Independent Australian law firm HWL Ebsworth is to acquire two law firms in 2015 as it strives to boost its domestic practice.

The independent outfit announced this week that partners, lawyers and support staff from Cridlands MB and Lawson Smith will join the firm in the first quarter of next year.

Cridlands MB currently has two offices in the Northern Territory located in Darwin and Alice Springs, specialising in banking and finance, corporate law, construction, disputes, employment, energy and resources, insurance, intellectual property and insolvency matters.

HWL Ebsworth will take over the offices on the February 1, with transitioning partners including Graeme Buckley, Tony Morgan, Richard Giles, Charlie Martel and Chris McDuff.

Lawson Smith is a boutique insurance outfit located in Adelaide, providing advice to a mix of insurers, domestic and international underwriters, government agencies and claims management companies.

HWL Ebsworth already has an Adelaide office but will launch an insurance practice in the city with the acquisition on 19 January.

A group of six partners will be moving over, including Richard Smith, Michael Tilley, Anthony Hillary, David Johns, Michael Ricketts and Anna Jackson. They will be joined by 10 legal and support staff.

HWL Ebsworth was recently ranked as the third largest legal partnership in Australia by local media.

Following the acquisitions, it will boast a total 954 employees including 195 partners, 437 other legal and 322 support staff, across nine offices.

Managing partner Juan Martinez said: "As can be seen from our unrelenting growth over the last decade, and our expansion into the Australian Capital Territory in 2011, Western Australia in 2013 and South Australia in 2014, we have been determined to build Australia's only fully integrated national law firm. Our expansion into the Northern Territory ensures that we are the sole law firm in Australia to have a permanent presence in every mainland capital city."

"When we launched our Adelaide office in July, we highlighted our desire to enhance our offering in that market by recruiting additional leading practitioners to ensure that we covered all areas of law of importance to our clients. Insurance is a core specialty of our firm, and it is vital that we are in a position to offer a team in South Australia of an equivalent caliber.

"It is important to note that our stated intention to expand our South Australian presence doesn't come to an end with this acquisition. We will continue to aggressively pursue growth opportunities within this market".

Richard Smith, senior partner at Lawson Smith, said the firm had been approached several times with invitations to join national law firms, but none were considered to have been in the best interests of the firm.