International firm Pinsent Masons will open an infrastructure-focused practice in Sydney and Melbourne this May, with five founding partners at the helm.
Former Maddocks CEO David Rennick will join alongside two other Maddocks partners, Greg Campbell and Simela Karasavidis. Michael Battye - a former Pinsent Masons partner in private practice in Adelaide – will also join with Adam Perl, in house counsel at Leighton.
Richard Foley, senior partner at Pinsent Masons said: "We have done our homework on the market and taken the time to recruit a top quality team. We are confident that, through a keen focus on the infrastructure sector initially and a real commitment to innovative delivery of high quality legal services, we will have a compelling proposition for existing and potential clients."
The practice will look to advise clients on inbound and domestic work in Australia, and on outbound work into Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Europe.
Andrew Denton, a construction disputes partner at Pinsent Masons in London, will also relocate from the firm's global headquarters.
In the past few years the firm has been looking to expand internationally and has opened offices in France, Germany and Turkey.