In a strong indication of how Allen & Overy’s brand new Australia presence will fit into its worldwide operations, Thomas Brown, managing partner for Asia, will be overseeing the two new offices in Sydney and Perth.
While the firm is yet to appoint partners-in-charge of the two offices, a spokesperson has confirmed that each of the new heads will be reporting to Brown directly.
The firm’s Australian launch team consisted of 17 lawyers, poached from local firms Clayton Utz and Freehills. After the first year of operation the firm has set a target of 50 lawyers and 20 partners for the two offices, which is expected to rise to 25 partners and more than 60 lawyers after three to five years.
Worldwide managing partner Wim Dejonghe (pictured) said that the Australian offices will be fully integrated into the Asia operations. “It is now very clear that intra-regional transactions are increasing, so Australia will be very much a part of that [Asia-Pacific] offering,” he said. “Because of the distances with the rest of our businesses, we’ve always set it up as a regional operation. A lot of the cross-border investment that happens is [increasingly] sourced within the (Asia-Pacific) region, whereas in the past it was coming from the rest of the world.” The firm is targeting the booming Australia energy & resources sector which will be handled principally by the Perth office.
Meanwhile, Norton Rose group is resourcing its Asia operations with former Deacons Australia lawyers – most recently transferring Shaun McRoberts from its Perth office to Hong Kong. McRoberts said that the firm is ready for the new competition from A&O.
“It will be business as usual I expect. It’s a global market and we’re competing with them in Hong Kong and we’ll compete with them in Perth,” he said. “We don’t benchmark ourselves with Australian firms but with firms internationally.”
McRoberts added that the Allen & Overy Perth launch was strategised well. “Geoff [Simpson] is a well known corporate & resource lawyer in Australia – it’s a very good acquisition for Allen & Overy. [All three lawyers there] have a very good reputation in that local market,” he said.
Allen & Overy’s Australian launch has prompted speculation of more international firms looking to the Australian market. US firm Dorsey & Whitney opened its doors in Sydney last year with the aim of using its Australian operations as a springboard into Asia, and that was later followed by Norton Rose’s merger with Deacons Australia.
“I assume everyone will consider these new facts and re-establish their position,” said Dejonghe.
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