AUSTRALIA'S LARGEST FIRM – BY LAWYER HEADCOUNT
|
Rank
|
Firm
|
Total
|
CEO or equivalent
|
Lawyers
|
Partners
|
Country
|
Number of offices
|
2009 rank
|
Arrow
|
|
1
|
Minter Ellison
|
1125
|
John Weber
|
848
|
277
|
Aus, NZ
|
10
|
2
|
up
|
|
2
|
Mallesons
|
1027
|
Robert Milliner
|
843
|
184
|
Aus
|
5
|
1
|
down
|
|
3
|
Freehills
|
885
|
Gavin Bell
|
684
|
201
|
Aus
|
4
|
5
|
up
|
|
4
|
Clayton Utz
|
834
|
Darryl McDonough
|
623
|
211
|
Aus
|
6
|
3
|
down
|
|
5
|
AAR
|
758
|
Michael Rose
|
592
|
166
|
Aus
|
4
|
4
|
down
|
|
6
|
Blake Dawson
|
695
|
John Carrington
|
530
|
165
|
Aus
|
6
|
7
|
up
|
|
7
|
DLA Phillips Fox
|
582
|
Tony Holland
|
437
|
145
|
Aus, NZ
|
8
|
6
|
down
|
|
8
|
Corrs Chambers Westgarth
|
506
|
John Denton
|
396
|
110
|
Aus
|
4
|
8
|
same
|
|
9
|
Norton Rose
|
480
|
Don Boyd
|
341
|
139
|
Aus
|
5
|
9
|
same
|
|
10
|
Gadens
|
418
|
Ian Clarke
|
297
|
121
|
Aus
|
5
|
10
|
same
|
|
11
|
HWL Ebsworth
|
328
|
Juan Martinez
|
217
|
111
|
Aus
|
4
|
13
|
up
|
|
12
|
Baker & McKenzie
|
275
|
Mark Chapple
|
187
|
88
|
Aus
|
2
|
12
|
same
|
|
13
|
Sparke Helmore
|
266
|
Jesse Webb
|
214
|
52
|
Aus
|
8
|
11
|
down
|
|
14
|
Middletons
|
254
|
Nick Nichola
|
193
|
61
|
Aus
|
3
|
14
|
same
|
|
15
|
Russell McVeagh
|
235
|
Gary McDiarmid
|
195
|
40
|
NZ
|
2
|
15
|
same
|
|
16
|
Simpson Grierson
|
231
|
Kevin Jaffe
|
184
|
47
|
NZ
|
3
|
17
|
up
|
|
17
|
Gilbert + Tobin
|
231
|
Danny Gilbert
|
176
|
55
|
Aus
|
2
|
19
|
up
|
|
18
|
Maddocks
|
212
|
David Rennick
|
156
|
56
|
Aus
|
2
|
20
|
up
|
|
19
|
Henry Davis York
|
207
|
Sharon Cook
|
155
|
48
|
Aus
|
1
|
22
|
up
|
|
20
|
Chapman Tripp
|
207
|
Alastair Carruthers
|
153
|
54
|
NZ
|
3
|
16
|
down
|
|
21
|
Bell Gully
|
199
|
Roger Partridge
|
152
|
47
|
NZ
|
2
|
18
|
down
|
|
22
|
McCullough Robertson
|
190
|
Brett Heading
|
148
|
42
|
Aus
|
3
|
21
|
down
|
|
23
|
Dibbs Barker
|
186
|
Alan MacArthur
|
131
|
55
|
Aus
|
4
|
28
|
up
|
|
23
|
Buddle Findlay
|
186
|
Peter Chemis
|
143
|
43
|
NZ
|
3
|
24
|
up
|
|
25
|
Thomson Playford Cutlers
|
169
|
Adrian Tembel
|
122
|
47
|
Aus
|
3
|
25
|
same
|
|
26
|
Lander & Rogers
|
168
|
Andrew Willder
|
122
|
46
|
Aus
|
2
|
New entrant
|
up
|
|
27
|
Moray & Agnew
|
165
|
Michael Pitt
|
105
|
60
|
Aus
|
5
|
23
|
down
|
|
28
|
Herbert Geer
|
161
|
William Fazio
|
108
|
53
|
Aus
|
3
|
30
|
up
|
|
29
|
Holding Redlich
|
156
|
Chris Lovell
|
108
|
48
|
Aus
|
3
|
26
|
down
|
|
30
|
Piper Alderman
|
150
|
Gordon Grieve
|
95
|
55
|
Aus
|
4
|
New entrant
|
up
|
*All figures are for lawyer headcount and supplied by firms
FIRMS WHICH MISSED OUT ON A SPOT IN THE ALB 30
|
Rank
|
Firm
|
Total
|
CEO or equivalent
|
Lawyers
|
Partners
|
Country
|
No of Offices
|
2009 rank
|
|
|
31
|
Kensington Swan
|
128
|
Clayton Kimpton
|
92
|
36
|
NZ
|
3
|
27
|
down
|
|
32
|
TressCox
|
127
|
Peter Smith
|
95
|
32
|
Aus
|
3
|
New entrant
|
down
|
*All figures are for lawyer headcount and supplied by firms
Australia and New Zealand’s largest and best-known firms have emerged from the GFC largely intact – but we should take nothing for granted in this highly volatile industry environment.
The empire is safe – but for how long? That is the conclusion to be drawn from this year’s ALB30 list of Australia and New Zealand’s largest law firms. Outwardly, this is a list which is not dissimilar to
last year’s ALB30, but there is change fermenting underneath.
Allen & Overy may not yet be big enough to make the list – and indeed maybe it will never reach that scale in Australia – but there can be little doubt that the firm’s dramatic arrival is posing a very serious challenge to the future makeup of the list. Will the arrival of more international firms spell the end of the “big six”? Is the sun beginning to set on the era of the fullservice firm with over 1,000 lawyers?
Take a good look at this year’s top ten firms – maybe such a list will become a collector’s item in the years to come.
Minter Ellison has regained the title of Australasia’s largest firm after ceding the title to Mallesons last
year. The two firms have always had a similar number of lawyers (about 840 this year), but the stark difference has been leverage – Mallesons has 184 partners or 4.6 lawyers per partner, while Minter Ellison has a whopping 277 partners or just over three lawyers for every one partner. Freehills (3.4 lawyers), Clayton Utz (2.95) and AAR (3.57) also represent the more moderate end of the equation.
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