London-based Pinsent Masons has recruited Maddocks CEO David Rennick to spearhead a possible Australian launch.  Rennick, who has been Maddocks CEO for the past five years, will join Pinsent Masons as a consultant early next year.

However, no decision has apparently been made on whether the firm will open an Australian office and Rennick’s role will be to help guide this decision making process.

“David is a senior, well-respected figure in the region, well known to many of us, and his role on joining us will be to assist the senior management of the firm in evaluating the opportunities and make recommendations to the firm's partnership accordingly. It would be premature to speculate at this stage about what the outcome of that review might be,” the firm said in a statement.

Rennick will relinquish his Maddocks CEO position on Christmas Eve this year and partner Michelle Dixon will assume the role of interim CEO, until a replacement is announced. Rennick's tenure as CEO had been due to conclude in June 2014.

"Whilst this is a sad occasion for us, it is also a happy one as David embarks upon fresh challenges. We wish him the very best in the future, and thank him for the years of dedication and professionalism – he will be missed," said Maddocks chair Stan Kondilios.

A report in The Australian said that Pinsent Masons recruited Rennick “after the failure of merger talks involving Maddocks and several international firms.”