Thomson Geer has become the latest in a string of east coast law firms to enter the Western Australian market, acquiring LSV Borrello 10 years after the local firm was established.
Thomson Geer has become the latest in a string of east coast law firms to enter the Western Australian market, acquiring LSV Borrello 10 years after the local firm was established.
LSV Borrello has grown to have eight partners and 28 people in total, after Mark Borrello started the firm from scratch.
Perth will become the fifth office for Thomson Geer, which has 565 people and is ranked as one of Australia’s top 10 law firm partnerships by size.
The acquisition comes three years after the two firms started working together on commercial matters.
Mr Borrello said LSV Borrello had achieved a lot as an independent Perth firm but the time had come to join a larger player.
“The move will add significant value to our clients and our people, with national scale and depth but with the retention of the fabric of what we have built here,” he said.
Mr Borrello, who was a 40under40 award winner in 2014, will be Thomson Geer’s inaugural managing partner (Perth) and will join the Thomson Geer board.
He said a structured arrangement around decision-making protocols had been put in place for the Perth office.
Thomson Geer chief executive partner Adrian Tembel said the move fitted with the group’s growth strategy, which has included two multi-partner team poaches and the acquisition of a majority of Sydney firm Kemp Strang.
“We know the LSV Borrello team very well, it’s the right time in the Perth economic cycle and our institutional clients require us to offer Perth coverage,” he said.
Mr Tembel added there was a good cultural fit.
“Mark’s a really commercial, entrepreneurial guy and we’ve been similar here on the east coast,” he said.
Thomson Geer already has one special counsel in Perth, with aged care specialist Amber Crosthwaite having joined the firm one year ago and working from LSV Borrello’s offices.
Mr Tembel said corporate partner Jeremy Wilkin, who has previously worked in Perth, would be transferring from Sydney back to Perth early next year.
That will complement LSV Borrello’s existing practice areas, which include property development and construction, litigation, planning, transport and infrastructure.
Mr Borrello said he had been a regular visitor to the east coast to observe trends in the legal market and seek growth opportunities for national clients.
He added that his firm’s growth over the past 10 years had also been helped by its ability to attract senor lawyers such as Julius Skinner, Brendan Foley, Paul Gribble and Rebecca Strom.
Mr Borrello noted that the average partner age at his firm was just over 40 years, well below most of its peers.
“That’s hugely powerful distinction; clients know we will be here for another 20 or 25 years,” Mr Borrello said.
LSV Borrello will re-badge to Thomson Geer on July 1.
Other east coast firms to have bought Perth legal practices in recent years include HWL Ebsworth, Gilbert + Tobin and Sparke Helmore Lawyers.
In addition, east coast firms such as Hall & Wilcox, Mills Oakley and Gilchrist Connell have made lateral hires to establish a Perth presence.
