Rennick has been a partner in the firm’s property group, and a member of the firm’s board since 1995. He’ll be taking over the reigns from David Laidlaw, who’s held the position since 2000.

Originally based in Melbourne, Rennick moved to Sydney to establish the office’s property practice two years ago, returning to Melbourne in December last year. He now regularly commutes between the two offices.

Strengthening the firm’s position in Sydney will be at the top of Rennick’s priority list when he steps into the CEO shoes in July, he told Lawyers Weekly. Originally having just one office in Melbourne, Maddocks opened a Sydney office in 2002 with just five lawyers. Over the last six years, the office has grown significantly to more than 80 lawyers who work across a full range of practice areas.

“We see that going forward, Sydney will be a key plank in our growth strategy, and that’s really been driven by our clients. A lot of them have their headquarters in Sydney so it’s really important for us to establish our presence there,” he said.

In the future, Rennick envisages the Sydney office becoming as large as the Melbourne office, which currently has around 300 employees.

“Our clients are saying that they what they really want is for us to have the depth of experience and the coverage that we have in Melbourne in Sydney. That’s what clients are expecting and we believe that the opportunities are there for us to do that,” he said.

The firm will be looking to recruit heavily in Sydney, across all levels of experience but particularly at partner level. For example, Rennick said,the firm has recently significantly boosted its construction practice, luring two partners and a team of lawyers from Henry Davis York.

“We’ll be really focusing on making sure that we have a distinct and exciting workplace, and making sure we’re attracting and retaining great people,” he said. “If we get those things right, then we’ll able to develop strong relationships with our clients, and the success of the firm will be sustained.”

While Maddocks’ has no current plans to expand into other states, Rennick doesn’t rule it out for the future. “Brisbane is the next obvious place, as it’s a growing market,” he said. “We discuss it from time to time as partners, and over the coming years it’s a possibility, though there are certainly no current plans.”

Rennick said that he is excited about his new role and the new challenges it will bring. “The things that I have enjoyed as a property partner have been building teams, helping people in their careers, and developing relationships with clients, he said. “The challenge for me is going to be doing that right across the board.”