Mallesons Stephen Jaques

Mallesons Stephen Jaques
Headquarters	Australia
No. of offices	10 in Australia, Asia and Europe
No. of attorneys	1000+ lawyers, 200+ partners
No. of employees	2000+ employees,
Major practice areas	General practice
Date founded	1832
Company type	Partnership
Website
[1]

Mallesons Stephen Jaques is a commercial law firm that operates in the Asia-Pacific region. It is the largest law firm in Australia,^[1] and is widely regarded as the top commercial law firm in the Asia-Pacific region.^[2]

Offices

Mallesons' Sydney office is in the Governor Macquarie and Governor Philip towers at 1 Farrer Place. The two buildings are situated between Young and Philip Streets. Farrer Place refers to the paved area and garden at the front of the building complex. Mallesons uses the top 10 levels in the Governor Philip Tower to house its lawyers and three levels in the Governor Macquarie Tower to house its support staff. The NSW Executive Government offices are also in the Governor Macquarie Tower, occupying the whole top half of the building.

Mallesons offices are also situated in Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane, Canberra, Hong Kong, Beijing, and London. Mallesons also has a recent presence in Shanghai, and an associated office in Port Moresby.

As of 2007, the firm has over 2000 employees including approximately 1000 lawyers and over 200 partners.

History

'Mallesons Stephen Jaques'

Governor Phillip Tower, Mallesons' Sydney headquarters

The "Mallesons" part of the firm's name comes from one of the Melbourne founding partners - Alfred Brooks Malleson. Malleson was born at Richmond Hill, on the Surrey side of the Thames in 1831. As a 25-year-old London solicitor, Malleson borrowed £10 from his uncle to go to Melbourne, in 1856. Malleson was a leading practitioner. His obituary in The Argus in 1892 recorded that his expertise was especially "in company law and in the banking business. Several of the associated banks entrusted their legal affairs to the firm, as well as a large number of leading insurance and other companies, so that Mr Malleson had always as much as he could do".

In 1858, the firm (then called "Muttlebury Malleson and Coster") handled the legal work to establish "The National Bank of Australasia". Today National Australia Bank remains one of the firm's key clients.

The "Stephen" part of the name comes from the Sydney founder - Montague Stephen. He was the second son of Sir Alfred Stephen who was Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of New South Wales from 1844 to 1873. Montague Stephen founded the Sydney practice in 1849. One of his earliest (1853) clients was the "Australian Mutual Provident Society". Today AMP Limited remains one of the firm's key clients.

The "Jaques" part of the firm's name comes from a second "Alfred" - Alfred Jaques. He became a partner of the Sydney firm in 1878. In 1888 the firm's name changed to Stephen Jaques & Stephen - the name which continued until the 1980s.

1974 Merger

In 1974, Stephen Jaques & Stephen merged with Davies Bailey & Cater of Canberra (Australia's national capital). This firm had been established in 1926 - pre-dating the opening of the Federal Parliament in Canberra. Soon after, in 1976, the firm established its London office.

1982 Merger

In 1982, Stephen Jaques & Stephen merged with Stone James of Perth. The merged firm was called "Stephen Jaques Stone James". Stone James had been established in 1832 by a third "Alfred" - Alfred Stone, Western Australia’s first solicitor. The merger reflected the growing importance of the vast mineral resources of Western Australia and its large offshore energy projects.

1987 Merger

In 1987, Stephen Jaques Stone James merged with Mallesons - and the firm adopted its present name of "Mallesons Stephen Jaques". At the time of the merger, Stephen Jaques Stone James - one of the leading Sydney based firms - had 79 partners and 251 solicitors (a total of 330 lawyers) and Mallesons - one of the leading Melbourne based firms - had 37 partners and 83 solicitors (a total of 120 lawyers).

The 1987 merger was driven by an assessment that Sydney, Australia's international business centre and largest city, and Melbourne, the traditional home to many of Australia’s major corporations and financial institutions, had become one legal market. This had happened as a result of advances in telecommunications and computer technologies. In addition, it was felt that the merger of the two firms - with their similar cultures and backgrounds, and with many shared clients - would give the firm the necessary depth of legal talent, and the level of technological and know-how support, to be able to assist key clients internationally, as well as in Australia. The merger enabled the firm to look after clients in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Canberra.

Asian Expansion

The firm established its Hong Kong office in 1989 and Beijing office in 1993. The firm also established an "in association" relationship with Posman Kua Aisi Lawyers of Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea in 1995.

In response to client demand the firm then significantly increased its Hong Kong office capability. In 2002 some of the firm's most experienced partners were relocated to Hong Kong.

In 2004 the firm strengthened its Beijing resources by taking on some lawyers and support staff from the former local office of Denton Wilde Sapte. Later that year Mallesons merged with the Hong Kong/mainland China corporate boutique Kwok & Yih. Mallesons is today one of the top ten largest firms in Hong Kong.

External links

• Mallesons Stephen Jaques web site
• PLC 'Which Lawyer?' web site

References

1. ^ ALB Legal News - Australasia's largest firms.
2. ^ Mallesons Stephen Jaques - Awards