| Turnover: | £190.7m |
| Profit per equity partner: | £415,000 |
| Revenue per Lawyer | £247,000 |
| Total number of lawyers: |
772 |
Mallesons Stephen Jacques has the largest China presence of any Australian firm, with a 70-lawyer office in Hong Kong and outposts in both Beijing and Shanghai. The presence was gained through a 2004 merger with local firm Kwok & Yih, which gave the firm a full-service offering in Hong Kong and a Shanghai presence. Mallesons is currently the only top-tier Australian firm to have a presence in Beijing.
Crucially, unlike some of its domestic competitors, Mallesons sees Asia as ‘neutral ground’ where it hopes to go head-to-head with the UK and US firms for securitisation, finance and M&A work in Asia.
The firm advised Australia’s Commonwealth Bank on its £237m (HK$3.5bn) sale of its Hong Kong-based life insurance to Sun Life Financial, and advised the lead arrangers, including ABN Amro and Standard Chartered Bank, on a £610m (HK$9bn) financing for a Hutchison Telecommunications subsidiary. Both deals were opposite magic circle firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.
The firm’s London office celebrates its 30th birthday this year, and Mallesons is just one of two Australian firms to keep an office in the city. It now boasts 10 lawyers after a second partner was assigned to the office earlier in 2006. It has proved its worth by leading on recent deals such the complex £268m (e400m) ‘national capital instrument’ issue in Europe for National Australia Bank, the first such transaction in Europe.
The firm has made the most of a buoyant Australian market, and is advising Telstra, the Australian telecoms company, in the ‘T3’ retail offering by the Australian government. Mallesons was also advising Kohlberg Kravis Roberts on the failed bid for Coles Myer, and CVC Partners on its 50 per cent stake in PBL, Australia’s second biggest media group.
The firm this year saw a change in one of its top levels of management, with David Olsson returning to private practice and Stuart Fuller, based in Sydney, becoming co-managing partner along with Nicola Wakefield Evans, while Robert Milliner began his third year as chief executive partner.
The firm also named Tim Blue managing partner of international operations in July this year to focus on client initiatives in London and Asia. He was formerly the managing partner of London from 1998 to 2004.
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