvia Cheah from Hesketh Henry, along with barrister Rod Smith who joins as a dispute resolution partner.

The move is notable because AH has previously serviced Auckland on a "fly in, fly out"  basis and this represents the firm's first permanent presence in the city. With the new recruits on board, AH now has three partners and four lawyers in Auckland and it has ambitions to double the size of this team over the next 12 months. "There is definitely more [recruitment] to come," managing partner David Gould told ALB. "It is partly driven by us looking to expand but we also have had lawyers approaching us because they have heard of us and are attracted by what we offer. We have a clear specialist focus - our partners need to be true specialists - and we don't try to be all things to all people."

Gould's comments reflect a similar analysis to that of Maddocks CEO David Rennick, who told ALB last month that an increased segmentation of the market was driving talent to specialist firms. Like Maddocks, AH has recruited strongly and has grown from 10 to 16 partners in the last 12 months.

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