Squire Patton Boggs has hired corporate partner Michael Gajic in Sydney as the firm continues to expand its international reach.

Gajic joins as a partner from Australian firm MinterEllison, where he specialised in domestic and cross-border M&A transactions, including takeovers – friendly or otherwise – takeover defences and take-privates by buyout firms. He also regularly advises activist investors on campaigns as well as advising listed Australian companies on how to respond to activist shareholders. 

Squire Patton Boggs’ Australia managing partner Campbell Davidson highlighted Gajic’s “extensive experience advising on shareholder activism, an area that is of growing significance to our clients.”

Gajic spent almost a decade as a partner at MinterEllison, having joined from Australian peer Gilbert + Tobin in late 2011. He was also previously a senior associate at Clifford Chance.

Stephen Chelberg, Asia Pacific chair of Squire’s global corporate practice, described Gajic as an “excellent strategic fit” for the continued growth of the firm’s corporate practice in Australia and internationally. He added that Gajic has “significant public M&A and capital markets expertise and he has also advised private equity funds in public M&A, including public to private transactions, which will prove beneficial as we grow our private equity practice in Sydney.”

Gajic’s addition is the 13th Australian partner hire in les than two years, adding to the firm’s recent hiring efforts across the Asia Pacific region. February saw a team of employment lawyers led by partner Nicola Martin join the firm’s Sydney office from McCabe Curwood. Last month the firm also hired a team of public international law disputes specialists in Singapore from Harry Elias Partnership, including Eversheds Sutherland’s former global co-head of arbitration Rodman Bundy.

That followed a number of other recent Singapore-based hires, including the arrival of Clifford Chance’s Asia Pacific maritime head Kate Sherrard in January. The firm last year also hired a six-strong team of commodities and shipping lawyers from HFW, which included Singapore partner Chris Swart, as well as separately hiring HFW’s former Singapore head of corporate and corporate finance Brian Gordon.

The traffic has not been one-way, however. Last month Squire Patton Boggs’ Singapore co-managing partner Ignatius Hwang exited the firm for McDermott Will & Emery.