Baker & McKenzie has added to its Sydney team with the appointment of DLA Piper life sciences partner, Amanda Turnill.

Turnill, who was also based in Sydney with DLA, co-chairing the firm's global life sciences group and heading the practice in Asia Pacific, joins the US firm this week.

In her new role, she will be working alongside corporate partner Ben McLaughlin to co-head the Australian life sciences team.

Specialising in litigation, Turnill has more than 20 years of experience in the sector working on behalf of pharmaceutical, medical technology, biotechnology and other life sciences companies all over the world.

She has advised on a range of matters related to the life cycle of drug development and commercialisation, including product liability proceedings, class actions, therapeutic goods legislation and regulations, crisis and risk management, product stewardship and compliance, and PBS pricing and reimbursement issues.

Before becoming a lawyer, she was a registered nurse.

"Amanda will add depth and experience to our strong existing team of lawyers advising life sciences clients. She is immensely experienced," said McLaughlin.

"She has been able to combine her knowledge of health issues and her interest in the life sciences industry with law. It's this depth of experience that makes her one of the most highly sought after lawyers in this specialised industry."

Baker & McKenzie currently has two offices in Australia located in Melbourne and Sydney, specialising in a large mix of practice areas including banking and finance, capital markets, construction, technology, mining and healthcare.

The Sydney office, which is the bigger of the two, now has more than 60 partners and 220 lawyers.

Life sciences is one of the firm's core practice areas alongside IP and corporate, with Australia being a particular focus.

Across the two offices, the group now has 14 life sciences partners, each with specific expertise in either regulatory, compliance, intellectual property, mergers & acquisitions, tax, competition or employment law.