Corrs Chambers Westgarth CEO John Denton is a man on a mission. He wants to get the firm’s telephone number under every general counsel’s speed dial button and is not afraid to step on some toes along the way
There was an enigmatic smile on John Denton’s face when he learned during the ALB Australasian Law Awards 2008 ceremony that the title of Managing Partner of the Year went to Danny Gilbert of Gilbert + Tobin instead of to him. But when Corrs Chambers Westgarth partner Teresa Handicott was crowned Australian Dealmaker of the Year, there was no doubt as to his feelings: with both of his fists he drummed on the table, while roaring loudly.
The moment illustrates where Denton directs his efforts: at his people. His staff is on the tip of his tongue when he recalls the most memorable moment of his time with Corrs – winning several Employer of Choice awards over the years. “I think that’s the most sought-after award by large firms … [It shows] that you believe in your people and your people believe in you.”
His staff is there again when he recalls his least memorable moment with the firm. “When I became CEO, we had to make some tough decisions. Real people are involved in those decisions and I had to say goodbye to some friends,” says Denton. “We made the decision to be one of the leading firms in terms of quality of practice, and you have to make decisions about who can do that and who can’t do that. The most important thing about these decisions is to empathise with people and to be very clear with them.”
Industry involvement
For this interview Denton has freed up an hour in his agenda – a rare occasion, assure his support staff. We meet at the firm’s Sydney office, where he welcomes us warmly. Denton is nattily dressed and the ease with which he makes small talk gives away his background as a diplomat, but when the first serious question is asked, an avalanche of words follows that indicates this is a man on a mission.
He is on a quest to make Corrs one of the top firms in Australia and has adopted a rather unusual approach. Instead of taking the more traditional road of expansion, he has set up various industry groups that function as thinktanks on wider industry issues and policies. The idea is that these groups interact with corporations and government bodies to bring a legal perspective to debates, while at the same time the lawyers involved gain further knowledge of the commercial realities that businesses face.
“What the marketplace keeps telling us is that law firms haven’t found the right bridging of the gap between legal expertise and business challenges,” says Denton. “That’s the piece we want; that’s what we want to take to the marketplace.” He illustrates the approach by naming the proposed changes to the financial services regulations by the Treasury. “We’ll be submitting a paper on that; we’re thinking about those topics.”
Corrs has created five groups: one team directs its attention at engineering, property and infrastructure; one at financial services; one at government; one at energy; and the firm is about to launch a communications, media and technology group.
Denton wants these groups to get involved in industry debates – and he leads by example. He was appointed by the Australian government to the International Legal Services Advisory Council last year, while this year he became chair of the federal government’s Business Advisory Group on workplace relations and joined the APEC Business Advisory Council, an inter-governmental forum that aims to facilitate trade in the Asia-Pacific.
Happy to disrupt
Corrs is set to post revenues of A$240m this year (see the ALB 30 cover story in this issue). This places the firm in seventh position on the ladder of largest firms by revenues in Australasia. Denton is determined to challenge the hegemony of the six largest firms, and the idea that they form a class apart, in particular.
“If we accepted the status quo, which is self-serving for a number of people, we wouldn’t be where we are today,” he says. “We’re happy to disrupt the self-satisfied and self-contented nature of polite exchanges. We compete in a very direct way as lawyers in this marketplace.”
But there is still a significant gap in size between number six, Blake Dawson, and Corrs – a gap of no less than A$135m. “Size is irrelevant,” says Denton. “We never built our firm around size, it’s about quality.” He points to some of the recent partners who have joined the firm, as evidence of the firm’s capabilities. “If you look at people like Byron Koster [who joined from Blake Dawson] and Simon Crawford [a former ANZ counsel] – these guys have choices.”
To simply mention the term ‘top-tier’ is like a red rag to a bull: “I’m not interested in what lawyers gossip about, I’m interested in what clients think,” he says. “I think market gossip lacks client realities. We just won Dealmaker of the Year with Teresa Handicott … It’s just a fact that we’re one of the leading firms in this country.”
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CORRS ACCROSS BORDERS
Corrs Chambers Westgarth does not have any offices outside Australia and, listening to chief executive officer John Denton speak, it probably will stay that way. “Bricks and mortar mean nothing,” he says. “It doesn’t mean you have a business; it means you have a name tag. You need to have great relationships.”
Denton is convinced that Australia’s future economic prosperity is directly linked to East Asia and he says the firm has developed an extensive virtual network in the Asia-Pacific region. For example, it advises on inbound investment from China into Australia, especially in the mining sector. Late last year, the firm announced it was advising China Metallurgical Group on a construction contract with Sino Iron for a mine at Cape Preston, Western Australia.
But it does not tempt Denton to set up shop in China. “A small office in Beijing doesn’t mean anything to us. Our strategy is built on having relationships, and so we get involved in things. I’m happy to be involved in APEC, in the Commonwealth Business Council, in discussing issues around Indonesia on a policy level. We have a very strong brand and we have a very strong recognition factor in places like Beijing, New Delhi and Chicago,” he says.
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