Seyfarth Shaw Opens In Australia…

Reuters report  that  Seyfarth Shaw  has opened an office in Australia with eight partners Here's the report in full (Reuters) - Seyfarth Shaw has recruited eight labor and employment partners from three law firms in Australia to create a presence on that continent, the firm said on Tuesday. There will be two offices, one in Sydney and another in Melbourne. The move follows Seyfarth's entry into Shanghai in April and London in 2011, part of what the firm says is a bid to serve large companies looking for a one-stop shop to deal with multi-jurisdictional employment issues. Seyfarth is the latest foreign law firm to plant a flag in Australia. While the others, including Linklaters and King & Wood Mallesons, have tended to focus on energy, infrastructure and mergers and acquisitions, Seyfarth is concentrating exclusively on labor and employment work. The 800-lawyer firm has tapped a team of lawyers that has advised Australian clients including airline company Qantas and multinational mining company Rio Tinto Group on employment disputes and compliance issues. The lawyers also represent U.S.-based clients including apparel company Abercrombie & Fitch. The partners joining Seyfarth are Darren Perry, Chris Gardner, Justine Turnbull, Ben Dudley, Luke Edwards, all coming from Herbert Smith Freehills; Rachel Bernasconi and Michael Tamvakologos, who are leaving Ashurst; and Henry Skene, who is coming from Arnold Bloch Leibler, according to the firm. Dudley and Tamvakologos will open a Melbourne office for Seyfarth while the others will launch the firm's Sydney office. "The advantage of Australia is that it is a very deep sophisticated market," said Darren Gardner, chair of Seyfarth's international labor and employment practice. The Australia outposts will create more efficient legal services for clients in Asia because of the time zones, he said. Seyfarth's 402-lawyer labor and employment practice focuses on cross-border work involving restructurings, mass layoffs, and mergers and acquisitions, Gardner said. Requests for comment placed with Herbert Smith Freehills, Ashurst and Arnold Bloch Leibler were not returned on Tuesday.