nzlawyermagazine.co.nz Issue 6.2

NO DREAMS LEFT UNDONE Chen Palmer co-founder Mai Chen on , professionalism, and staying ahead of the pack

KATHERINE ANDERSON FOREIGN SHORES THE NEW INTELLECTUALS INSIDE THE KIWIS CUTTING IT IN IP PREPARE COUNCIL’S DEVELOPMENT QATAR AND THE UAE FOR TRANS-TASMAN AGENDA FACE-OFF

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7HE1=SURVEYWASPUTTOGETHERINCOOPERATIONWITHLAWÁRMSWHICH SUPPLIEDSTAé NUMBERSDETAILINGHOWCURRENTPARTNERANDASSOCIATENUMBERS MEASUREAGAINSTPASTNUMBERS:HERETHESENUMBERSWERENOT AVAILABLETHE1=RELIEDONHEADCOUNTSPUBLISHEDINTHEÁRMgSMARKETING MATERIALSPROVIDEDTHEYWEREUPTODATE

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NZ’S BIGGEST LAW FIRMS – BY LAWYER COUNT

Partners Partners % Partners % Lawyers Lawyers % Lawyers % Firm Total

Rank FY 2014 FY 2013 change FY 2012 change FY 2014 FY 2013 change FY 2012 change

1 47 46 2.2 n.a. n.a. 171 175 -2.3 n.a. n.a. 218

2 53 52 1.9 54 -3.7 160 150 6.3 160 -6.2 213

3 Russell McVeagh 37 42 -11.9 43 -2.3 175 182 -4.0 193 -4.7 212

4 Buddle Findlay 42 41 2.4 41 0 152 149 2.0 157 -5 194

5 46 43 7.0 45 -4.4 145 153 -5.5 157 -2.5 191

6 Minter Ellison 39 43 -9.3 46 -6.5 131 152 -16.0 145 4.8 170

7 Meredith Connell 24 24 0.0 29 -17 116 108 6.9 123 -12 140

8 Kensington Swan 28 29 -3.4 32 -9.3 87 86 1.1 96 -10 115

9 DLA Phillips Fox 26 24 8.3 23 -4.3 80 87 -8.8 73 19 106

10 Lane Neave* 18 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. 38 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. 54

Duncan Cotterill* 30 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. 24 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. 54

Wynn Williams 19 18 5.6 17 5.8 35 31 11.4 22 40 54

11 Anthony Harper 20 17 17.6 16 6.2 22 20 9.1 18 11 42

12 Holland Beckett 10 9 11.1 8 12 27 21 22.2 15 40 37

13 #PMMI¿CJBQ 13 14 -7.1 15 -6.6 23 30 -30.4 30 0 36

14 Baldwins 9 9 0.0 9 0 26 25 3.8 26 -3.8 35

15 James & Wells 11 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. 21 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. 32

16 Grimshaw & Co 6 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. 19 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. 25

17 Fletcher Vautier Moore 9 9 0.0 9 0 10 10 0.0 9 11 19

18 Keegan Alexander 6 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. 11 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. 17

19 DAC Beachcroft 2 3 -33.3 3 0 12 11 8.3 7 57 14

20 Anderson Creagh Lai 6 6 0.0 6 0 5 4 20.0 3 33 11

The NZ20 does not purport to be an exhaustive list of every firm in and their sizes. Some firms did not wish to participate in the survey, while others were in a state of transition and total lawyer numbers would not have been clear by the time of print. NZ Lawyer also acknowledges that lawyer numbers are just one of the many ways to measure the size of firms relative to each other. Other factors such as revenue, revenue growth and size and scale of clients are of equal importance in determining which firms are bigger or smaller than their competitors. NZ Lawyer has published these numbers as they were supplied by law firms and does so with the assumption that they are correct and current.

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There are no major surprises to unveil in this year’s NZ20 survey. The survey, which measures the size of URBAN CENTRES WITH MOST LAWYERS firms based on their number of partners and non- partnered lawyers, shows everything a New Zealand lawyer practising in the country’s commercial space would come to think: the country’s six biggest firms three years ago are still its biggest firms today. Perhaps the only surprises are in looking at who is at the very top of the rankings. Lawyer and partner Rank numbers are just one of the many ways to rank a firm’s size, and they reveal nothing about the quality of its services or its relationships with strategic clients, but they do give an idea of the resources available to each firm. There’s no denying that greater size can be an 4 HAMILTON attractive feature for many large companies, and it is thus interesting to note that Simpson Grierson currently sits atop the rankings for total legal staff. Change the ranking system to take into account size only and Chapman Tripp remains 9 NEW PLYMOUTH the country’s biggest firm, a little way in front of Simpson Grierson, but it is clear that the latter has made up a lot of ground and has been growing its partnership faster in recent years. That aside, the period through 2013 into early 2014 has remained tough for most New Zealand firms, and the NZ20 survey tells a story of reduced headcount and subdued growth for many firms, which have 8 NELSON reported to NZ Lawyer, confidentially, that they have seen little in the way of increasing revenues. There are exceptions to this rule, of course, as there always are in every market, and it is fascinating that some of the firms that expanded last year are the country’s mid-tier players. This follows a trend that has continued for some years now, in which key mid- tier firms have been outperforming their top-tier rivals in terms of growth in revenue and growth in lawyer numbers.

