Law Firms SPECIAL REPORT businessnews.com.au FEATURE LAW FIRMS Bryn and Dave “have brought a much deeper capacity to service clients’ capital needs - Andrew Pascoe Andrew Pascoe (left) and Bryn Hardcastle aim to drive more expansion at Allens. Photo: David Henry Allens, Thomson Geer lead growth There has been plenty of change during the past year in Perth’s legal fraternity, which is enjoying healthy trade. There also have been some big plays Some of the drivers of work had been aided by Allens’ national in corporate law, with Allens and included foreign investment presence. Thomson Geer being two of the biggest transactions, general commercial “There has been a real positive movers. disputes and regulatory energy, both within the Perth team but Herbert Smith Freehills continues to investigations. also nationally,” he said. be Perth’s largest law firm, according Sitting just below this group is “The support from the firm to Business News’s Data & Insights. another national firm, Allens, which nationally and its willingness to invest Mark Beyer It has 21 partners and 130 legal has enjoyed sustained growth over equity here for the long term, it’s been [email protected] professionals in WA. the past few years. part of a strategy and it’s bearing fruit.” HSF has recently appointed a new It has 14 partners and a total of 87 Mr Pascoe said the resources sector managing partner, Elizabeth Macknay, legal professionals in WA, up from 62 was a big driver of activity in WA, to lead the firm in WA (see page 32). three years ago. but the growth had been reflected It is followed by three national firms Corporate partner Andrew Pascoe in its main practice areas, including IF the establishment of new firms is – MinterEllison, Clayton Utz and HWL said Allens had achieved growth in corporate finance, projects, banking a guide to a buoyant legal services Ebsworth – which are of a very similar head count and performance over an and disputes. market, then Western Australia is scale in WA (see list, page 36). extended period. Allens is seeking to broaden clearly in a good place. Clayton Utz managing partner Brett “That growth has been driven by, its corporate practice in WA after Several new firms have been Cohen said his firm was enjoying a and reflected in, head count growth,” recruiting Bryn Hardcastle and Dave launched in WA during the past 12 continued strong level of activity. he said. Filov from HWL Ebsworth at the start months, targetting opportunities “It’s always busy when there is “It’s across practice groups and of this year. in areas as diverse as media and change,” Mr Cohen told Business reflects a broader mix of work.” intellectual property. News. Mr Pascoe said the local practice Continued on page 29 PB | Business News May 17, 2021 May 17, 2021 Business News | 27 PB | Business News May 17, 2021 May 17, 2021 Business News | PB FEATURE SPONSORED CONTENT LAW FIRMS Precedented times MAJOR LEGAL MOVES Thomson Geer – poached DLA Piper’s 12-member corporate finance team Integrated IP – launched by four former Griffith Hack principals McCabe Curwood – acquired Perth insurance firm SRB Legal calls and charging appropriately for time, proved difficult. Many offic- es were forced to remain open, and Allens workarounds were made for remote – recruited two corporate access to systems at the expense of partners from HWL security and productivity. On premise Ebsworth servers and phone systems were also not ideal to support the rapid decen- tralisation of staff. Steedman Stagg Lawyers Stephen O’Keefe We have helped many business- – established by two Managing Director es in the industry to centralise their TBTC Perth South former Lavan partners phone system and collaboration tools in Microsoft’s cloud using Office 365. You can retain your existing landline As we enter the 18th month since number from most Telcos and mi- Kennedy Vinciullo COVID-19 became a part of our lives grate this to the cloud. This allows – launched by two former around the globe, there are several you to leverage existing Microsoft li- Mason Ledger partners phrases and clichés that need to be censing costs you may be incurring. dropped from our lexicon. If I have to It also allows calls to come through read one more article talking about Teams on your phone or PC, as well ‘unprecedented times’ or the ‘new as enabling call recording, and time- normal’, I may just fall asleep at my who previously worked there, and had based billing through Dubber, an From page 27 keyboard. In fact, the word ‘unprec- described the firm as a much more Australian cloud-based call recording edented’ was People’s Choice Word They had joined HWL only one year significant, sophisticated version of software. of the Year for 2020. Our familiarity earlier, after it bought their former