LEGALAFFAIRS
AVIATION INSIDE
CHRIS MERRITT Victoria’s amazing stoush over funding
FRIDAY, MARCH 1, 2013 P25
www.theaustralian.com.au/business/legal-affairs
{ P26 }
Big three firms are streets ahead
AUSTRALIA’S
BEST LAWYERS
EXCLUSIVE
CHRIS MERRITT
LEGAL AFFAIRS EDITOR
THE big three national law firms
have entrenched their dominance
over the market for legal services
and are now the only firms in the
country that work at an elite level
in most practice areas.
Their lead over the rest of the
profession has been confirmed by
the latest edition of the authoritative Chambers and Partners guide
to the legal profession of the AsiaPacific.
The guide, launched yesterday,
shows that the three leading firms
— Herbert Smith Freehills, King
& Wood Mallesons and Allens —
have all been assessed as practising at elite — or band one — level
in more than half of the practice
areas covered by the guide.
The guide also has highlighted
seven partners from six firms after
they were found to be the nation’s
most highly recommended lawyers (see accompanying report).
Chambers and Partners has expanded the Asia-Pacific guide this
year to cover new practice areas.
The rankings for the core areas
of commercial practice have been
supplied exclusively to The
Australian.
For the second year in a row,
Herbert Smith Freehills topped
the rankings for the firms with
slightly more practice groups
working at a higher level than the
other leading firms.
But in percentage terms King &
Wood Mallesons had a slight edge.
Its 17 band one rankings amounted
to 65.4 per cent of the 26 K&WM
practice areas that were ranked by
Chambers. But that edge in percentage terms is because Herbert
Smith Freehills — and the nation’s
largest firm Minter Ellison — both
Room at the top
as silks go to bench
MICHAEL PELLY
WHEN former High Court judge
Michael McHugh was telling
young barristers that they faced a
much harder road to success, he
would also assure them that there
was always room at the top.
The annual Chambers survey
shows, however, that the four-star
individuals at the Bar are those
with more than 30 years in the
law.
Many of their contemporaries
have accepted judicial
appointments, and even their
former juniors are going over to
the dark side.
They are considered the equal
of the judges who hear their
arguments and their written
opinions are treated like gospel.
David Jackson, 71, and Neil
Young, 70, even served briefly on
the Federal Court — both for less
than 18 months — before
returning to the practices. Bret
Walker, 58, also has resisted
overtures to join the bench.
Jackson and Walker are
actually in a different league when
it comes to High Court work.
Rarely will a case go by without
one of them appearing.
Next week they will be on
opposite sides when the High
Court examines whether the
fraught mining tax is
constitutionally valid.
Alan Archibald, 66, is perhaps
the most in-demand commercial
silk in Melbourne (along with
Young and Allan Myers), and
those contacted by Legal Affairs
supported his ranking without
qualification — as they did with
Jackson, Walker and Young.
Clients have no objection to
More details
are available at
www.chambers
andpartners.
com
paying more than $10,000 a day
for their services.
This year’s dispute resolution
list contains 43 silks and 14
juniors, up from last year’s 40 silks
and nine juniors.
In the top three bands, there
were 15 barristers from
Melbourne and 12 from Sydney.
It represented quite a shift from
last year, when there were 18 from
Sydney, eight from Melbourne
and one from Queensland
(Solicitor-General Walter
Sofronoff).
Sofronoff dropped off the list
after being in band two last year
but is regarded as one of nation’s
best advocates, particularly in
constitutional law.
The same applies to Debbie
Mortimer from Melbourne, who
has had some notable victories in
migration cases, and Sydney QC
Melissa Perry, who does a lot of
government work.
The dominance of Sydney and
Melbourne barristers reflects the
fact most companies have their
headquarters in either city.
However, significant talent lies in
the outposts.
Aside from Sofronoff, other
highly rated Queenslanders
include Mark Hinson and Peter
Flanagan for their administrative
law expertise, and Shane Doyle
and Liam Kelly for their
commercial work. In Perth, Grant
Donaldson has a blue-chip client
list.
