Two more partners have left Clifford Chance's Sydney office to join different firms, leaving the Magic Circle firm with just nine partners in Australia.

Corporate partners Richard Graham and Lance Sacks are joining local firm Johnson Winter & Slattery and Baker McKenzie, respectively.

Graham, a veteran M&A lawyer with more than 20 years' experience, will start at Johnson Winter in early May. He's advised Australian and multinational companies, sovereign wealth funds and financial investors on large transactions, particularly in the real estate and infrastructure sectors. In 2017, he advised American snacks company Mondelēz International on a $345 million sale of its Australia and New Zealand grocery business.

He joined Clifford Chance in 2011 when the U.K. firm acquired his previous firm Chang, Pistilli & Simmons as part of its launch in Australia. Earlier in his career, Graham practiced with Gilbert + Tobin.

Sacks, also based in Sydney, advises private equity funds, hedge funds and venture capital firms on investment, buyouts and capital reconstructions. Earlier this year, he advised China Merchants Capital on a $228 million investment in logistics investment fund Propertylink Australian Logistics Trust II. He had been a partner with Chang, Pistilli & Simmons since 2007 before joining Clifford Chance's partnership in 2011.

"We thank Lance Sacks and Richard Graham for their contributions to the firm and wish them the best for the future," a spokesman for Clifford Chance said.

Graham and Sacks' departures are the latest from Clifford Chance's Australia offices, where nine partners now remain between Sydney and Perth. The Magic Circle firm launched in both cities in 2011, taking 14 partners from a double merger with Chang, Pistilli & Simmons in Sydney and Cochrane Lishman Carson Luscombe in Perth.

Many of the offices' founding partners have left in recent years, including Mark Pistilli and Danny Simmons who formed their own boutique firm in Sydney after leaving in 2016.

The Perth office has seen significant turnover. In June last year, partner Jennifer Hill and counsel Sean Houthuysen left; in May, global oil and gas group co-head Tracey Renshaw departed for DLA Piper's London office; and October the year before, former office head Paul Lingard joined Norton Rose Fulbright. In 2017, Lingard's predecessor and former Cochrane Lishman partner Paul Vinci also joined Johnson Winter & Slattery.

"The ongoing transformation of Australia's legal industry has seen many firms consolidate or form alliances with global brands, creating a clear opportunity in the Australian market for JWS," said Peter Slattery, Johnson Winter & Slattery's managing partner.

"We are increasingly seeing clients looking to work with independent firms that offer a full-service practice," said Slattery. "The breadth of our commercial practice, quality of our credentials and ability to deliver cost-effective commercial outcomes, is attractive to major businesses and investors when addressing complex legal matters."

Johnson Winter & Slattery has also hired construction and infrastructure specialist Avendra Singh from Squire Patton Boggs. Singh, who advises on construction project development and disputes, starts with Johnson Winter as a partner on Mar. 16. He joined Squire as a partner in 2013 from Colin Biggers & Paisley.

Squire Patton Boggs has been approached for comment. Baker McKenzie declined to comment.

Related Stories:

Clifford Chance Australia Departures Continue as Perth Founding Partner Leaves for DLA Piper

Clifford Chance Looks to Australian Expansion

Clifford Chance Names New Australia Management