Clyde & Co celebrates 10 years in Australia

Clyde & Co celebrates ten years since the firm opened its first Australian offices in Sydney and Perth in October 2012, followed by Melbourne in 2013 and Brisbane in 2014. Within ten years, Clyde & Co Australia has grown from 5 partners to 39, and from 20 staff when the firm entered the country, to over 450 staff today. Australia is now Clyde & Co’s third-largest country by fees generated and has exceeded A$100m annual revenue for the first time in FY2021/22.

This month Clyde & Co celebrates ten years since the firm opened its first Australian offices in Sydney and Perth in October 2012, followed by Melbourne in 2013 and Brisbane in 2014. Within ten years, Clyde & Co Australia has grown from 5 partners to 39, and from 20 staff when the firm entered the country, to over 450 staff today.

After rapid growth in Australia in the early years, over the past five years the firm sustained annual growth rates of over 20% each year and has grown by 115% since 2018. Australia is now Clyde & Co’s third-largest country by fees generated and has exceeded A$100m annual revenue for the first time in FY2021/22.

Apart from individual key partner hires, the firm has successfully integrated larger teams over the past ten years, among them Workplace Health and Safety partners Alena Titterton and Michael Tooma from Norton Rose Fulbright in 2016 and has in the same year added partners David Lee and Lucinda Lyons as well as David Amentas, Michelle Dunne and Christopher Smith from legacy firm Lee & Lyons.

In 2018, the firm added significant Technology and Media capabilities, with a team led by partner John Moran joining from Norton Rose Fulbright. This group has since further grown into a market-leading cyber, privacy and media and technology team.

Professional and Financial Disputes partners Nicole Wearne, Ganga Narayanan, Mark Attard and Jehan-Philippe Wood and their teams joined from Norton Rose Fulbright in 2020, followed by Corporate Insurance partner Matthew Ellis from Norton Rose Fulbright in 2022, who was part of the same team that joined two years prior. Also in 2020, a Projects & Construction team led by partner Phillip Coady joined from Vincent Young.

Michael Tooma, Managing Partner Australia at Clyde & Co, comments: "We have built a challenger brand with a different culture to the mainstream firms – a culture of inclusion, innovation, high performance and joy. We have made working at a law firm fun again. We care about our people and our people care about our clients and our business. Our clients trust us with their most important matters in our chosen sectors of insurance, energy, marine & natural resources, projects and construction, workplace health and safety, and insurance."  

Chris Jobson, Partner, Chair of the APAC Board, comments: “In Australia, the firm has seen a period of impressive growth since market entry ten years ago. Jointly with our offerings in Hong Kong and Singapore, which have been in operation for four and three decades, respectively, the Australia business forms part of an exceptionally strong network across the Asia Pacific region.”

Carolena Gordon, Senior Partner at Clyde & Co, comments: “Our story in Australia demonstrates what Clyde & Co is all about - being bold and grasping opportunities to grow and develop for the benefit of our clients. Since we opened there, our growth in Australia has been phenomenal and the team has built a diverse and successful set of practices across the country. Congratulations to everyone who played a part and here is to further growth in the next decade.”

Looking ahead, Clyde & Co in Australia will continue to proactively pursue further growth in its chosen sectors, both through key partner hires and organic growth.