Top 10 US law firm Jones Day has bolstered its global disputes capabilities in Australia with the addition of a team from Quinn Emanuel.

Counsel Debra Osborn and associates Pierce McMahon, Reece McMahon and Adam Rompotis have joined the firm’s Perth office, where they have been reunited with partner Michael Lundberg, who left Quinn Emanuel for Jones Day’s global disputes practice in May.

Global disputes practice leader Greg Shumaker described Osborn and her colleagues as “accomplished practitioners in international arbitration, which is an area where our clients are experiencing greater need for experienced legal counsel”, adding that the team bolsters the firm’s disputes capabilities in Australia and the wider Asia Pacific region.

Research published in March by the The Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration found that more than 223 cases valued at around $27bn were heard in the three years from the start of 2016 to the beginning of 2019.

Osborn’s practice includes all forms of dispute resolution covering superior court litigation, domestic and international commercial arbitration, expert determination, adjudication and mediation.

She works on complex disputes across sectors including energy and resources, building and construction, agribusiness, trade practices and competition, professional negligence, IP and state taxes and has appeared in the High Court of Australia, the Federal Court of Australia, the Supreme Court of Western Australia and the State Administrative Tribunal, as well as ICC, SIAC and UNCITRAL international commercial arbitrations.

Pierce McMahon has acted for clients in a broad range of areas including large and complex disputes arising in the energy and resources sector, contentious corporate matters and disputes in the building and construction industry.

Reece McMahon, Pierce’s brother, has experience in a range of commercial litigation matters in the Supreme Court of Western Australia and in the Federal Court of Australia. He has also worked in international arbitrations under the ICC and UNCITRAL Rules and in adjudication applications under state security of payment legislation, including the WA CCA and NT SOPA.

Adam Rompotis focuses on complex commercial litigation and dispute resolution, particularly in energy and resources, corporate, M&A and banking and finance disputes. He has appeared in the Supreme Court of Western Australia, the Federal Court and the Full Federal Court of Australia, as well as having carriage of matters in the WA Court of Appeal, and tribunals including the Administrative Appeals Tribunal and the Australian Takeovers Panel. He was formerly an associate to a Justice of the High Court of Australia.

“Jones Day launched in Australia in 2006 and our global disputes practice has been a key contributor to our growth in the region over the past 15 years,” said Chris Ahern, partner-in-charge for Jones Day’s Australia/Japan region. “We are pleased to welcome this team of attorneys to the Perth office and look forward to their contributions to our work here in serving our clients’ needs for high-stakes litigation and arbitration counsel.”

Other arbitration lawyers Jones Day has added to its global disputes practice recently include partner Michelle Bradfield, who joined in London in February after two years at Dechert, and partner Amy Kläsener, who joined the firm’s Frankfurt office in May from Dentons where she was head of arbitration for Germany.  

Also in May, arbitration lawyer Matthew Blycha joined Ashurst as a partner in Perth from Holman Fenwick Willan to boost its Australian disputes practice. And McDermott Will & Emery boosted its Paris litigation and dispute resolution team with the hire of partner Nicholas Faguer from US rival Paul Hastings, the latest to come from McDermott’s firm-wide push to build up its global disputes resolution practice to meet growing client demand.