Jones Day has boosted its Sydney disputes practice with the hire of class action defence specialist Christine Tran from Herbert Smith Freehills.
Tran, who became a partner at HSF Kramer in 2020, is described as one of the few legal practitioners in Australia who has trial experience in both shareholder and product liability class actions.
Her arrival at the US firm boosts its class action defence capability following the departure of Melbourne-based partner Daniel Moloney in September for leading independent Gilbert + Tobin.
Tran has been identified as a Next Generation Partner in Class Actions by the Legal 500, and a Leading Class Actions Lawyer by Doyle’s Guide.
Tran’s legal work hit the headlines in 2020 when she co-led the defence team that secured victory for Worley in Crowley v Worley Limited – the first Australian shareholder class action won by a defendant – which was handed down by the Federal Court of Australia.
She joins a global team of 200 disputes lawyers at Jones Day working across 25 offices.
Chris Ahern, partner-in-charge of Jones Day’s Sydney office, said: “Christine is one of Australia’s foremost disputes lawyers, known for her exceptional judgement and deep experience defending class actions, product liability matters and other complex commercial disputes.
“Her insight into the Australian market and her record advising major corporates on high-stakes litigation will bring immediate value to our clients.”
According to publicly available data tracked by Pirical, Jones Day has the 12th largest presence among global 100 law firms, with 110 legal practitioners at the end of September.
It has offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth. In January, it hired a pair of corporate partners, Charles Bogle and James Wood, from Hogan Lovells ahead of the closure of the transatlantic firm’s Sydney office.
Jones Day is also preparing to unveil the hire of three disputes partners in Melbourne from Corrs, according to several news reports.
Earlier this month, top 25 US firm King & Spalding entered the Australian market when it opened an office in Sydney with a five-partner team.
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