Flannery (pictured) was a partner at Corrs for nearly six years and a former partner at King & Wood Mallesons for over a decade. He recently acted for Woolworths on the redevelopment of a mixed-use shopping centre development in Sydney, and property developer Landcom to set up several new suburbs, including Second Ponds Creek.

The appointment took effect on 1 July, along with two partner promotions.

The firm promoted Stuart Green to partner in its IP, technology and competition practice and Jane Wild to the property and projects partnership.

Green has been a lawyer at DibbsBarker for seven years after working with Spruson & Ferguson and the NSW Supreme Court earlier in his career; while Wild joined DibbsBarker five years ago from Gilbert + Tobin.

DibbsBarker has made three other lateral hires over the past 12 months. Allen & Overy restructuring and insolvency practitioner Macaire Bromley joined the partnership in May, while fellow A&O lawyer Jamie Palmer and Melissa McGrath from Ashurst were hired as partners in August 2013.

The firm also lost a banking & finance partner recently, with the defection of Tom Lennox to Squire Sanders in September.

Flannery’s former firm, Corrs, also dropped staff this year. Earlier this month, special counsel Rowan McMonnies left to join Baker & McKenzie as a partner. The firm also laid off four Sydney-based corporate lawyers in March, as exclusively revealed by Lawyers Weekly.

The national firm did, however, manage to recruit a well-regarded workplace relations partner this year. Nick Le Mare, the general counsel of Queensland Rail, joined Corrs in February.