Law Firms of the Year announced: 24 in Australia and six in New Zealand
Australasian Lawyer and NZ Lawyer are extending warm congratulations to this year’s 30 best law firms in Australia and New Zealand, which have stood out due to their notable progress, excellent client service, and commitment to ethical standards.
After a rigorous review process, 24 firms in Australia and six firms in New Zealand managed to make the cut, thanks to their remarkable efforts in areas such as recruitment, diversity, employee retention, acquisition, client growth, financial performance, and unique value propositions over the past year and a half.
This year’s awardees have gone above and beyond to help their clients navigate the challenging economic environment in both countries. Australia has been on the way to economic recession, while New Zealand has witnessed its GDP growth falling since June 2023.
“Things are getting tighter financially, and businesses are being put under a lot more pressure,” says Mitchell Zadow, managing principal at Sharrock Pitman Legal. “We find that influences the type of work that comes to us.”
In these tough times, the demand for legal services has been rising.
“We’ve seen a marked increase in the number of disputes that are going to litigation, whereas before, people would avoid going to court if they could, which is a sign of the economic situation in Australia,” Zadow says.
Sharrock Pitman Legal, one of this year’s winners, has seen its billings keep up its growth in the 2023/24 financial year from the preceding six-month period. Specifically, the Melbourne-based firm experienced a year-on-year increase of 22% in overall revenue and a 31% increase in profit. The firm focuses on being a caring law firm to sustain its growth.
“We aren’t aware of any other law firm that puts care for their customers at such a high watermark,” Zadow says. “Our philosophy is that if we get that right and build those good relationships with customers and build trust, everything else will flow from that.”
Another awardee for 2024 is Maddocks. “We are the modern Australian law firm by being solutions focused and maintaining deep relationships with our clients,” says Catherine Dunlop, a board member and partner at the firm.
Maddocks, also based in Melbourne, has over 500 lawyers. Its growth within the review period includes 11% in government, 26% in health, and 5% in other sectors, including real estate, education, infrastructure, and technology.
“A lot of our lawyers and partners do an enormous amount of work with the government,” Dunlop says of the growth of the firm’s government practice. “We tap into it in our training, so people understand what it is to work with government clients, because the drivers are different and there’s different pressures.”
Maddocks considers the diversity of its workforce as one of its strengths. The firm is proud of its 71% female representation, including among its lawyers and support staff members.
“We never take diversity for granted; we want to be a place where you can come and be your true self at work,” Dunlop says. “It’s not a checklist approach; we’re constantly investing and making sure we get the benefits of everybody’s background and ideas.”
Join Australasian Lawyer and NZ Lawyer in celebrating the best law firms in Australia and New Zealand for this year! See more here on the winners.
