The SA law firms targeting growth in interstate markets

Commercial law firm Cowell Clarke is one of five Adelaide practices eyeing interstate expansion as the main driver of growth in the next three-to-five years.

Cowell Clarke’s Natasha Nicholas, Rob Comazzetto, Kristen Muster and Brett Cowell

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Commercial law firm Cowell Clarke is one of five Adelaide practices eyeing interstate expansion as the main driver of growth in the next three-to-five years.

As part of The Advertiser’s survey, Finlaysons, Kain Lawyers, Crawford Legal and Lynch Meyer also indicated that opportunities to grow their brands interestate offered the best opportunity for growth in the coming years.

After opening the firm’s first interstate office in Sydney last year, Cowell Clarke managing partner Rob Comazzetto says growth on the east coast remains a priority for the firm.

“For our firm the real impact will be growing interstate - Sydney is the main focus at the moment,” he said.

“We’ve started with Sydney but if there’s an opportunity somewhere else like Melbourne then we’d definitely look at it.

“We do a lot of financial services work and that area has been growing significantly for us - the capital for financial services is Melbourne and whilst our revenue from Sydney has grown, we’re actually getting a lot of revenue out of Melbourne.”

Thomson Geer chief executive partner Adrian Tembel, who has overseen the national expansion of his firm in recent years, believes many other Adelaide-based professional services firms are well placed to grow their brands interstate.

“Adelaide professional services operators are usually pretty competitive because it’s always been a pretty lean market so they’re tough and nimble,” he said.

“I’d much rather see one or two more do what we’ve done to create a critical mass of national professional services firms headquartered in Adelaide - professional services is more important than you think.

“We’re a source of talent that can mean other businesses are happy to come here because they can draw on those executives and trainees - and first class local advice is always a good thing for local business.”

As part of its growth plans, Mr Comazzetto says Cowell Clarke is likely to incorporate in the new year, with the appointment of a new board of directors.

“One of the driving reasons for that is the ability to then invest in technology in a sensible, corporate way rather than do it through a partnership where it’s really effectively coming out of the partners’ pockets,” he said.

“It opens up the possibility of allowing non-lawyers to become shareholders as well, which is something that I’d be keen on down the track.”