Clyde & Co will launch in Australia with a team of lawyers recruited from Allens, the firm has revealed today. 

Six Allens partners from Sydney, Perth, Hong Kong and Singapore will be joining Clyde & Co in what will be a mainly contentious practice with a strong focus on insurance and reinsurance.  Following the lead of Magic Circle firms Allen & Overy and Clifford Chance, Clyde & Co will establish offices in Sydney and Perth and the launch date will be 1 October, although an earlier start date may be negotiated between Allens and Clyde & Co.

Several senior Allens partners are involved in this move and they include John Edmond, group leader of Allens’ insurance & reinsurance practice in Sydney, Simon McConnell of Allens’ Hong Kong disputes practice and Matthew Skinner of Allens’ Singapore disputes practice. Dean Carrigan will give the team some presence in the regulatory & corporate side of insurance, while Edmond, who spent four years at Clyde & Co in the 1990s before joining Allens, will become the Clyde & Co’s Australian managing partner.

The primary motivation for the Allens partners will be the opportunity to build a practice free of the “frustrating and increasing” client conflicts which were occurring at Allens, Edmond told ALB. He added that the decision to leave was entirely amicable and that it would be incorrect to characterise the move as a reaction to the recent Allens – Linklaters alliance.

Edmond said that while the initial focus of the firm in Australia will be insurance, the possibility of expanding into other practice areas could not be ruled out. No decision has also been made yet as to how many Allens senior associates and associates will also make the move to Clyde & Co. At any rate, Edmond said the firm would be in recruitment mode. “We’re looking to expand – we’re not just a bolt on practice,” he said. “We will have our eyes peeled for other potential partners.”

Clyde & Co CEO Peter Hasson said that Australia was an “immensely attractive” market and would also serve as an important base for servicing the South East Asia region. Management board partner James Burns added that the Australian insurance market was “highly dynamic” and that underwriters based in Australia are writing business all over the wider Asia Pacific region. “We have the opportunity to increase the work we currently do for some of our key insurance clients, whilst expanding our reach across Asia,” he said.

Clyde & Co identifies its core sectors as aviation, energy, infrastructure, insurance, marine, professional practices and trade.  The firm will now have more than 1,400 lawyers operating from 29 offices worldwide.