Herbert Geer managing partner, Bill Fazio, said the firm expects to continue on the trajectory that has seen it grow 50% in the last financial year after announcing that the firm has appointed Cameron Roberts and Andrew Venables as new partners in the firm.
Roberts joins Herbert Geer’s Workplace Services team and Venables joins the Major Projects team as the firm pursues its strategy of becoming a viable challenger to the top tier firms. This includes building practice areas that the firm was lacking a competitive edge and continuing to grow its Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane offices.
“Our strategy’s not complete and we expect to be continuing to grow throughout this financial year on a significant basis,” Fazio told ALB. “Coincidentally, the GFC has meant that there’s a lot more reexamination of strategy, size and people in all organisations, which has meant that there are more people actively considering where they should be. In all sorts of ways I think the GFC is making the implementation of our strategy a little bit easier.”
Fazio said Venables’ appointment was made to address an imbalance in the Herbert Geer’s offering and ensure it maintains a stable workflow throughout the economic cycle.
“I think in terms of our business compared with some other businesses we were underexposed to construction, infrastructure, major projects,” Fazio said adding that the firm had bolstered its construction practice in its Sydney office and was looking to do the same to its Melbourne office.
Cameron’s appointment was made to strengthen Herbert Geer’s Workplace Services team led by partner Michael Gatehouse. It is one area that is expanding rapidly due to the firm’s appointment to the Victorian Government Legal Services Personal Injury Specialist Panel.