Norton Rose signs tie-up with Australia's Deacons
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Norton Rose is to merge with Deacons Australia, giving the combined entity a turnover of more than £420m and 12 offices across Australasia.
Norton Rose chief executive Peter Martyr (pictured) will be group chief executive of the enlarged firm, which will trade under the name Norton Rose Group. Deacons’ current chief executive Don Boyd will take on the role of deputy group chief executive while Norton Rose chairman Stephen Parish will be chair of the combined firm.
Although Deacons’ Hong Kong arm, which has offices in Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou, will not be part of the merger, Martyr said the combined firm will focus on further expansion across Asia. Norton Rose has offices in Beijing, Hong Kong and Shanghai.
Martyr added: “The economic influence in the world is moving eastwards and in order to develop our business we needed a significant expansion in our resources in Asia Pacific.
“The increased capability of the group throughout Asia Pacific will lay the foundations for further regional development and expansion.”
Boyd at Deacons said that Norton Rose’s focus on Asia had been a key driver for his firm in agreeing to the tie-up.
He added: “As soon as the initial discussions were underway it became clear that there was a common global ambition, particularly in the predicted growth markets of the future, namely Asia Pacific.
“We have shared aspirations regarding strategic growth, both in practice area terms and geographic expansion.”
Following the tie-up the firm will have 700 fee earners across Asia, operating from offices in Bangkok, Brisbane, Canberra, Jakarta, Melbourne, Perth, Singapore, Sydney and Tokyo, as well as in China.
The partnerships of both firms approved the deal, which will take effect at the beginning of 2010, in a vote yesterday.
The news comes months after magic circle firm Clifford Chance broke off merger discussions with Australia’s largest firm Mallesons Stephen Jaques due to the state of the global economy (8 December 2008).
Had the Clifford Chance merger gone ahead, the combined firm would have had over 1,000 lawyers operating in Asia.
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Readers' comments (31)
Anonymous | 24-Jun-2009 2:57 pm
Re "Jimmy: "do not presume that all posters are lawyers, especially English ones".... whether you're English or a lawyer (though that's a pretty reasonable assumption given this is a legal publication) doesn't really matter because there is one thing that is pretty clear - you're a tool mate.
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Anonymous | 24-Jun-2009 3:35 pm
Don't ya just love riling the Aussies...bring on the Ashes!
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Anonymous | 24-Jun-2009 3:56 pm
Did you make that definition up? I only ask because:
a) it mispells 'oneself'; and
b) misuses a self-reflexive pronoun.
A good tip for writing definitions is to imagine that the definition simply replaces the defined term:
e.g. "coherent sentences" becomes "sentences of which all the parts are consistent, and hang well together"
as opposed to: "able to make oneself understood sentences" or "sentences able to make oneself understood"
Or it must just be from the macquarie dictionary...
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Anonymous | 24-Jun-2009 4:34 pm
and yes, clearly "mispell" should be "misspell".
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Gadfly | 25-Jun-2009 9:47 am
Nice to see interesting article on NR/Deacons (Australia) tie-up has degenerated into dull Aussie baiting. Impossible to stereotype Aussies let alone Aussie lawyers. If you're English and you think you're better than please post your name and firm and let the market decide. No doubt your entry in the Legal 500 already says how good you are....
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Rick | 25-Jun-2009 12:28 pm
Intrigued to read above the Eng v Aus banter (an upcoming Test series will answer that question for the next couple of years) that NR and Deacons have expertise in India and therefore this is a sound strategic merger.
Can anyone provide examples/links to verify this claim? My Perth-based mates thought that Deacons' main client was Bankwest - and the work disappeared following HBOS merger.
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Anonymous | 25-Jun-2009 4:10 pm
Rick 12.28 pm
Deacons is the most well known Australian law firm in India (surprisingly more popular than Freehills.) No one has heard of mallesons. Norton Rose has set up a thriving practice comprised of Indian lawyers in Singapore and the combined entity will be able to offer Australian expertise (which is same as UK expertise in many areas) at a lower cost than London rates. Also more Austrlian partners are willing to shift to Singapore (and later to Mumbai/Delhi) than UK partners. Remember India is a cost sensitive market.
Imagine a Linklaters UK partner and an Australian parner both having Oil and gas experience bid for Indian work. Guess who is in a better position to win beacuse of lower rates?
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Anonymous | 25-Jun-2009 4:40 pm
going back a few e-mails ... who's Holman Fenwick Willan? I don't suppose Norton Rose and Deacons stand a chance against them with a 3 year headstart.
[as a Kenyan - aren't the Aussies and English pretty much one in the same?]
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Anonymous | 25-Jun-2009 4:42 pm
This is The Lawyer, fellows, not Above the Law or Roll on Friday. Save the Aussie-baiting and the anally-retentive concentrating on typos for some gossip chat board.
The NR / Deacons move is a smart one -- and if you read the press releases closely, it is not a merger. It is a way for both firms to go after the Asian market in a unified manner, taking advantage of NR's global client base and Deacons' regional client base and its local talent (most of the NR Asian offices are still "little corners of England"; Deacons has the lawyers with the requisite Asian experience and linguistic skills). If it is well managed, both firms will come out winners.
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peter for sunny queensland | 26-Jun-2009 0:02 am
seems pretty clear to me - you blokes dont have anything to do.
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