Having recently snared Bruce Heddle from Clayton Utz and Patrick Ibbotson from Blake Dawson, Maddocks CEO David Rennick has a stark message: this is just the beginning.

“There is certainly a lot more movement [of lawyers] now compared with even five months ago – the change is palpable,” Rennick told ALB.  He says that this trend is attributable to more than just an improving of economic conditions. Rennick believes that the market is becoming increasingly segmented and lawyers are gravitating to firms which offer the best chance of supporting their particular specialisation. He says the arrival of international brands such as Norton Rose are accelerating this process.

“These firms have said that they are going to tackle particular areas and particular market segments – that forces other firms to ask themselves: what are our specialist areas? And in turn, it’s having an impact on people – they are asking themselves, where would be the right place for my practice to flourish?” he says.

Rennick says that Maddocks’ commitment to infrastructure as one of three key areas of firm specialisation was an important factor in attracting Patrick Ibbotson from Blake Dawson. He said that Maddocks had several more lateral hires in the pipeline.

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