Top 10 UK law firm Herbert Smith Freehills has hired a pair of financial services partners in Sydney from leading Aussie outfit MinterEllison.

Maged Girgis and Andrew Bradley collectively bring more than 50 years of experience in financial services to their new firm and are expected to work closely with HSF’s existing team including leading superannuation partner Michael Vrisakis and consultant Ruth Stringer to support its financial services clients.

HSF’s managing partner for corporate, Carolyn Pugsley, said the firm had been “looking for the right partners to help us pursue the wide range of opportunities that exist in the financial services space, including partnering more closely within superannuation funds as their role and influence in Australian and global markets expands.”

Girgis joined Minter back in 2006 after eight years at Ashurst, where he made partner, and earlier in his career had stints at Clayton Utz and Aussie legacy firm Freehills prior to its merger with the UK’s Herbert Smith. Ranked in Band 1 for superannuation in Australia by Chambers, he advises clients across the spectrum of the financial services industry on matters including governance, regulatory compliance and intervention, product development, financial planning, superannuation and disputes.

Bradley joined Minter in 2006 as special counsel after a decade in-house at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia in roles including compliance manager and company secretary. An expert in financial services regulation, he made partner at Minter in 2019 and acts for clients including superannuation trustees, life insurers, wrap platform operators, investment managers, administrators and custodians. 

Pugsley described Girgis as “one of the country's most respected financial services lawyers,” adding that he is “especially highly regarded as a leading strategic adviser in industry fund circles and he will bring significant expertise to bear for our industry fund clients.

“Andrew is a next-generation leading superannuation lawyer with that essential combination of technical excellence and commercial sensibility our clients are seeking from their financial services advisors,” she said.

The duo joining HSF’s Sydney office, which with more than 70 partners is one of the firm’s largest, comes just a few months after it boosted its financial services offering in New York with the arrival of a senior disputes partner duo from Hogan Lovells. The hire of Marc Gottridge, Hogan Lovells’ global head of financial services litigation, and financial services and New York administrative partner Lisa Fried brought HSF’s headcount in the Big Apple, its sole US office, to nearly 50 lawyers.