International law firm Ashurst has strengthened its global disputes practice with the hire of Rani John as a new partner in the Sydney office.

John has more than 15 years' experience as a partner representing banking and large corporate clients across a range of regulatory investigations and proceedings, most recently as head of the Sydney disputes team at DLA Piper, and previously at Gilbert + Tobin for 11 years.

"Rani is a leading practitioner in the financial and regulatory investigations space, and her experience aligns with our strengths, strategy and desire for further growth in this area, as does Rani's strong personal reputation in the anti-bribery and corruption/investigations field," said Mark Elvy, head of dispute resolution, APAC, at the firm.