Allens (law firm)

Allens is an international commercial law firm that operates in the Asia-Pacific region. It is one of what was known as the big six Australian law firms.[1] Its alumni include a former Australian Prime Minister, High and Supreme Court justices, a former President of the World Bank, and ASX/200 C-suite executives.

Allens
HeadquartersSydney, Australia
No. of offices40
Major practice areascorporate and commercial
Key peopleRichard Spurio (Managing Partner)
Fiona Crosbie (Chairman of Partners)
Date founded1822
Company typePartnership
Websitewww.allens.com.au

Allens is one of the largest law firms in the Asia Pacific region, with more than 130 partners and more than 1200 personnel.[2] Since 1 May 2012, Allens has operated in association with Magic Circle law firm Linklaters, giving Allens access to Linklaters' global network of offices. Allens also comprises a separate patent attorney firm, Allens Patent & Trade Mark Attorneys, which is closely integrated with the law firm's intellectual property group.

History

Foundation of the firm
Deutsche Bank Place, Allens' Sydney office

Allens' origins can be traced to the Sydney firm that became Allen Allen & Hemsley, which had been in existence since 1822, making Allens Australia's longest continuous legal partnership.[3] Former Managing Partner Sir Norman Cowper is credited with developing Allens into one of Asia's leading law firms [4]

Consolidation of the Allens practice 1920 to 1975

By the early 1920s Allens had gained a reputation as Australia's establishment firm, largely because of its high profile and wealthy clients.[5] During the 1970s the firm acted for the Australian Bankers' Association in relation to the Whitlam Labour Government loans scandal.[5] Allens had previously acted for the Australian banks in the famous Bank Nationalisation Case,[3] retaining Garfield Barwick QC as lead counsel.

Client relationships

Allens has client relationships stretching back over decades and, in the case of Westpac, over 160 years.[5] In the early years of large firm legal practice in Australia Allens was also able to cement relationships with other leading Australian businesses, including with Sir Frank Packer's Consolidated Press Holdings,[3] later continuing the relationship with his son, Kerry Packer's Nine Network Holdings.[3] Allens is also known to act for 55 of the world's top 100 companies by market capitalisation, including for News Corporation in Australia.[6]

The Allens affair

In the early 1990s a controversy arose when Adrian Powles, a former partner in the London office, was discovered to have secretly accessed a client's trust account to fund a gambling addiction. Sydney journalist Valerie Lawson published a book in 1995 entitled The Allens Affair that details the Powles case and touches on much of the early history of the firm.[5]

Allens in Victoria

The other major predecessor firm of Allens is Arthur Robinson & Co., which began trading in Melbourne, Victoria on 11 May 1914, just prior to the outbreak of World War I. In 1984, Arthur Robinson & Co. merged with Hedderwick Fookes & Alston to form Arthur Robinson & Hedderwicks.[7]

Allens Arthur Robinson was formed on 1 July 2001 by the merger of the Melbourne-headquartered Arthur Robinson & Hedderwicks (ARH) and the Sydney-headquartered Allen Allen & Hemsley (AAH), which created one of the largest law firms in the Asia Pacific. The two firms had been associated for 15 years prior to the merger through the Allens Arthur Robinson Group alliance.

Alliance agreement with Linklaters

Allens dropped the 'Arthur Robinson' part of its name on 1 May 2012. From that date, Allens began operating in an exclusive integrated alliance with Magic Circle law firm Linklaters, with each firm remaining financially independent.[8] Allens and Linklaters will operate two joint ventures in Asia, with one of these focused on energy, resources, and infrastructure services, and another focused on Indonesia, where Allens is already in an alliance with domestic firm Widyawan & Partners.[9][10]

Prior to entering an alliance agreement with Linklaters, Allens had operated in alliance with Magic Circle firm Slaughter & May.[11]

Corporate art collection and involvement with the arts

Since the mid-1970s Allens has built a substantial collection of Australian contemporary art, including works by Rosalie Gascoigne, David Aspden, Emily Kame Kngwarreye, Dale Frank and Ildiko Kovaks. These works were purchased early in the artists' careers. The firm's strategy is to continue to support emerging artists. There are over 1,500 works in its offices across Australia and Asia.[12]

