Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan has announced plans to launch in Australia following the hire of two Herbert Smith Freehills partners.

The Los Angeles litigation firm has recruited disputes partners Michael Mills and Michelle Fox from Herbert Smith Freehills in Sydney, and will be joined by IP litigation partner James Webster who is relocating to Australia from LA.

The office will be located in Sydney, and will reportedly open next month, with Mills and Fox co-heading the base.

Fox, who is currently co-head of Herbert Smith Freehills' Australian insurance solutions practice, has previously worked in the US, the UK and Australia. She has significant experience in alternative dispute resolution such as multi-party arbitrations and mediations and also advises companies on their domestic and international insurance programs and corporate and liability exposures.

Mills specialises in insurance disputes, class actions and directors and officers' issues.

In the past he has represented policyholders on insurance and risk solutions, whilst also advising on product liability and regulatory issues concerning the financial services industry.

Meanwhile Webster, who is originally from Australia and will return to the country after 20 years in the US, is a longtime Quinn partner, who advises on a mix of complex business disputes, with a focus on the media and entertainment sector and lawsuits involving major financial institutions.

Among his biggest clients have been media conglomerates, motion picture studios, television networks, music and concert promoters, as well as major motion picture producers, directors and actors, music industry artists, producers, screenwriters and journalists.

Commenting on the launch Quinn partner Bill Urquhart, who splits his time between LA and New York, said: "About a month ago we added Michael Lyle from Weil to the [Washington] partnership, who had worked extensively on several matters with Michael and Michelle and had formed an incredibly high opinion of them. We did probably more due diligence on Sydney than any office other than London; I went out there and came to the conclusion that I would be more than comfortable recommending the appointments to the partnership."

Quinn Emanuel currently has 600 lawyers based across the US, Europe and Asia, and is one of the most profitable law firms in the world.

According to The American Lawyer, profits per partner for the US firm were $4.44m (