The former Minter Ellison leader John Weber will replace Andrew Darwin as the domestic head of DLA Piper in Australia, according to LawyersWeekly.
“Our Australian business has made significant progress over the past couple of years, as we have more closely aligned our local practice with the global firm,” said Darwin on his successor, whom he described as a “great fit” for DLA Piper.
While DLA Piper has grown substantially on the global stage over the past two years, its Australian arm has shrunk considerably.
In 2013, it’s the percentage of Australian fee earners fell by around 15 per cent, with the firm’s Melbourne office seeing its partnership almost halved from 43 partners in June 2012 to 23 presently.
In an interview with Lawyers Weekly late last year, Darwin signalled that there would be departures from the firm as DLA moved away from legacy firm Phillips Fox’s traditional strengths of insurance, workers compensation and government work.
“On a personal level it is a tough thing to do,” said Darwin when asked how he feels when he tells people they no longer have a future at the firm.
