Clifford Chance sees senior exits as Clydes makes more hires in region
The Australian market saw some of the world’s largest firms make changes last month, including Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, which shut its small Sydney practice after nearly three decades of operation.
The closure of Skadden’s only base in Australia, which opened in 1989, follows a review of the firm’s Asia-Pacific offering, that found the office’s clients could be serviced out of Singapore or Hong Kong.
The withdrawal from Australia affects five fee-earners, including corporate finance co-head Adrian Deitz, M&A and securities partner Mark Leeman, two counsel and one associate. All are expected to depart the firm, apart from Deitz who will remain based in Sydney and work as part of the firm’s Singapore and Hong Kong team.
Clifford Chance (CC) also saw recent departures from its Australian management team as founding partners Mark Pistilli – who also heads the Sydney base – and Danny Simmons stepped down from their roles.
The pair are understood to be on gardening leave until the end of June, although a CC spokesperson told Legal Business they would continue to be ‘in and out of the office’ until then.
Litigator Diana Chang has become the office’s new head, having joined the firm alongside Pistilli from Chang, Pistilli & Simmons, which was one of the two boutique firms taken over by CC five years ago as part of its Australia launch.
CC was among the first major UK players to enter Australia, seeking to hone in on opportunities afforded by the long since ended mining boom, and established offices in Sydney and Perth in 2011. CC currently has 17 partners and over 70 lawyers focusing on cross-border M&A, capital markets, transactions, as well as disputes, and Australian antitrust and regulatory matters.
Meanwhile, Clyde & Co continued to invest in its rapidly expanding Australian offering in February, hiring two partners from Norton Rose Fulbright. Michael Tooma and Alena Titterton joined the Sydney base along with eight other lawyers all specialising in occupational health and safety. Tooma will lead the firm’s practice group across Asia.
This latest team hire follows Clydes’ takeover of Lee & Lyons Lawyers, which ceased operating after Clydes acquired a team of more than 30 lawyers, including David Lee and Lucinda Lyons, who founded Lee & Lyons in 2002, alongside partners David Amentas, Michelle Dunne and Christopher Smith. The additions have seen Clydes’ Australia practice, which launched in 2012, grow to 19 partners and around 100 legal staff in four cities.
jaishree.kalia@legalease.co.uk