Corrs Chambers Westgarth has enlisted corporate specialist Byron Koster, who has been appointed as a partner in the firm. Koster, who is a member of the Takeovers Panel, comes from Blake Dawson, where he was a partner since 2001.

Koster is currently acting for the Challenger Infrastructure Fund on the takeover bid made by UK-based Consensus Business Group.

The firm also announced the appointment of partner Simon Crawford to the litigation group in Melbourne. Crawford comes from ANZ, where he was deputy general counsel for the bank's institutional division. In the past seven years, he worked on many of ANZ's largest litigations.

He also has experience managing litigation in India. "As business conducted by Australian companies in India continues to increase, this expertise will be invaluable in differentiating Corrs' litigation practice," said the firm.

Crawford will also undertake a broader role of expanding opportunities in the structured finance and institutional banking practice areas.