Formerly senior legal counsel for Apache Energy, Martino also spent seven years as a litigation partner with Allens Arthur Robinson.

His expertise spans the full breadth of the energy and resources industry having acted for a number of major oil and gas companies.

"We are delighted to be welcoming David to the firm and expanding our capabilities in the areas of both upstream and downstream oil and gas," said managing partner, Michael Blakiston.

The appointment takes the Blakiston & Crabb partnership to eight.