The dust is still settling over the legal fraternity after the decision from Corrs Chambers Westgarth to lock in CEO Gavin MacLaren to Australia’s longest and potentially most lucrative contract. This column revealed last week the seemingly unprovoked decision to offer a five-year extension to MacLaren, four years before his contract was up.

Private law partnerships can be opaque, funny little institutions. Sunlight rarely gets in. But now we all know that if Corrs continues on its trajectory, MacLaren stands to make as much as $100 million through to 2033.