Ms Tai has come across from fellow BigLaw firm Holding Redlich, where she was a partner for nearly five years. Joining her from that firm are associate Catherine O’Connor and lawyer Rhiannon McCorriston.

She, Thomson Geer said in a statement, specialises in mergers and acquisitions and equity capital markets, servicing private and listed entities. Her practice has a board advisory focus, and she regularly advises companies, boards, and executives on general governance matters, as well as specific compliance or continuous disclosure issues that arise in their day-to-day operations.

Ms Tai and her team are joining the firm’s corporate practice.

Ms Awerbuch has joined from Gadens, where she served as a partner for nearly 11 years. She and her team – special counsel Madeleine McMaster and senior trademark attorney Teresa Elmey – will sit in Thomson Geer’s intellectual property practice.

The firm noted that Ms Awerbuch practices in trademark, copyright, patent, design, confidential information, domain name and consumer law and brings extensive advisory, brand protection, commercialisation, and litigation experience, acting for companies across a range of sectors, including household names in fashion, health and wellness, fast-moving consumer goods, medical technology and automotive.

The news follows a year of substantial growth for Thomson Geer, which has more than 700 staff across its offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, and Canberra.

The firm nabbed a property team, including two partners, from Macpherson Kelley in November, hired a special counsel from Clayton Utz as a new taxation partner in October, took two M&A partners from Carter Newell in September, promoted 23 professionals in June, elevated three to partner in the same month, appointed a Perth-based partner from a Hong Kong-based investment company in May, and added a banking and finance partner from Allens in April.

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Speaking about the hires, Thomson Geer chief executive partner Adrian Tembel said: “We are excited to be starting 2024 with the appointment of two new partners to the firm.

“Alyn and Kerry add further depth to our corporate and IP teams. They are lawyers with an impressive reputation for high-quality work and achieving outcomes for clients.”

Ms Tai added: “I am thrilled to join Thomson Geer. As a major Australian law firm with a national footprint, Thomson Geer has a wealth of experience in acting for corporate and institutional clients across a broad range of industry sectors, which resonates strongly with my practice.

“With more than 140 partners with leading expertise across various practice areas, which are highly complementary to the corporate and commercial space in which I operate, Thomson Geer will provide me with an effective framework from which I can provide a truly multidisciplinary service to my clients.

“I look forward to collaborating with my colleagues across our six national offices to introduce my clients to the firm’s full-service offering.”

Ms Awerbuch said: “Thomson Geer is an impressive national firm and a highly-regarded brand in legal services.

“It has emerged as a genuine challenger to the top-tier firms in Australia. Its agility, utilisation of technology and no-nonsense approach are important to me and to the types of clients I like to work with. My team and I are excited to join such an outstanding firm.”