Returning to Australia to take up a role of Group General Counsel at Insurance Australia Group, Michael Cripps will be replaced by Niranjan Arasaratnam and Campell Davidson as well as five more lawyers.

Arasaratnam was a partner in the Hong Kong office specialising in communications, media and technology and has already relocated to the Shanghai office. Davidson, a partner in the corporate and commercial department in Sydney, will soon join that office.

Jim Dunstan, executive partner at Allens in the Asia Pacific, said the firm sees the Asia Pacific, and particularly China, as a significant growth area. “It’s an exciting time for us,” he said.

“The increase in size in our Shanghai office reflected the broadening of our practice and the growth of our international client base,” said Dunstan.