The native title list is more
evenly spread and contains the
only barrister from Darwin on
either list — Raelene Webb from
Magayamirr Chambers.
The real interest is with those
who made a move up the rankings
or appeared for the first time.
Archibald was the sole star
individual in the 2012 rankings but
has been joined by Jackson,
Walker and Young. All three were
in band one last year.
Tony Meagher drops off band
one after leaving to join the bench.
The departure of Meagher,
Continued on Page 26
Ninian
Ninian Stephen
Chambers
NBC
Nigel Bowen
Chambers
Chancery
Chancery Chambers
Norton
Norton Rose
JRC
Joan Rosanove
Chambers
MC
Melbourne
Chambers
Minter
Minter Ellison
HWL
HWL Ebsworth
Lawyers
Banki
Banki Haddock Fiora
S&F
Spruson & Ferguson
Lawyers
SKADDEN
Skadden, Arps, Slate,
Meagher & Flom
Firm
Practice
areas in
band 1
Practice
areas in
band 2
Practice
areas in
band 3
Practice
areas in
band 4
Practice
areas in
band 5
17
17
13
9
8
3
3
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
9
7
6
13
10
15
3
2
0
12
1
1
0
0
5
3
2
0
0
0
0
2
4
2
8
9
10
9
0
7
6
4
7
6
12
6
1
4
4
2
1
0
0
1
0
0
2
7
1
1
5
3
4
1
3
5
0
6
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
Herbert Smith Freehills*
King & Wood Mallesons
Allens
Ashurst
Clayton Utz
Minter Ellison
Gilbert + Tobin
Norton Rose Australia
HWL Ebsworth
Corrs Chambers Westgarth
Henry Davis York
Arnold Bloch Leibler
DLA Piper
Johnson Winter & Slattery
Baker & McKenzie
Allen & Overy
Colin Biggers & Paisley
Maddocks
Gadens
Clifford Chance
* This firm’s results include a band-one ranking for the associated firm Greenwoods & Freehills
had one more practice area judged
worthy of including in the Chambers rankings. The proportion of
band one practice areas at the
CHRIS MERRITT
AFTER assessing the views of the
Australian marketplace, this year’s
Chambers and Partners guide has
identified the best individual lawyers across a range of practice
areas.
The well-known stars are all
there.
Gina Cass-Gottlieb from Gil-
Schlosser Alex
ALLENS
CLAYTON UTZ
HERBERT SMITH FREEHILLS
KING & WOOD MALLESONS
9
8
3
7
3
Source: Chambers & Partners
tralian by Chambers and Partners
show that the other leading firms
in the rankings can be divided into
two broad categories: those where
RICHARD CISAR-WRIGHT
LEADING FIRMS
Band 1 is the highest.
3
Gilbert + Tobin, closely shadowed
by Norton Rose. The other firms in
band three are Henry Davis York,
Arnold Bloch Leibler, DLA Piper,
Johnson Winter & Slattery, Baker
& McKenzie, Allen & Overy,
Gadens and Clifford Chance.
While Baker & McKenzie achieved more band three rankings
than any other firm, none of its
practice areas achieved band one
status, unlike some others in this
category.
Herbert Smith Freehills managing partner Australia Jason Ricketts said the most pleasing aspect
of his firm’s recognition by Chambers was the fact it reflected the
views of clients.
‘‘Herbert Smith Freehills is well
known as having some of the top
legal talent in all of its markets and
Australia is no exception, but it is
our perceptive and commercially
astute advice which sets us apart,’’
he said.
Mr Ricketts said the Australian
firm had always been international in its outlook, but since last
year’s merger with Herbert Smith
this had increased.
Herbert Smith Freehills banking and projects lawyer Lucy McCullagh, who will put her Russian language skills to good use in the firm
BANKING & FINANCE:
ACQUISITION FINANCE
Alphabetical within each band.
other leading firms were 62.9 per
cent at Herbert Smith Freehills
and 56.5 per cent at Allens.
Statistics prepared for The Aus-
TOTAL
practice groups are clustered at
band two level and those where
band three is the most common
level of expertise.