‘BIG THREE’ CONCEPT VANISHES Lawyers will hardly be surprised that the idea of a ‘Big Three’, formed by Chapman Tripp, Bell Gully and Russell McVeagh, has fallen somewhat into history. This is widely known within the industry, but the gap between the resources of these firms and rivals such as Minter Ellison Rudd Watts, Buddle DUNEDIN 6 Findlay and others appears to have narrowed further. Simpson Grierson’s place among the biggest firms in the country is fairly clear, and Buddle INVERCARGILL 13 Findlay can also stake a claim to being a major force in the industry. Ranked by partner numbers, its 42 partners edge out Russell McVeagh’s 37, although

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WHANGAREI 12

AUCKLAND 1

TAURANGA 5 ROTORUA 10

NAPIER 11

PALMERSTON NORTH 14

LOWER HUTT 7

WELLINGTON 2

CHRISTCHURCH 3

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Russell McVeagh still has more lawyers in total. for that matter – only describe a small part of what This shows that the narrative of a ‘Big Three’ no characterises a firm’s offering. “It’s more useful to longer has practical significance, much as has been look at individual practice areas and what works for the case for the past few years, since the top-tier end them; you’ve got to be flexible. We haven’t changed of the legal services market is no longer as clear-cut in recent years in any significant way – it varies from as it was historically. time to time and practice to practice.” NZL HIRING FREEZES LEVERAGE AT FIRMS Perhaps the most pervasive trend in New Zealand law firms this year, and in fact over the preceding Rank Firm Lawyers per partner years, is that they appear to be recruiting few new staff. The proportion of firms that are growing seems to be a minute selection that are the exception 1 DAC Beachcroft 6.0 to a highly rigid rule. Bell Gully is a case in point. The firm’s number of 2 Meredith Connell 4.8 non-partner lawyers has slipped from 157 in 2012 to 3 Russell McVeagh 4.7 145 in 2014. This is just as partner numbers have stayed fairly stable, going from 45 in 2012 to 46 in 4 Simpson Grierson 3.6 2014. These numbers hardly speak of a firm in major decline, but hint at a wider trend of reduced hiring. 5 Buddle Findlay 3.6 Legal staff numbers at Kensington Swan have also hit a modest decline. In 2012, the firm had 32 part- 6 Minter Ellison 3.4 ners, but this number has slipped to 28 this year. 7 Non-partner lawyers have also decreased, from 96 Grimshaw & Co 3.2

two years ago to 87 in May 2014. Again, the decrease is far from noteworthy. It does little to suggest there Bell Gully 3.2 has been a mass exodus of talent from the firm, but 8 Kensington Swan 3.1 rather that those who have left have not been rapidly replaced. DLA Phillips Fox 3.1

A MATTER OF LEVERAGE 9 Chapman Tripp 3.0 Another interesting trend is that, in spite of falling lawyer numbers at firms, leverage levels appear not 10 Baldwins 2.9 to have been affected in any meaningful way. Indeed, NZ Lawyer reported in April that most firms were 11 Holland Beckett 2.7 seeing little signs of a major shift. Chapman Tripp managing partner Andrew Poole 12 Lane Neave* 2.1 says his firm’s leverage figures have consistently sat at around the mark of 3 and 3.5 since he joined. 13 James & Wells 1.9 “There has been no material change. We’re not 14 Wynn Williams 1.8 thinking about any material downsizing of the firm

in NZ,” he says. Keegan Alexander 1.8 Russell McVeagh’s Gary McDiarmid remains proud that his firm still has a high leverage figure. #PMMI¿CJBQ 1.8 “Our leverage [figure] … can get over five. There is not a top law firm in the world that doesn’t have a 15 Fletcher Vautier Moore 1.1

good level of leverage. It is great value to have stuff that frankly doesn’t need to be done at the senior Anthony Harper 1.1 level done at a level further down.” 16 But perhaps some perspective is needed. As Anderson Creagh Lai 0.8 Simpson Grierson chairman Kevin Jaffe points out, Duncan Cotterill* 0.8 leverage numbers – and lawyer and partner numbers w

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