Leading law firm Maddocks has announced the appointment of four lawyers who all jumped ship from major international, Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF).
Special counsel Alicia Albury, associate Suzanne Rizk and lawyer Jenny Lo have joined the firm to strengthen its property practice, while senior associate Brigid Clark will be the newest member of the employment, safety and people team.
Albury brings more than 20 years' experience specialising in all aspects of commercial property transactional and advice work to Maddocks.
Her practice involves commercial property transactions, property-related restructuring, turnaround and insolvency matters and energy and resources land tenure issues.
She is joined by Rizk and Lo, both of whom she worked with in her previous role.
Albury told
Australasian Lawyer that she was part of the property team at HSF for 18 years before deciding to make the move to Maddocks.
She was attracted to her new firm’s strong local focus and the in-depth knowledge of its property partners, as well as the similarities between her team’s former practices and client service.
Property is a hot sector to be working in at the moment, says Albury, adding that one of the most exciting burgeoning trends in Australia is urban renewal.
“Sydney Olympic Park and Barangaroo are great examples of the public and private sectors working together on urban renewal in Sydney, as is Victoria Harbour in Melbourne and the RNA Showgrounds in Brisbane,” she says. “These types of projects are great for the community and the economy and provide a huge range of interesting and challenging work for commercial property lawyers.”
Maddocks’ property partner Lisa Chung says the sector is an important part of the firm’s strategy, and the latest growth in the team allows it to offer further depth of expertise.
“We saw many synergies between our existing property team and our new team members in terms of clients, experience and culture,” she says.
"The arrival of Alicia and her team continues to augment and strengthen our specialist national property practice, now comprising 27 dedicated, experienced property lawyers."
The firm's Employment, Safety and People team has also been bolstered with the appointment of senior associate Clark. She too jumped over from HSF.
Her experience includes advising ASX 200 clients across the finance, energy and resources, government and manufacturing industries on their obligations under the Work Health and Safety Act 2012 and industry specific safety laws. She has strong expertise in conducting and advising on workplace investigations, Fair Work Act 2009, WHS prosecutions and other litigation matters.
Maddocks CEO
Michelle Dixon told
Australasian Lawyer that the firm’s strategy is to continuously keep an eye out for talented lawyers, review its skills sets and ensure it has a mix of people that understand the sectors the firm works in.
While Maddock’s previous sectors of focus were government, infrastructure, and finance & services, it has since evolved and expanded to include education, healthcare and professional services and technology.
“This approach brings us closer to our clients, understanding the challenges they face, and the environments in which they operate,” says Dixon. “In a changing market, we're committed to remaining agile - this means bringing the best people into the fold to complement our already demonstrated skills.”