Allens provides pro bono legal support to the Arts Law Centre of Australia and has supported the arts through various initiatives.[13][14][15] The firm acted in the 1971 Literature Obscenity Trial, representing Australian Bookseller Angus & Robertson which had been charged with obscenity for publishing and selling Philip Roth's novel Portnoy's Complaint in Australia.[16] Allens retained Nobel Prize winning author Patrick White as lead witness for Angus & Robertson.[17]

Offices

As of January 2018, Allens has offices in Brisbane, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Melbourne, Perth, Port Moresby, Singapore and Sydney.[18] Through its integrated alliance with Linklaters, Allens' network extends to offices in Abu Dhabi, Africa, Belgium, Brazil, China, Dubai, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Latin America, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom and United States.[18]

Notable alumni

The following persons once worked at Allens:

  • AAH alumnus James Wolfensohn served as President of the World Bank from 1995–2005.
  • Michelle Gordon, judge of the High Court of Australia
  • William Gummow AC, AAH partner 1969–1976, was a judge of the High Court of Australia from 1995-2012. At the time of his appointment to the High Court he had been a judge of the Federal Court of Australia since 1986.
  • Michelle Guthrie, managing director of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation since 2016
  • Sir Norman Lethbridge Cowper (1896–1987) was a partner of AAH from 1924 to 1970 and served for many years as Senior Partner.
  • Sir William McMahon (1908–1988) practised as a lawyer at Allen, Allen & Hemsley between 1933 and 1939 and later served as Australia's 20th Prime Minister.
  • John Lehane (1941–2001), AAH partner 1971–1995, left the firm's banking and finance practice to become a Federal Court Judge.
  • Former Allens partner Ian Renard was the Chancellor of the University of Melbourne.
  • Alan Loxton AM, a former AAH Senior Partner, served as President of the Law Society of NSW, as did former AAH Senior Partners Sir Norman Cowper Kt CBE (above) and William Robin Dill Stevenson OBE.
  • Reginald Barrett, AAH partner 1971–1991, was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales in 2001.
  • Andrew O'Keefe former Allens lawyer is now a TV presenter on Deal or No Deal and Weekend Sunrise.
  • James McConvill, editor of the international corporate governance journal, The Corporate Governance Law Review
  • Geoffrey Robertson practised as a lawyer at Allen, Allen & Hemsley for two years before beginning his career as a human rights barrister.

References
  1. Merritt, Chris. "Big three not worried by new arrivals". The Australian newspaper online. The Australian. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
  2. https://www.allens.com.au/about/
  3. Jonathan Solomon (2008). "Allens Arthur Robinson". Dictionary of Sydney. Dictionary of Sydney Trust. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
  4. Rutledge, Martha. "Cowper, Sir Norman Lethbridge (1896–1987)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
  5. Valerie Lawson 'The Allens Affair' (1995) Pan MacMillan Australia
  6. "Organisation profile". Getting the deal through. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  7. "The making of a national firm: Allens Arthur Robinson". Lawyers Weekly. 2 June 2011. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
  8. Bloomberg (2012). AAR, Linklaters Agree on Alliance to Compete Internationally. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
  9. Allens Arthur Robinson (2012). Allens and Linklaters form integrated alliance. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
  10. The Lawyer (2012). Linklaters seals Allens Arthur Robinson alliance. Retrieved 24 April 2012.
  11. "Slaughters confirms new best Aussie friends". Lawyers Weekly. 23 August 2012. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  12. Art Write 'The art of corporate identity' 18 October 2011 http://blogs.cofa.unsw.edu.au/artwrite/?tag=allens-arthur-robinson Archived 4 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine accessed 3 October 2013
  13. "Sydney Theatre Company: Current sponsors". STC. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  14. "Sculpture by the Sea: Bondi Sponsors". SBTS. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  15. "Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts: Sponsors". WAAPA. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  16. Jonathan Solomon (2008). "Allens Arthur Robinson". Dictionary of Sydney. Dictionary of Sydney Trust. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
  17. Jonathan Solomon (2008). "Allens Arthur Robinson". Dictionary of Sydney. Dictionary of Sydney Trust. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
  18. "Allens: Offices". Allens. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
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