Freehills
 |
|
| Headquarters | MLC Centre Sydney, New South Wales |
|---|---|
| No. of offices | 5 |
| No. of lawyers | 800+ lawyers and 190+ partners[1][2] |
| No. of employees | 1750+[1] |
| Major practice areas | corporate and commercial |
| Key people | Gavin Bell, CEO/Managing Partner[1][2] |
| Revenue | A$565 million (2011-12)[3] |
| Date founded | 1852 (Melbourne, Victoria) |
| Company type | Partnership |
| Website | |
| freehills.com | |
Freehills was a commercial law firm that operated in the Asia-Pacific region. In Australia it was considered one of the 'Big Six' law firms.[1]
Freehills merged with the UK-headquartered law firm Herbert Smith on 1 October 2012, forming a new firm named Herbert Smith Freehills with a single global equity partnership.[4]
Offices
Freehills had offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane in Australia.[1]
Freehills had an office in Singapore.
In Indonesia, Freehills had an association with local firm Soemadipradja & Taher and in Vietnam had an association with Frasers Law Company in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Freehills was a member of the international alliance Ius Laboris but left upon its merger with Herbert Smith.[5]
In 2009, Freehills entered into an alliance with TransAsia Lawyers in China. Freehills associated offices were in Beijing and Shanghai.
Pro bono services
Freehills had a pro bono program which, under the leadership of the late Keith Steele, saw the establishment of the Shopfront Youth Legal Centre in Kings Cross.
The firm seconded solicitors to a number of community legal centres and services including the Public Interest Law Clearing House in Victoria, the Kingsford Legal Centre.[6][7]
History
The firm traced its history back to the practices of Clarke & Moule in Melbourne (1853), Stephen Henry Parker in Perth (1868), Bernard Austin Freehill in Sydney (1871) and John Nicholson (Perth) 1896.
The Sydney firm became Freehill Hollingdale & Page in 1947 and began to grow under the direction of partner Brian Page, who took the firm into corporate and commercial practice within Australia and internationally.[8]
In 1978 Freehill Hollingdale & Page became the first major Australian law firm to appoint a female partner.[9]
In 1979 Muir Williams Nicholson & Co, Perth signed an agreement with Freehill Hollingdale & Page, Sydney, to create Australia’s first national law partnership.[10]
In 2000, the state-based offices of Freehill Hollingdale & Page officially changed their name to Freehills and became a single national legal partnership.[11]
In 2012, the firm has over 800 lawyers and over 190 partners.[12]
Freehills announced in 2012 that it would merge with international law firm Herbert Smith on 1 October 2012, forming a new firm named Herbert Smith Freehills with a single global equity partnership.[4]
Offices
References
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- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Dun and Bradstreet Company360 (database online), entry: Freehills Services Pty Ltd. Accessed 13 August 2011
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Source – Chambers Global http://www.chambersandpartners.com/Global/Firms/5682-46041
- ↑ Source – BRW http://brw.com.au/p/sections/focus/australia_top_law_firms_revealed_vvZ5sZcs7mnCsgi2pdqCFM - Accessed 9 August 2012
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Bloomberg (2012). Herbert Smith To Merge With Freehills, Open In New York. Retrieved 28 June 2012.
- ↑ http://extranet.iuslaboris.com/index.php/component/flexicontent/61-alliance-news/5710-australia-membership
- ↑ James Eyers, "Man of steel and compassion", Australian Financial Review, 19 June 2009, p 46, via Media Monitors Australia Pty Ltd and factiva.com accessed 14 November 2011.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ source: firm history - http://www.freehills.com./5351.aspx
- ↑ source: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/legal-affairs/women-take-third-of-new-partnerships-in-legal-profession/story-e6frg97x-1226090156472
- ↑ source: Sydney Morning Herald, December 18, 1979 https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1301&dat=19791218&id=cwxiAAAAIBAJ&sjid=MecDAAAAIBAJ&pg=2584,7085946
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ source – Chambers Global http://www.chambersandpartners.com/Global/Firms/5682-46041
