Introduction to Australian BigLaw Firms and Chambers

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If you are a law student who is wondering what the Australian commercial law landscape looks like, here is a non-exhaustive list of commercial law firms operating in Australia (in no particular order).

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    Bird's Eye View of Australian BigLaw

    • BigLaw generally includes all top-tier and mid-tier commercial law firms and international law firms with Australian offices.  
    • Many BigLaw firms are full-service law firms.
    • Many BigLaw firms are participating employers in clerkship and/or graduate program recruitment.  A majority of graduate positions at the BigLaw firms are filled by seasonal clerks.  However, some BigLaw firms will "go to market" for graduates from time to time and some BigLaw firms may only run graduate programs (i.e. no clerkship programs).
    • In legal ranking publications such as Chambers and Partners, Legal 500 and Doyle's Guide, many of the ranked firms in each practice area are often BigLaw firms.
    • Traditionally, the top-tier firms were constituted by the Big 6.  Arguably leading the pack is HSF, considered by many people as the number one law firm in Australia.

    • Nowadays, some would say that the top-tier firms also include Corrs and G+T.  
    • In recent times, the Australian Financial Review has used the term "Big 8" to include Corrs and NRF or HWLE as part of a new "Big 8".
    • According to the Australian Financial Review Law Partnership Survey (January 2024 list), HWL Ebsworth is the largest legal partnership in Australia (by the number of total partners).
    • While they are the top-tier firms of the UK, the Magic Circle firms (e.g. Allen & Overy and Clifford Chance) are not considered part of the top-tier echelon of Australian BigLaw.
    • While they are the top-tier firms of the US, the white-shoe firms (e.g. White & Case and Quinn Emanuel) are not considered part of the top-tier echelon of Australian BigLaw.

    Big Six Firms

    • Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF or informally known as Freehills)
    • Allens
    • King & Wood Mallesons (KWM or informally known as Mallesons)
    • Ashurst
    • Clayton Utz (CU or colloquially known as Clutz)
    • MinterEllison (ME or colloquially known as Minters)

    The rest of the Top-Tier Firms (Top Eight)

    • Corrs Chambers Westgarth (informally known as Corrs)
    • Gilbert + Tobin (G+T)

    International Firms 

    • Norton Rose Fulbright (NRF)
    • A&O Shearman
    • Baker McKenzie (colloquially known as Bakers)
    • Clifford Chance
    • White & Case
    • Jones Day
    • Dentons
    • DLA Piper
    • K&L Gates
    • Clyde & Co
    • Bird & Bird
    • Squire Patton Boggs
    • Holman Fenwick Willan (HFW)
    • Pinsent Masons
    • Hogan Lovells
    • Kennedys
    • DWF
    • Quinn Emanuel
    • Sidley Austin

    Mid-Tier and Mid-Sized Firms

    • HWL Ebsworth (HWLE)
    • Maddocks
    • Johnson Winter Slattery (JWS)
    • Lander & Rogers (colloquially known as Landers)
    • Gadens
    • Colin Biggers & Paisley (CBP)
    • Thomson Geer
    • Mills Oakley
    • Arnold Bloch Leibler (ABL)
    • Hamilton Locke
    • Hall & Wilcox
    • Sparke Helmore (colloquially known as Sparkes)
    • Addisons
    • Piper Alderman
    • Holding Redlich
    • McCabes
    • McCullough Robertson
    • Moray & Agnew 
    • Wotton + Kearney (W+K)
    • Macpherson Kelley
    • Russell Kennedy
    • Holman Webb
    • Barry Nilsson
    • Hicksons
    • Bartier Perry
    • Turks
    • Hunt & Hunt
    • Brown Wright Stein
    • Chamberlains
    • Makinson d'Apice

    Big 4 Professional Services Firms

    • PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Legal
    • Deloitte Legal
    • Enrst & Young (EY) Law
    • KPMG Law

    Note: This non-exhaustive list of law firms may not be current at the time of your access and may be updated from time to time.

    Barrister Chambers 

    For those interested in commercial litigation and the bar, a non-exhaustive list of barrister chambers includes:
    • Banco Chambers (Sydney)
    • List G Barristers (Melbourne)
    • List A Barristers (Melbourne)
    • 5 Wentworth Chambers (Sydney)
    • Dever's List (Melbourne)
    • Eleven Wentworth (Sydney)
    • New Chambers (Sydney)
    • Tenth Floor Wentworth Selborne Chambers (Sydney)
    • Level Twenty Seven Chambers (Brisbane)
    • Sixth Floor Selborne/Wentworth Chambers (Sydney)
    • 12 Wentworth Selborne Chambers (Sydney)
    • 7 Wentworth Selborne (Sydney)
    • North Quarter Lane Chambers (Brisbane)
    • Sixth Floor Windeyer Chambers (Sydney)
    • Fifth Floor St James' Hall Chambers (Sydney)
    • Greenway Chambers (Sydney)
    Note: For a more comprehensive list of barrister chambers, check out the "Dispute Resolution: The Bar" rankings for Asia-Pacific (Australia) on Chambers and Partners.

    Class Action Plaintiff Firms 

    • Maurice Blackburn
    • Banton Group
    • Shine Lawyers
    • Slater & Gordon
    • Phi Finney McDonald (Melbourne)
    Note: This list is a non-exhaustive list of class action plaintiff law firms. 
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