The Brief:
Mid-tiers are leaving most top tiers in the dust on partner growth.
Gadens, G+T, and Mills Oakley lead the charge, with each growing partner ranking by more than 30% in just three years.
Mid-tier firms are racing ahead of the big end of town on partner growth.
Over the last 3 years, Gadens’ partnership is up 37.5%, Mills Oakley up 32% and Lander & Rogers up 31%.
On the other end of town, most top-tiers except Gilbert + Tobin, KWM and Clayton Utz have relatively consistent figures.
HSF Kramer, Allens, Ashurst and Corrs’ partnerships have grown just 0-8% over the same period. While MinterEllison’s partnership has shrunk by 1.5%.
Here’s the breakdown:
Firm | Partners in 2025 | Partners in 2022 | 3 Year Growth |
|---|---|---|---|
Gadens | 110 | 80 | +37.50% |
Gilbert + Tobin | 115 | 87 | +32.18% |
Mills Oakley | 173 | 132 | +31.06% |
Lander & Rogers | 110 | 84 | +30.95% |
Hall & Wilcox | 153 | 117 | +30.77% |
Sparke Helmore | 107 | 90 | +18.89% |
Thomson Geer | 156 | 133 | +17.29% |
Moray & Agnew | 120 | 109 | +10.09% |
King & Wood Mallesons | 199 | 183 | +8.74% |
Clayton Utz | 182 | 168 | +8.33% |
HSF Kramer | 177 | 164 | +7.93% |
Ashurst | 193 | 179 | +7.82% |
Allens | 161 | 156 | +3.21% |
HWL Ebsworth | 279 | 277 | +0.72% |
Corrs Chambers Westgarth | 146 | 145 | +0.69% |
MinterEllison | 248 | 252 | -1.59% |
Norton Rose Fulbright | 112 | 125 | -10.40% |
Source: Financial Review
Three-year partner growth across Australian law firms with over 100 partners.
A recent Macquarie Business Banking survey found that 22% of small-to-medium firms now generate more than $20m in annual revenue.
Many mid-tier law firms are scaling through mergers and lateral team hires.
Recent combinations like Hicksons-Hunt & Hunt NSW and Pragma-Gramercy Legal show small to mid-tier firms are doubling down on regional and client synergies.
While Thomson Geer’s acquisition of Ashurst’s Commonwealth government team in Canberra suggests that domestic opportunities are trickling down from global firms to ambitious challengers.
“There are a number of ambitious firms competing for domestic market share, and larger mergers in the mid-market make strategic sense.”
Tembel also noted that for firms with fewer than 150 partners, mergers remain a viable pathway to achieve non-organic scale: “The larger the merger, the more complex it becomes. You run into conflict issues, and human alignment becomes critical.”
What’s emerging is a quiet reshuffle of Australia’s legal tiers.
At the top sits a Global Elite — firms like HSF Kramer, KWM and Ashurst — increasingly priced out of domestic work as they double down on global mandates.
Hot on their heels, a new tier is emerging — Gadens, Hall & Wilcox, Lander & Rogers, Mills Oakley — ambitious mid-market players scaling fast to claim domestic market share.