"Don't believe anything any of [the other firms] tell you," jokes Danny Gilbert, the managing partner of Australia's Gilbert + Tobin from his 37th floor Sydney office. "It's all window dressing."

Among the most likeable and charismatic managing partners in the Australian legal market, Gilbert is no stranger to media interviews. Straight-talking and highly ambitious, the former Deacons lawyer is now known for having built one of the most profitable Australian outfits.

Gilbert founded G+T alongside Tony Tobin in 1988, leaving Deacons (now part of Norton Rose Fulbright) to pursue a new adventure. As the leader of a young firm, he admits that taking on the 'big six' Australian players has been a challenge.

"We came from nothing," he remembers. "We had to fight hard to emerge in what was already a very established and highly competitive market. Looking at the people we now compete with – they can trace their history back for more than 100 years. We were not part of the establishment."

The last decade has been particularly significant for Gilbert, who has personally spearheaded the firm's growth from what was a small TMT boutique into one of the most respected corporate players on the scene. Mergermarket placed G+T sixth in Australasia for M&A by value and volume in the first half of 2014, noting 20 deals worth a combined US$7.69bn. This was up from 15 deals valued at US$5.56bn in the same period last year, when it also secured fifth place for deal value and eight for volume in the league tables.

Gilbert admits that this surge in profile stems from an aggressive approach to hiring; focused on top talent and nothing less. Notable laterals over the years include top-ranked partner John Schembri, who left Freehills in 2008 after 18 years to head up G+T's banking and finance group, M&A and private equity rainmaker Peter Cook, who joined from legacy Mallesons in early 2010, and restructuring and insolvency partner Dominic Emmett, who made the move from Corrs Chambers Westgarth in 2011.

More recently the firm has been joined by another wave of senior legal brains, including the Australia managing partner of DLA Piper Tony Holland, King & Wood Mallesons M&A heavyweight Craig Semple, and Allens high-profile corporate finance partner Simon Lynch.

This kind of ambition helps explain why Gilbert is happy to rule out the possibility of a merger with an international firm.

"Independence is in our DNA," he says. "We're very nimble and ambitious, so why would we give all that away to have our future determined by a global law firm? We wouldn't do that. We don't think we need to.

"Maybe at one time I thought it was something we had to consider. I thought you really needed to be a global player to be a market leader. But I don't think that now. Things have changed for me over that time. With all the global things [going on] we've actually got better, our market position has improved. I mean never say never, because that's a silly thing to say. But I've seen nothing out there that would appeal to us…. I think being able to determine your own future and make decisions on the spot is a real strength."

Although he won't be drawn on names, Gilbert confirms that he has been approached by large US and UK firms over the years. Market sources have linked G+T in particular with Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, and suggest that a tie-up between the two would make sense in view of similar profitability levels and the relatively small size of the Australian partnership. Indeed, with just 68 partners, G+T could be an ideal target for a London-governed magic circle firm, unlikely to want to hand over half of its equity to a sizeable foreign partnership.

"We've had lots of approaches," Gilbert concedes. "We haven't had any offers because it never comes to that, but we've had a lot of people over the last several years come in here and talk about the future and [ask] would G+T be interested in throwing their lot in. At one time I thought we should entertain the idea but I never thought that in the context of talking to anybody. And the more people I talk to, the more I think I don't want to do this."

So what is the plan for G+T? Currently it is understood to be financially "very healthy", working with top tier firms such as Slaughter and May and Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz on cross border deals, with core practices spanning M&A, private equity, capital markets, competition, banking and TMT. Australian firms are not obliged to reveal profits, and so figures are not available. But is there scope to become bigger? And does it need to compensate for its lack of global presence?

Not according to Gilbert: "We're the firm to watch in Australia – everybody says that all the other firms have gone global – whatever that means – and [ask] who is going to be the stand out independent firm? I think the money's on us.

"In Australia we need to take more of a market share from our competitors. [We do that] by making sure that the best people in the market get out of the lift here every Monday morning."