The firm, which already has offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth, says the move into Brisbane was spurred on by the uplift in activity in the LNG sector in Queensland.

In opening the new office, the firm has also taken on two new recruits, one each from Mallesons Stephen Jaques and Freehills.

JWS partner Gordon Radford has relocated to the Brisbane office, where he is joined by former Mallesons lawyer David Colesnso, who works in major property development and projects, and former Freehills lawyer Paul Kasmar, who works in banking and finance.

The firm’s managing partner, Peter Slattery, said the expansion enables the firm to better cater to its clients in Queensland, and win new opportunities there.

“Our projects lawyers have been making forays into Queensland for some time but there is a limit on how far you can take that practice without local presence,” Slattery said.

The firm is now embarking on a recruitment campaign to hire new people in Brisbane. It’s looking for Brisbane experienced lawyers, with a focus on energy, projects, particularly in transport, dispute resolution and resources.

This month the firm also announced a new appointment of a Blake Dawson lawyer to its ranks.

The firm confirmed that Dr Wolfgang Hellmann has departed Blake Dawson’s Sydney office after 10 years at that firm. He joined JWS as a special counsel.

Hellmann, who obtained ACCC approval for high profile merger and acquisition proposals, has represented domestic and international clients in major price fixing investigations and secured immunity from the ACCC for clients in several global cartel cases.

Hellmann said of his own move: "JWS is a leading firm in the area of competition law with an excellent reputation in Australia as well as overseas. The firm will provide me with an ideal platform to further develop my competition law practice, focusing on assisting international clients in obtaining merger clearance and managing cartel investigations and immunity applications.”