Those statistics — outlined in
the accompanying table — have
been collated by Chambers after
assessing the results for practice
areas that extend beyond the core
areas of commercial practice that
appear in these pages.
They show that many of the
firms in bands two and three have
some practice groups working at
an elite level. But the figures indicate this is not their dominant
level of practice.
Ashurst and Clayton Utz,
which fell just outside the elite
group of firms, had the strongest
performances in the band two
group, followed by Minter Ellison
and Corrs Chambers Westgarth.
Even though Corrs has fewer
elite practice groups than the leading band three firms, more than
half the practice groups at Corrs
are in band two — a performance
unmatched by any band three
firm.
The band three group is led by
McCullagh among the magnificent seven
Cooper Bruce
CLAYTON UTZ
de Carle Emma
FREEHILLS
Gordon Richard
ALLENS
Nestel John
FREEHILLS
Pelly Justin
FREEHILLS
Robertson Stewart
MINTER ELLISON
Rush Sean
BAKER
Smith Steve
ASHURST
Up-and-coming individuals
CHAMBERS’
RANKINGS
Band 1
KEY
Mallesons
King & Wood
Mallesons
Corrs
Corrs Chambers
Westgarth
ABL
Arnold Bloch
Leibler
JWS
Johnson Winter
& Slattery
DLA
DLA Piper
Australia
HDY
Henry Davis York
A+O
Allen & Overy
HFW
Holman Fenwick
Willan
ODCW
Owen Dixon
Chambers West
ODCE
Owen Dixon
Chambers East
SW
Selborne/
Wentworth
THE PERFORMANCE GAP AT THE LEADING FIRMS
CLAYTON UTZ
BANKING & FINANCE:
ASSET FINANCE & LEASING
bert + Tobin again features
strongly, as do other regulars such
as Doug Jones from Clayton Utz,
Graeme Smith from Herbert
Smith Freehills and Leon Zwier
from Arnold Bloch Leibler.
But this year the guide has
singled out seven up-and-coming
partners who received the most
recommendations from clients.
At the top of this list is Melbourne’s Lucy McCullagh, a bank-
ing and projects partner with Herbert Smith Freehills, whose career
includes a long stint in Moscow
when she was working for White &
Case.
Also on the list of up-andcomers are Jason Morris from
Allens; Rachael Bassil from Gilbert + Tobin; Adam Wallwork
from King & Wood Mallesons;
James Bruining from Ashurst as
well as David Stammers and Kris-
ten Fish, who are both from Clayton Utz.
Ms McCullagh has been a partner at Herbert Smith Freehills
since 2008 and advises Australian
and international banks and corporate clients on large-scale
project finance and corporate
financing matters.
After last year’s merger between Freehills and Herbert
Smith, she said she was keen to
make greater use of her Russian
language skills.
‘‘I’m currently on maternity
leave but I’ve been in contact with
the Moscow office and I’ve got former colleagues over there and I’m
very keen to go over there,’’
she said.
Chambers said the research for
the guide was finalised in December and did not reflect subsequent
moves by individual lawyers.
