Solid growth across Perth’s legal field
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WA Business News’ third annual Legal Elite feature comes at a time of solid growth by most of Western Australia’s commercial and corporate law firms.
Many firms have increased professional staff numbers by 10 per cent or more over the past 18 months, according to the WA Business News’ Book of Lists.
Leading the growth was Clayton Utz, which added 12 professional staff to take its total to 97.
Minter Ellison and Mallesons Stephen Jaques both added 10 professional staff, taking their totals to just over 100.
Proportionately, some of the mid-sized firms achieved even faster growth.
Gadens Lawyers has jumped from 24 to 34 professional staff, Deacons has gone from 42 to 51 and Talbot Olivier Lawyers has gone from 26 to 33.
Allens Arthur Robinson, a big national firm but mid sized in Perth, has risen from 51 to 59.
Professional staff numbers were fairly steady at Freehills and Phillips Fox, Perth’s biggest law firms.
This year’s feature profiles some of Perth’s top lawyers across a range of practice areas, based on a survey of business people in industry, banking, broking, property and mining.
The survey respondents were generally upbeat about the capabilities of Perth lawyers relative to their Sydney and Melbourne counterparts.
There is less specialisation in Perth but for most business people that is a blessing in disguise, because it means their lawyers have more rounded experience.
There is also less depth in Perth, but that is not surprising given the size of the local market.
Business people who have moved to Perth were particularly glowing about service quality.
The chief executive of a mid-cap listed company said that he would struggle to get the attention of partners in Sydney but in Perth he is feted as a top client.
The big national firms, particularly Freehills and Mallesons Stephen Jaques, feature prominently in this year’s Legal Elite. However, they continue to face competition from a range of firms, including national players such as Clayton Utz and Blake Dawson Waldron, big Perth firms such as Jackson McDonald and boutique firms like Blakiston & Crabb and Fearis Salter Power Shervington.