Lander & Rogers has revealed a Brisbane office opening is imminent, with the recruitment of a local
DLA Piper team and another partner relocation.
To focus initially on litigation work specialising in insurance and commercial disputes, the firm has recruited DLA Piper partner Andrew Forbes and his litigation team to spearhead the push.
They will be joined by Lander & Rogers insurance partner, Matt Dudakov, and senior associate, Emma Pelka-Caven, who will both relocate to Brisbane for the firm's official opening on 7 April.
The firm has said it intends to expand into the firm's other service offerings in Brisbane over time.
Chief executive partner, Andrew Willder, said that Brisbane's size, growth potential and synergy with its clients meant that an office there has been part of the firm's growth strategy for a number of years
"Many of our practice groups are already conducting Brisbane work from Melbourne and Sydney and expanding into Brisbane is a natural next step for our firm," Willder said.
"Having an office in there will help us continue to consolidate our firm's presence nationally."
Forbes is a litigator, whose practice involves commercial litigation, insurance and government work. His clients include all levels of government, as well as large corporations, regulators and health and other professional registration bodies.
Landers' Dudakov has practised as an insurance law and litigation specialist with the firm for over 10 years, with experience managing claims and litigation across all insurance lines.
The firm follows a long line of other brands that are opening or have opened in Brisbane.
In February,
Australasian Lawyer was the first to report that Clyde & Co, already located in Sydney and Perth, was looking at opening a Brisbane office by mid-year this year. Only a month later,
Mills Oakley Lawyers’ CEO John Nerurker told
Australasian Lawyer the firm would likely expand into Brisbane this year, as part of a ‘feverish’ growth drive.
Other new brands in Brisbane include
Thomson Geer, through the merger of Thomsons Lawyers and Herbert Geer, Colin Biggers & Paisley, which merged with local firm Hemming & Hart last year, and Wotton + Kearney , which opened mid- last year.
