Seyfarth Opens in Australia with Offices in Sydney and Melbourne

Contacts:
Brian Kiefer, Director of Public Relations
(312) 460-6401, bkiefer@seyfarth.com

Ivette Delgado, Public Relations Manager
(212) 218-5273, idelgado@seyfarth.com

Firm Continues Strategic Expansion in Asia Pacific, Assembles Team of Eight High-Profile Labor and Employment Partners

CHICAGO (June 10, 2013) – Taking the next step in its global growth, leading law firm Seyfarth Shaw LLP today announced the launch of a full-service national and cross-border labor and employment practice in Australia.

With offices in Sydney and Melbourne, Seyfarth welcomes eight of the most highly credentialed and highest-profile labor and employment partners from three leading Australian law firms. Seyfarth’s new team of partners in Australia includes:

• Darren Perry, Chris Gardner, Justine Turnbull, Ben Dudley and Luke Edwards from Herbert Smith Freehills LLP
• Rachel Bernasconi and Michael Tamvakologos from Ashurst LLP
• Henry Skene from Arnold Bloch Leibler

Responsible for handling the most sophisticated and complex employment matters in Australia, this high-profile group of top practitioners immediately establishes Seyfarth as one of the premier workplace practices in the country.  

“We are very excited about the arrival of this market-leading group of lawyers in Australia, which continues our strategy of evolving our full-service platform and aligning closely with the markets that are of the greatest strategic importance to our clients,” said J. Stephen Poor, Seyfarth’s chairman and managing partner. “Australia remains one of the most robust and dynamic markets for workplace related legal work and, combined with the increasingly global needs of our clients, we see a number of different opportunities to serve clients throughout Australia and the Asia-Pacific region.”

Seyfarth recently announced the opening of its Shanghai office with partner Wan Li from DLA Piper, one of the highest rated lawyers in China, and today’s announcement further anchors and enhances the firm’s Asia-Pacific presence.

“This team is a virtual ‘who’s who’ list of the top Australian employment and industrial partners. We are excited about expanding our premium quality platform and working with clients across every industry –  and on a national basis – in Australia,” said Darren Gardner, chair of Seyfarth’s International Practice, himself a U.S.-based Australian employment lawyer. “We are fortunate to have a large number of existing clients operating in Australia and our new offices will greatly assist us in the scale of services we can now provide to those clients as part of our international offering.”

About Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Seyfarth Shaw has more than 800 attorneys and provides a broad range of legal services in the areas of labor and employment, employee benefits, litigation, corporate and real estate. With offices in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, London, Los Angeles, Melbourne, New York, Sacramento, San Francisco, Shanghai, Sydney and Washington, D.C., Seyfarth’s clients include over 300 of the Fortune 500 companies and reflect virtually every industry and segment of the economy. A recognized leader in delivering value and innovation for legal services, Seyfarth’s acclaimed SeyfarthLean client service model has earned numerous accolades from a variety of highly respected third parties, including industry associations, consulting firms and media. For more information, please visit www.seyfarth.com.