Competition, utilities and privatisation expert John Kettle has relocated to Australia from London where he established and ran the London office of Irish corporate law firm Mason Hayes & Curran.

Major player

McCullough Robertson’s plans to remain independent is in contrast to a raft of Australian firms which have merged with UK and US firms recently.
Mr Kettle said that  McCulloughs did not want 'to sit idly by' as the market in Australia globalised. 'My move complements the firm’s successful Sydney and Newcastle offices. And it is already the biggest firm in Queensland with strong energy, resources, regulatory, disputes and corporate practices.' He added that these 'were all actions taken to propel the firm and also to make it a major player for international work in Australia.'

International experience

Mr Kettle added: ‘As a firm, we want to service those law firms, clients and corporates isolated by the wave of international law firm mergers in Australia. We know how to look after them well. As a premium Australian firm, our desire to do so gives us a freshness and appreciation of that work which is not always present with the more established national firms here.'
McCullough Robertson chairman Brett Heading said the firm was 'excited' to have Mr Kettle as its new international chair, adding that he brought with him a 'wealth of transactional, advisor and international experience well suited to the Australian legal market at these times of increasing globalisation.' And he added that Mr Kettle’s London experience at the heart of the international legal community in London 'gives him a reach beyond these shores'.