Queensland’s McInnes Wilson has opened a Sydney office and signaled an intention to pursue insurance work with the lateral hire of  former Gillis Delaney partner John Renshaw, who will be leading the Sydney team.

However, McInnes Wilson business development manager Robert Walker told ALB that the Sydney office will not be confined to insurance and the intention is to offer the same range of services on tap in the firm’s Queensland offices. “We will be delivering a fully integrated practice  from day one,” he said. The firm is not actively recruiting at this point in Sydney and will gauge client demand over the coming months before pursuing more hires.

McInnes Wilson has a wide offering which includes commercial, insurance and construction law. The firm also has offices in Brisbane, Southport and Maroochydore. “McInnes Wilson Lawyers is fully committed to having a strong commercial and insurance practice in Sydney reflecting our current practice which has been operating in Queensland for 38 years,” said CEO  Paul Tully.

Queensland firms are notably absent from the Sydney market, although McCullough Robertson has offices in both Sydney and the Hunter and many firms service Sydney on a "fly in, fly out" basis.