Magic circle firm Allen & Overy announced the launch of an Australian practice today.

The firm has appointed 17 new partners, with 14 based in Sydney and three in Perth.

It said analysis of the Australian market had shown there was space for a smaller, high-end law firm which is integrated into a broad global network.

The Australian practice’s core areas will be energy, mining and natural resources; finance; infrastructure; investment funds; mergers and acquisitions; private equity; tax; and telecoms, media and technology.

Allen & Overy senior partner David Morley said: ‘Our decision to launch in Australia underlines the increasing importance of Australia in the global and Asia-Pacific economies.

‘We see significant opportunities for high-end, cross-border M&A and finance work in the private and public sectors, particularly in the energy, mining and natural resources sectors.

‘As Australia develops closer ties with its major trading partners, especially across the Asia-Pacific region, and as Australian banks and corporates continue to expand globally there is growing demand for legal advice that can seamlessly support that growth around the world.

‘Our global network puts us in the perfect position to be able to do just that.’

Thomas Brown, Allen & Overy's Asia-Pacific managing partner, added: ‘Our expansion into Australia not only provides opportunities to develop new client relationships, it also enables us to service the needs of our existing clients in another key market and adopt a fully integrated approach to the Asia-Pacific region.

‘This move also improves access to the deep pool of high-quality lawyers that exists in the Australian legal market, making this the logical next step in our plans to expand our global network.’