Up-and-coming individuals
Allchurch Matthew
JWS
Berriman Tony
MINTER ELLISON
Fuzi Grant
A+O
Gatward Paul
CLAYTON UTZ
Geha Geoff
CLAYTON UTZ
Hunwick Jim
JWS
Mahoney Ben
ABL
Ritchie Robert
ASHURST
Robertson Chris
A+O
Rubenstein Paul
ABL
Up-and-coming individuals
Boxall Andrew
ALLENS
Breheny Mark
FREEHILLS
Gwyn Wendy
FREEHILLS
O’Doherty Tim
BAKER
Pelly Justin
FREEHILLS
Sharp Stephen
ABL
Up-and-coming individuals
Maslen-Stannage Rebecca FREEHILLS
McCulloch Stuart
ALLENS
Oude-Vrielink Bart MINTER ELLISON
Band 3
Lovell Martin
McCullagh Lucy
Oldham Jonathan
Stapledon Adam
Band 1
Wales Amanda
FREEHILLS
BANKING & FINANCE:
CORPORATE FINANCE
LEADING FIRMS
Band 1
ALLENS
HERBERT SMITH FREEHILLS
KING & WOOD MALLESONS
Band 2
KELLY & CO
FREEHILLS
MALLESONS
A+O
Morris Jason
ALLENS
CAPITAL MARKETS: EQUITY
LEADING FIRMS
Andrade Craig
BAKER
Ding Alex
ALLENS
Groves Brendan
CLAYTON UTZ
McEwen Tim
FREEHILLS
Paganin Mark
CLAYTON UTZ
Pick Robert
ALLENS
Steven John
MINTER ELLISON
Williamson-Noble John GILBERT + TOBIN
Ziegelaar Michael
FREEHILLS
Band 4
Survey
reflects
changing
economy
SHI-NING KOAY
CHAMBERS and Partners
interviews thousands of lawyers
and clients in Australia and the
wider Asian region for our
research into Chambers AsiaPacific, our guide to the region’s
leading lawyers and law firms.
Their opinions provide the
foundations of our rankings and
commentary. Clients also help us
understand the changing nature
of the region’s economy and
developments in the market for
legal services.
The trend for mergers and
associations between homegrown and international firms
continues to captivate the market.
Allens entered into an
integrated alliance with Linklaters
in May last year, while the
Freehills and Herbert Smith
merger was formed in October. In
January, the combination
between Middletons and K&L
Gates took effect.
Additionally, international
firms continued to break into the
market by hiring laterally. Clyde
& Co launched in Sydney and
Perth with a team from Allens. It
seems that this aggressive
recruitment is set to continue.
International firms have used
several methods to crack the
Australian and wider Asian
markets with varying success.
There isn’t a one-size-fits-all
formula and these mergers
continue to change the playing
field.
However, the qualities that
clients look for in their lawyers
remain consistent. They stress the
importance of commercial,
business-focused advice,
competitive rates and partnerlevel attention with a depth of
support behind the lead partner.
Clients are very price-sensitive
and value for money is a
consistent theme in the feedback
Chambers Asia-Pacific receives.
One interviewee revealed: ‘‘We
all understand that if you want to
get good people, you’ve got to pay
what they cost.
‘‘But to have a pretty big
overhead for service, high-end
office space in the city — this
doesn’t create the best impression
with my MD or the board.’’
Although clients are willing to
pay high rates for complex work,
they are more likely to turn to
smaller, more competitively
priced firms for day-to-day advice.
Clients are increasingly savvy
about choosing a firm that can
deliver an appropriately staffed
team for the job.
As one source explained: ‘‘They
are good value and very knowledgable but you have to weigh up
the high rates and make sure they
are commensurate with the work.
We’re moving away from using
big firms for more routine work.’’
