Corrs Chambers Westgarth has poached three practice leaders from rival firms as it continues to build its corporate advisory and property practices.

Michael Harrison and Richard Lewis join the corporate advisory group in Sydney from Clayton Utz and Deacons respectively, while ex-Minter Ellison partner Matthew Seymour will practise in the property and infrastructure group, also in Sydney.

Harrison was the head of the transport and logistics group at Clayton Utz, while Lewis led Deacons' national M&A and private equity groups.
Corrs' senior partner in Sydney, Paul McCann, said the firm would continue to pursue its lateral hiring strategy. "Watch this space," he said.

McCann confirmed that the hire of Seymour to Corrs' property and infrastructure group, which lost Chris Mitchell to Blake Dawson Waldron earlier this, reflected the firm's move away from government-related property work. Seymour, he said, would be kept busy servicing financial services clients such as Westpac and ING. The firm's property and infrastructure practice now has 10 partners nationally. Corrs has hired over 20 new partners in the past 18 months.