Mills Oakley snaps up Melbourne litigation boutique

The firm won over the seven-strong group amidst stiff competition

Mills Oakley snaps up Melbourne litigation boutique

Mills Oakley has enhanced its litigation capability with the acquisition of top Melbourne boutique Patrick & Associates.

Established in 2014, Patrick & Associates started out as a sole practitioner operation but has now expanded to be a boutique commercial litigation firm. At the helm of the firm is principal Ben Patrick.

Today, Patrick & Associates is capable of dealing with the full spectrum of commercial disputes, including regulatory investigations and building & construction, property, professional negligence and insurance matters.

As part of the acquisition, Patrick will join Mills Oakley as a partner on 1 October, joined by his team of six lawyers and support staff.

“Mills Oakley has the breadth and resourcing to help service the increasingly sophisticated needs of my clients,” Patrick said. “We share the same conviction that deep, sector-specific expertise is essential for quality dispute resolution advice. Mills Oakley’s expertise in insolvency, property, construction and insurance disputes represents a particularly powerful value proposition for my clients.”

Mills Oakley CEO John Nerurker welcomed the Patrick & Associates team to the firm.

“When we first commenced discussions with Ben, we were one of several firms seeking to secure his signature. This came as no surprise given the current war for talent and the outstanding calibre of the Patrick & Associates team. We are proud that Ben chose to join Mills Oakley, adding further credentials to our Melbourne commercial litigation practice,” Nerurker said.