Clients also increasingly point
Continued on Page 26
Jenkins Paul
Paterson Ian
Band 2
ASHURST
MALLESONS
Astridge Ken
Booth Andrew
Band 3
MALLESONS
FREEHILLS
Darcy James
ALLENS
Elias John
MINTER ELLISON
Lowden Patrick
FREEHILLS
McCoach Louise
CLAYTON UTZ
McGrath Duncan
GILBERT + TOBIN
Morris James
ASHURST
Popic Karolina
A+O
Up-and-coming individuals
LEADING FIRMS
ASHURST
MINTER ELLISON
Band 1
Band 3
Band 2
HERBERT SMITH FREEHILLS
KING & WOOD MALLESONS
ASHURST
MINTER ELLISON
Band 2
ALLEN & OVERY
CLAYTON UTZ
CORRS CHAMBERS WESTGARTH
BANKING & FINANCE:
PROPERTY FINANCE
LEADING FIRMS
Band 3
ALLENS
ASHURST
Band 4
ASHURST
CLAYTON UTZ
GILBERT + TOBIN
Band 1
Band 3
ALLEN & OVERY
CORRS CHAMBERS WESTGARTH
GILBERT + TOBIN
Band 3
ALLENS
ASHURST
HERBERT SMITH FREEHILLS
KING & WOOD MALLESONS
MINTER ELLISON
ALLENS
BAKER & MCKENZIE
CORRS CHAMBERS WESTGARTH
MINTER ELLISON
CAPITAL MARKETS: DEBT
Band 1
CLAYTON UTZ
KING & WOOD MALLESONS
Band 4
KING & WOOD MALLESONS
Band 2
Band 2
ALLEN & OVERY
NORTON ROSE
LEADING INDIVIDUALS
Band 1
Cho Yuen-Yee
Cornwell Phillip
Lynch Simon
Schembri John
Wytenburg Shawn
Band 2
MALLESONS
ALLENS
ALLENS
GILBERT + TOBIN
ASHURST
Coleman Martin
Eterovic David
Hayes Richard
Maxton Alan
Mosley John
Robertson Chris
Band 3
ASHURST
MINTER ELLISON
MALLESONS
ALLENS
MINTER
A+O
ALLEN & OVERY
GILBERT + TOBIN
MINTER ELLISON
ARNOLD BLOCH LEIBLER
BAKER & MCKENZIE
GILBERT + TOBIN
HENRY DAVIS YORK
JOHNSON WINTER & SLATTERY
NORTON ROSE
LEADING INDIVIDUALS
Senior Statesmen
Band 1
Angus John
Field John
Maxton Alan
Band 2
FREEHILLS
ASHURST
ALLENS
Breheny Mark
Canning John
Mok James
Schembri John
Band 3
FREEHILLS
MALLESONS
MINTER ELLISON
GILBERT + TOBIN
Elias John
Huinink Jason
Wallace Ian
MINTER ELLISON
A+O
ALLENS
Loxton Diccon
Band 1
ALLENS
Cho Yuen-Yee
Coleman Martin
Lynch Simon
Band 2
MALLESONS
ASHURST
ALLENS
Cornwell Phillip
D’Angelo Nuncio
Marks Daniel
Nestel John
Pelly Justin
Band 3
ALLENS
NORTON ROSE
MINTER ELLISON
FREEHILLS
FREEHILLS
ARNOLD BLOCH LEIBLER
BAKER & MCKENZIE
CLAYTON UTZ
LEADING INDIVIDUALS
Band 1
Astridge Ken
Gurney Graeme
Lipscombe Timothy
Marks Daniel
Solomon Ian
Band 2
MALLESONS
CLAYTON UTZ
ASHURST
MINTER ELLISON
MALLESONS
Berriman Tony
MINTER ELLISON
HERBERT SMITH FREEHILLS
KING & WOOD MALLESONS
Band 2
Campion Meredith
Laughland Iain
Up-and-coming individuals
Bassil Rachael
Bruce Evie
Byrne Stuart
Dulhunty Sarah
Friedlander David
Sparks Tony
Band 2
Cook Peter
Finch Shannon
Golding Greg
GILBERT + TOBIN
MALLESONS
FREEHILLS
LEADING FIRMS
ALLENS
ASHURST
HERBERT SMITH FREEHILLS
Band 3
CLAYTON UTZ
ASHURST
MALLESONS
A+O
MALLESONS
CORRS
CAPITAL MARKETS:
SECURITISATION
ALLEN & OVERY
ASHURST
HERBERT SMITH FREEHILLS
Band 3
LEADING INDIVIDUALS
Band 1
Cox Berkeley
Jinks Andrew
Band 1
Clifford David
Hammond Greg
Band 1
ALLENS
NORTON ROSE
ALLEN & OVERY
CLAYTON UTZ
GILBERT + TOBIN
MINTER ELLISON
LEADING INDIVIDUALS
GILBERT + TOBIN
MALLESONS
MALLESONS
Harvey Philip
Robinson Brad
LEADING FIRMS
Band 2
LEADING INDIVIDUALS
Stone Philippa
Band 1
A+O
CORRS
ALLENS
MALLESONS
MALLESONS
CLAYTON UTZ
Continued on page 26