Bellanhouse. You can also take advantage of with masks, social distancing and business, Bellanhouse Lawyers. Mr Pascoe said the timing was Exchange Online Archiving for com- lockdowns means that these times Mr Hardcastle said the nature of his serendipitous as they had been working pliance, regulatory, and eDiscovery are now in fact precedented. Soci- work had not changed, with a focus on closely on a matter for a joint client. challenges. ety is constantly adapting to change, small- and mid-cap listed companies. “The planets aligned for us,” he said. Businesses need the ability to work and while COVID-19 has presented “I think the market expects that Surprisingly, Mr Hardcastle said from wherever they are without being us with a significant adjustment, the Allens is only doing the bigger work,” Allens shared the same culture as restricted based on access to phys- need to adapt in business has nev- he said. Bellanhouse, despite their vast ical premises. At Telstra Business er been unprecedented. If anything, “We’re in a broader market now and differences in size and focus. Technology Centre Perth South, we COVID-19 has simply reaffirmed the I think we’ve been very successful in “I’ve found Allens to be the same as work with local businesses to turn necessity for businesses to consis- getting new work.” Bellanhouse, which was a culture of technology into opportunity. If you tently plan ahead and prepare for fu- Mr Hardcastle said there were many care,” he said. would like to hear more about how we ture uncertainty. positives from the move to Allens. “I have not seen the same respect for have helped organisations like yours, One industry that knows all about “The support, the business structure, people and their careers as I have seen feel free to reach out to us on info@ precedents is the legal profession. the depth of experience, it’s a very at Allens.” tbtcperthsouth.com.au or call us on My experience supporting clients different beast,” he said. Mr Hardcastle said he was still 1300 4BUSINESS. such as this through the pandemic “That makes it a very easy sell to our working on small transactions. found some to be rigid and dated in clients. For instance, he recently advised on “We can offer something now that we the $5 million initial public offering of their technology. This meant that the couldn’t offer before.” Albion Resources. transition to remote working, secure Mr Hardcastle said the idea of joining file management, collaboration, man- Allens was first suggested by Mr Filov, Continued on page 30 aging inbound and outbound phone PB | Business News May 17, 2021 MayMay 17, 17, 2021 2021 BusinessBusiness News | 2929 PB | Business News May 17, 2021 May 17, 2021 Business News | PB FEATURE LAW FIRMS Matthew Yeates (left) with principals Steven Starkie, Andreas Hartmann and Tony Mizzi. Photo: David Henry From page 29 Our core service is intangible asset management: “We’ve certainly found that.” Mr Pascoe said this should be just “patents, trademarks, trade secrets - Matthew Yeates New firms the start. The new firms in the Perth market “We don’t want him to be focused reflect a range of opportunities. exclusively on the $5 million IPOs but Competition to account for the extra work we are Steedman Stagg Lawyers was that’s an important feeder channel for getting from that model.” established by James Steedman and A rapidly emerging competitor in the our broader practice,” he said. Mr Gibson said the corporate team Nick Stagg, who were previously at corporate law space is Thomson Geer, “We are aiming to deliver the full range had been helped by Thomson Geer’s Lavan. which was boosted last year when it of services through their life journey, from other practice areas, which included Their firm specialises in dispute secured the services of one of Perth’s pre-IPO to project development. construction, litigation and regulation. resolution and commercial law, with top corporate teams from DLA Piper. “Bryn and Dave have brought a much “We’re able to scale up to do the big a particular focus on media and This occurred about 18 months after deeper capacity to service clients’ transactions as well as scaling down defamation. Thomson Geer entered the WA market capital needs.” to do the smaller IPOs and backdoor Another boutique firm is Gaffney by acquiring LSV Borrello, which was While national firms like Allens listings,” he said. & Palermo Lawyers, established by focused on property and litigation. typically charge higher fees than “We’ve complemented that with the Marisa Palermo and Sarah Gaffney- The recruits were led by renowned boutique law firms like Bellanhouse, mining and asset work for the small Smith, who previously worked at corporate lawyer Michael Bowen, his Mr Hardcastle insists that will not be a and mid-cap miners.