Law firm Sparke Helmore launches Cairns office in regional expansion

One of Australia’s oldest law firms has expanded its regional footprint by opening an office in Far North Queensland, its tenth location nationwide.

At the official opening of Sparke Helmore Lawyers’ Cairns office are (from left) special counsel Sasha Vleeshouwer, secretarial coordinator Katrina Chapman, senior associate Lisa Jensz, senior associate Lauren O'Neill, national managing partner Andrew White, partner Vanessa Maruna, senior associate Sangeetha Badya, partner Yvette McLaughlin and special counsel Katie Gould.

One of Australia’s oldest law firms has expanded its regional footprint by opening its tenth office throughout the country in Far North Queensland.

Sparke Helmore Lawyers officially opened their Cairns office last month, bringing a regional-focused commercial firm to the Far North.

“We’re really excited we’ve got a permanent location here in Cairns,” partner Vanessa Maruna said.

“Doing business in the regions is a little bit different to doing business in a capital city.

“And based on the fact we come from the regions and we’ve got people that are living in regions, we understand that, and that contributes to our service offering.”

The firm first arrived in Cairns in September 2024, but officially opened their office recently.

The full service commercial firm, which is Australian owned, began in 1882 in the Hunter Valley in NSW with a focus on regional Australia.

The Sparke Helmore Lawyers’ Cairns team (from left) secretarial coordinator Katrina Chapman, senior associate Lisa Jensz, senior associate Lauren O’Neill, partner Yvette McLaughlin, partner Vanessa Maruna and senior associate Sangeetha Badya.

Now boasting 950 staff across Australia, Cairns is the firm’s tenth office and has five permanent members on its team.

The firm’s key practice areas include property, environment and finance, corporate and commercial, projects and government, workplace and insurance.

The Cairns office currently covers property, environment, finance and insurance, with plans to grow and expand their local offerings.

“While we can’t offer a full range of services yet in Cairns, we do have the backing of nearly 1000 people across Australia,” Ms Maruna said.

“If we don’t have the right person in the Cairns office, we can assist you with finding the right person who a broader range of specialist legal advice that might be harder to obtain in regional Australia.”

Originally published as Law firm Sparke Helmore launches Cairns office in regional expansion