The Brief:
Jones Day has landed five partners across five practices in Brisbane and Sydney.
It’s now hired 10 lateral partners this year and 18 since mid-2024.
Jones Day is on a hiring tear in Australia, adding five partners across five practices in one hit.
Four land in Sydney, while one heads to Brisbane. And they’re all top-tier talent.
The new partners:
Dylan McKimmie (Brisbane, Disputes): McKimmie is a litigation and arbitration lawyer focused on major resource and infrastructure project disputes. He joins from Norton Rose Fulbright.
Leigh De Jong (Sydney, Finance / Real Estate): De Jong is a real estate and corporate finance specialist acting for lenders, borrowers, sponsors and sovereign wealth funds. He joins from MinterEllison.
Christopher Flynn (Sydney, Energy): Flynn is an energy and infrastructure dealmaker with matters in 60+ countries. He joins from Gilbert + Tobin, where he was Head of Energy, Resources and Infrastructure.
Lance Sacks (Sydney, Corporate): Sacks is an M&A and PE lawyer working across tech, financial services, consumer goods and energy. He joins from Baker McKenzie.
Ken Saurajen (Sydney, IP): Saurajen is a Chambers Band 1 corporate and TMT transactions lawyer. He joins from Clayton Utz, where he was co-partner-in-charge of the Sydney office.
These five partners bring additional elite talent to a market that matters deeply to our clients around the world.
The haul takes Jones Day to 10 lateral partners this year and 18 since mid-2024, when it kicked off its Aussie growth plan. Its local headcount has jumped from 90 to 120 lawyers in that time.
It follows the arrival of restructuring partner Nicholas Dunstone from Milbank in July, and finance partner Benjamin Downie from Allens last November.
Yet another sign the US giant’s Aussie build-out isn’t slowing down.
Source: Jones Day