Australian investor and workers' rights law firm Slater & Gordon looks set to become the first law firm in the world to float on a public market, taking advantage of Australia's recent legislative changes to raise money and open itself to non-lawyer investors.

The offer period is set to open on 11 April, closing on 27 April, with the firm – which published an offer prospectus on its website last month and is tipped for a May listing – planning to raise around A$35m (£14.2m).

Shares in Slater & Gordon are valued at A$1 (41p) each, with the firm planning to hand some A$17.3m (£7m) of the money made from the float to the firm's vendor shareholders.

The deal represents the first time non-lawyers will stand to profit from a law firm as shareholders and is more than double the size of that proposed by Perth firm Integrated Legal Holdings last year, which is still pending regulatory approval.

Another group of Australian firms that incorporated last year to form DJC Lawyers have not yet announced any intention to follow suit and float on the public market.