SHIPS may be sinking and clients drowning, but a prominent lawyer has entered the pool hoping to make a splash in the Brisbane market. 

Queensland's largest private criminal law firm, Potts Lawyers, opened this month in Brisbane after 29 years on the Gold Coast. 

The firm, lead by legal heavyweight Bill Potts, was attracted by the crackdown and prosecution of "cowboys" involved in illegal financial service practices through the global financial crisis. 

Potts' team comprises a string of lawyers, a former corporate chartered accountant, a former Crime and Misconduct Commission employee and three former police investigators. 

Potts told City News in Brisbane his criminal legal advice will be required by white-collar workers caught up in the fallout of the GFC. 

"We're proving a service for things that have never happened before in Queensland."

Potts is a former lawyer for Christopher Skase, FIA and HIH directors. With this background, he said, he is well places to defend Queenslanders accused of white-collar crimes. 

"There have been a few ponzi schemes based in Queensland in which people have lost a lot of money. 

"I'm not suggesting there is anything untoward, but an ounce of preparation is worth a pound of pain."