The recent spate of megamergers that has transformed the top of the Australian legal market has posed a tough question for mid-tier firms: Should they link up too? So far, most are saying no. By remaining independent, these firms hope to pick up work that their bigger competitors can’t handle anymore because of merger-produced client conflicts. But mid-tiers are still finding ways to grow, either by acquiring smaller firms, or by scooping up defecting lawyers from the megafirms.
Several mid-tier firms, including HWL Ebsworth Lawyers (345 lawyers), Sparke Helmore (281 lawyers), and Johnson Winter & Slattery (150 lawyers) have all emphasized that they plan to focus on the domestic market. Corrs Chambers Westgarth managing partner John Denton has been particularly vocal that his 550-lawyer firm intends to be the leading independent firm. “We try to make sense of what is happening in the market and see if [it means] we need to change our business strategy, but it doesn’t,” Denton says.
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