Ashurst, Blake Dawson to Combine
11 September 2012
Ashurst and Blake Dawson have announced plans to combine their businesses in Asia and merge their operations globally, operating under the Ashurst name. As part of the combination, Blake Dawson will rebrand as Ashurst in Australia by March 2012. The firms expect to fully merge by 2014.
“This is a first for an Australian top tier firm,” said Blake Dawson chair Mary Padbury. “Combining our operations with a leading international firm will deliver significant competitive opportunities for both businesses, a greatly expanded international capability for our clients and exciting career prospects for our people.”
Geoffrey Green, who the firms have appointed to chair the combined Asian business, said that the firm have worked together successfully in Asia for nearly 10 years. “This combination is a natural development of our relationship,” said Green.
IP Specialist Frances Drummond has joined Norton Rose Australia from Freehills. Drummond has a skill base in both contentious and non-contentious trademark matters including front end trademark portfolio management, advisory, transactional and disputes, as well as experience working for several leading Australian and international companies. Drummond’s appointment follows that of Jackie O’Brien earlier this year, a former partner at Allens Arthur Robinson who joined Norton Rose’s IP practice in Sydney. Drummond has previously worked in the United Kingdom and in Hong Kong, where she was a partner and solicitor at Norton Rose Australia’s predecessor firm Deacons, from 1995 to 2000.
