The multinational practice has hired partners Aaron Goonrey and Neil Napper from Lander & Rogers in Sydney and Ben McKinley from Holding Redlich in Melbourne (all pictured).

Moreover, special counsel Luke Scandrett and Emma Lutwyche (joining from Lander & Rogers) and associate Stefania Silvestro (joining from Holding Redlich) have also come across to Pinsent Masons.

Together, the six make up the firm’s new employment and reward team in Australia, expanding on its APAC capabilities.

The news follows a big year to date for Pinsent Masons.

As reported by Lawyers Weekly, the firm named a new Melbourne head in February, meaning that its Australian arm has all-female leadership across its three offices in the country.

In April, the firm promoted two lawyers to partner, and late last month, the firm confirmed a “record year of revenue growth” in the past financial year.

Speaking about the hires, Pinsent Masons Australia head Matthew Croagh said: “The building of a deep and experienced employment and reward team in Australia is an important strategic step in supporting our clients.

VIEW ALL

“We are seeing significant changes to employment, workplace and industrial relations laws in Australia, and the way we work has changed dramatically because of the impact of the COVID pandemic. It is vital that we have a highly capable employment law team ready to help clients navigate this rapidly evolving and crucial area of their business.”

The firm’s APAC head, James Morgan-Payler, added: “We have been progressively investing in broadening the capability of our Australian transactional services practice to work alongside our market-leading infrastructure and energy-focused practices across the Asia-Pacific.

“Aaron, Neil and Ben and their team will join recently appointed corporate partners Andrew Fisken and Joni Henry to work with clients on transactional and corporate advisory work and the associated workplace and employment issues that arise out of such matters,” he noted.

And, speaking on behalf of the three partners, Mr Goonrey said: “Neil, Ben and I are excited to join Pinsent Masons and launch its employment and reward team in Australia, augmenting our existing capabilities across both Asia-Pacific and globally.

“Joining Pinsent Masons provides us with an incredible opportunity to leverage the firm’s international platform and resources to better serve clients. Pinsent Masons is growing rapidly in the Asia-Pacific region, and there are significant opportunities for our employment and reward team to work alongside our colleagues to deliver this specialised capability to support our local, regional and global clients.”