Clarke is the head of the firm’s Sydney-based corporate team, while Hawkins founded the firm’s Australian sports practice.

Both, Bird & Bird said in a statement, “bring extensive expertise and industry insight to their leadership roles as the firm reinforces its strategic ambitions in Australia’s thriving legal and commercial landscape”.

The appointment of the new co-heads, it continued, aligned with the firm’s overarching vision of continued market expansion, deeper client engagement, and strengthened business collaboration across Australia and the wider Asia-Pacific region.

The appointment of the co-heads will see the incumbent Australian head of country and managing partner, Shane Barber, assuming a new role as Asia-Pacific coordination partner. In this capacity, the firm said, he will “remain actively involved” in the firm both in Australia and across the region, continue to serve his strong corporate practice, and will drive and coordinate regional projects.

Barber appeared on The Lawyers Weekly Show in October to discuss the BigLaw firm’s decade of operations in Australia, why he sees Adelaide as part of the firm’s growth strategy, and his lessons from over two decades as a firm head.

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Speaking about the transition, he reflected that “after 10 years leading Bird & Bird Australia and 12 years prior to that leading our predecessor firm, I am excited to capitalise on our well-known cross-border strengths and build Bird & Bird’s interconnectedness across Asia-Pacific”.

“We know that this region presents enormous opportunities for our clients, and I am keen to accelerate growth between our offices in Hong Kong, Mainland China, Tokyo, Singapore, and Sydney,” Barber said.

Hawkins commented that “Shane’s stewardship, Bird & Bird Australia has recruited excellent people and grown considerably whilst always preserving our collaborative ‘one firm’ culture”.

“I’m proud to be taking on the leadership role alongside Chris, building on the strong foundation of Shane’s exceptional work. We are excited about delivering on our ambitious plans to be the leading firm in this region in the sectors in which our clients operate, including tech, defence, life sciences, sport, and retail,” he said.

Clarke said: “It’s an honour to step into this leadership role alongside Rich. We’ve set our sights on ambitious growth across multiple practice areas, and we’re committed to leveraging Bird & Bird’s global reach to bring innovative solutions to clients across Australia and throughout Asia-Pacific.

“Shane’s unwavering dedication has given us a powerful platform to build upon, and I’m excited to guide our talented team as we seize new opportunities and push our practice forward in this dynamic region.”

The news follows the firm’s addition of partners from BigLaw rivals Ashurst and Squire Patton Boggs in October and its hiring of a partner from fellow international player DLA Piper in November.

Bird & Bird has over 1,600 lawyers in 32 offices across Europe, North America, the Middle East, Asia-Pacific, and Africa.