MinterEllison

MinterEllison is a multinational law firm, and professional services firm, based in Australia. The firm has fifteen offices and operates in five countries. By number of lawyers it is the largest law firm in Australia.[1]

MinterEllison
HeadquartersSydney, Australia
No. of offices15
No. of attorneys270+ partners
1,200+ legal staff
Key peopleAnnette Kimmitt, Chief Executive Officer & Managing Partner
Revenue A$627 million (2018/2019)
Date founded1827
Websiteminterellison.com

History

The firm's origins trace back to 1827.[2] Its first international office was London in 1974. Its ties to China began in the 1980s.

In 1984 Minter, Simpson and Co and Perkins, Stevenson & Linton merged to form Minter Simpson.[2] In 1986, Ellison Hewison & Whitehead merged with Gillotts and with Minter Simpson to become Minter Ellison.[3] In October 1992, Minter Ellison and Morris Fletcher & Cross merged to form Minter Ellison Morris Fletcher, the fourth largest law firm in Australia.[4]

The firm established offices in Hong Kong in 2000, Shanghai in 2001, Beijing in 2010, and Ulaanbaatar in 2012.

In 2015, MinterEllison moved into new premises at the Governor Macquarie Tower in Sydney.

In March 2015, the firm dropped "lawyers" from its name. This was part of a strategy of diversification into non-legal professional services such as consulting and project management. Then Chief Executive Tony Harrington said these changes were aimed at adapting to "phenomenal change in the market... (including) increased in-house capacity at clients, and ever-consolidating larger businesses."[5]

In April 2016, it launched an alternative cost contract service called 'Flex'.[6] In October 2016, it announced an expansion into non-legal consulting.[7]

The firm acquired ITNewcom, a boutique technology consulting firm on 1 July 2017.[8]

In May 2019, MinterEllison announced the launch of MinterEllison Infrastructure Consulting.[9]

Operations

Pro bono

The firm performed 37 hours of pro bono work per employed lawyer in 2018.[10] It provides pro bono legal assistance through bodies including Justice Connect, QPILCH, Public Interest Advocacy Centre, ACT Pro Bono Clearing House and the Law Society of Western Australia.[11] It participates in the New South Wales Expert Advice Exchange,[12] and a number of social enterprises including the Mwembe Foundation, the FOCUS women's leadership program and the Third Link Growth Fund.[13]

Pro bono work at Australian firms is done for reasons of goodwill, marketing, and to maintain eligibility for tenders of work on the Commonwealth panel.[14] The firm exceeds its panel requirements for pro bono work.

Recognition

Recent awards won by MinterEllison include:

  • ITR Asia Awards 2018[15]
    • Australia Tax Disputes & Litigation Firm of the Year
    • Australia Transfer Pricing Firm of the Year
    • Global Executive Mobility Tax Team of the Year in Asia
  • Financial Times
    • Innovation in Legal Expertise 2018[16]
    • Innovation in Use of Technology' 2015[17]

Significant matters

The firm has worked on the long-term leasing of the ports of Brisbane, Darwin, Newcastle, Botany and Kembla, and, most recently in 2016 the Port of Melbourne which was leased for 50 years for $9.7 billion;[18] the A$1.14 billion joint takeover of Aquila Resources Limited[19] by Boasteel Resources Australia Pty Ltd and Aurizon Operations Limited; and the sale by Lloyds Banking Group plc[20] of its Australian asset finance business, Capital Finance Australia Ltd (CFAL), and its corporate loan portfolio, BOS International Australia Ltd (BOSI), to Westpac Banking Corporation for approximately A$1.55 billion in total.

References
  1. "Australian independent Minter Ellison returns to growth with 2 per cent turnover rise | The Lawyer". thelawyer.com. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  2. Law firms merge Canberra Times 3 October 1984 page 32
  3. "Philip Simpson: Land was the calling of a highflying lawyer". Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. 21 April 2008.
  4. Leading law firms to merge ranks Canberra Times 14 July 1992 page 11
  5. "Minter Ellison multiplies beyond lawyers". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
  6. "MinterEllison 'Flex's' muscle with new contract lawyer entity | Australian Financial Review". afr.com. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
  7. "Minter Ellison moves to take on big four in consulting | Australian Financial Review". afr.com. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  8. "Minters enters tech consulting space with ITNewcom acquisition". Australian Financial Review. 3 July 2017. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
  9. "MinterEllison appoints two non-legal Partners, launches new Infrastructure Consulting arm - Media Release - MinterEllison". www.minterellison.com. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
  10. "Our people in the community - Annual report 2018 - MinterEllison". www.minterellison.com. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
  11. "Annual Report FY2014 | Minter Ellison" (PDF). minterellison.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
  12. "Law firms sign onto pro bono one-stop-shop | Australasian Lawyer". australasianlawyer.com.au. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
  13. "Annual Report FY2014 | Minter Ellison". minterellison.com. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
  14. "Australian Pro Bono Centre | Government Tender Arrangements". Retrieved 14 September 2020.
  15. "Asia Tax Awards 2018 | International Tax Review". www.internationaltaxreview.com. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
  16. "FT Asia Pacific Innovative Lawyer Awards 2018 — winners announced". Financial Times. 7 June 2018. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
  17. "FT Innovative Lawyers Awards Asia 2015 | FT". live.ft.com. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  18. See 'Port of Newcastle winners tabled $1.75bn knockout bid', Australian Financial Review, 1 May 2014; ' $3bn expected as Port Botany bids reviewed by lawyers', Australian Financial Review, 9 April 2013
  19. Announcement by Aquila Resources to The Australian Stock Exchange, 5 May 2014.
  20. See 'Minters, Freehills, advise on Lloyds deal', Lawyers Weekly, 11 June 2012.
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