Lex Holcombe and George Marques are leading the Canberra practice and are joined by Stuart Imrie, Michael Will, Richard Garnett, Melanie McKean and Megan Knight, who was a special counsel at DLA Piper and is now a partner.

The Canberra office also has a team of 22 professional and support staff, also predominately from DLA Piper.

The new office is part of HWL Ebsworth's sustained growth strategy which has been implemented over the last decade has included the poaching of numerous lawyers from firms such as Herbert Geer, Mallesons Stephen Jaques and Freehills during the last six months.

The office will focus on providing legal services to Commonwealth government departments and agencies, and Canberra's private and commercial sector.

"The opening of our new Canberra office is a significant milestone for HWL Ebsworth. We are delighted to welcome our new partners and staff to the firm," said managing partner Juan Martinez. "We believe that the addition of our firm to the Canberra landscape will provide an innovative option for clients in considering their legal service providers."

The firm's Canberra team is set to expand in the coming months, with the addition of several government lawyers.