Maurice Blackburn opened its new Parramatta office on 2 March 2009, helmed by principal Theodora Ahilas and senior associate Carmine Santone.

“A lot of our clients live in the West and that was one of the reasons for the transition,” Ahilas told Lawyers Weekly.

“It also fits in with our philosophy of being accessible to our client base, and being part of a community.”

The availability of local court facilities will also be a benefit for local clients, Ahilas said.

“We’d like to see some of our district court work transferred to the Parramatta District Court, [which will] improve client accessibility to the court system.”

There are currently 15 staff in the Parramatta office, specialising in asbestos litigation, personal injuries, workers compensation, disability claims and superannuation matters.

For the time being, class actions, industrial relations and medical negligence will continue to be handled by the Maurice Blackburn Sydney office, but the Parramatta offshoot is looking to establish its own medical negligence practice in the near future.

- By Laura MacIntyre.