This Month
Affinity PE closes $515m Lumus Imaging debt deal
GIlbert + Tobin’s banking group head Gail Christopher was on hand to support Affinity with the negotiations.
- Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
Top-tier firms are cutting lawyer numbers for the first time in years
The country’s most prominent legal practices have reduced the number of lawyers they employ in the past six months. But their mid-tier rivals are hiring.
- Maxim Shanahan
Explore: Law Partnership Survey results for second-half of 2024
The latest results show law firms continue to perform strongly, boosted by big-ticket deals, litigation assignments, and the steady flow of fees from insolvencies and disputes.
- Maxim Shanahan and Edmund Tadros
It was a boom year for law firms. But signs of a slowdown have emerged
Law firms held their gains in the second half of 2024, but some leaders are wary of rising pressures on price and profit margins.
- Maxim Shanahan
November
Pro bono laggards rewarded as major law firms cut free hours
Law firms were warned that failure to meet a target for pro bono hours would endanger government assignments, but laggards have been rewarded.
- Maxim Shanahan
The law firms trawling through corporate scandals
Demand for law firm-led investigations has grown but concerns remain about their independence and probative value.
- Maxim Shanahan
October
Why the $5m lawyer is no longer a rarity at top Aussie firms
Top law firms are forking out more than $5 million a year to poach or protect big-billing market leaders from rivals, amid intense industry competition.
- Maxim Shanahan
September
KWM changes partner pay to reward the biggest billers
KWM’s top-performing partners will be able to take home a greater share of the firm’s profits, after “moderate” changes to remuneration structure were approved by partners.
- Maxim Shanahan
August
ILSC’s Ayers Rock Resort sale expands to the Daintree
The Indigenous Land and Sea Corporation has launched a formal sale process for the operational assets of its subsidiary Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia.
- Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
July
Rapid growth puts pressure on law partnership structures
Almost two-thirds of new legal partners are now on a part-salary arrangement as rapid growth puts pressure on equity allocations.
- Maxim Shanahan
More law firms hit gender targets as partnership gap narrows
A record number of law firms now have more than 40 per cent female partnerships, but part-owner gender ratios contrast sharply with the engine room.
- Maxim Shanahan
June
Energy transition lights a rocket under law firms
Law firms are streaking ahead of the broader economy, adding partners as deals return and the energy transition offers decades of lucrative work.
- Maxim Shanahan
Challenger firms increase pay in fight for top-tier legal talent
Clients, social positions and work-life balance are among the factors in-demand graduates are looking for in a firm – but high rates of pay don’t hurt.
- Maxim Shanahan
Ignorance rather than greed behind Sandfire’s Indigenous blunder
An investigation conducted by Gilbert + Tobin concluded there was a “clear failure” by the copper producer’s former management to understand “ESG obligations”.
- Peter Ker
May
G+T targets Melbourne, start-ups with new partners
The firm is banking on continued growth in Melbourne corporate activity, and is taking a punt on start-ups and venture capital as a new source of clients.
- Maxim Shanahan
Law graduates are about to crack a salary record
Top-tier graduates will earn more than $100,000 this year – in Sydney only – but law firms remain tight-lipped on pay rates despite moves towards transparency elsewhere.
- Maxim Shanahan
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Queensland in secret bid to buy stricken coal-fired power plant
It’s three years since Queensland power station Callide C blew up, and the fallout hasn’t stopped. Now, a secret deal for the government to buy a 50 per cent stake is in doubt.
- Anthony Macdonald
February
How to get a job at a top-tier law firm
Mere legal ability is no longer enough to secure a prized top-tier clerkship. Firms are looking for excellence in all aspects of life. Here’s our guide.
- Maxim Shanahan
Corrs lags top law firms on gender pay gap
Firms with a higher proportion of women partners tended to have a smaller median pay gap among staff, new data from WGEA shows.
- Maxim Shanahan
- Exclusive
- Legal profession
Freehills gets new M&A head as Gilbert + Tobin goes west
M&A partner Matthew FitzGerald will lead Herbert Smith Freehills’ corporate division from May, while Gilbert + Tobin has acquired a Perth-based boutique firm.
- Updated
- Maxim Shanahan