Squire Sanders announced in August that it would enter the Australian market with a single office in Perth, with its 14 foundation partners all coming from Minter Ellison.

The four remaining partners of Minter Ellison have moved down the road from 152-158 St George's Terrace to new premises at 77 St George's Terrace, with Squire Sanders now trading from the old Minter Ellison location.

The Minters office at the time was a not a fully integrated member of the national firm's network.

Speaking to Lawyers Weekly, Minter Ellison acting chief executive partner Andrew Cunningham said the Perth office is now a fully integrated part of the Minters network with 30 lawyers. He added that he was confident that despite losing more than two-thirds of its headcount in Perth, Minters would still be able to act on high-end commercial work in what is an increasingly competitive market.

"We will have a focused offering in Perth," said Cunningham. "We will be focusing on energy and resources, property, projects and infrastructure work, financial services and government.

"We will also be backed by the rest of the Minters network."

Cunningham said he would like at least another six partners and 40 lawyers within the next 12 months in Perth.

Squire Sanders will have more than 80 lawyers in Perth.