The Brief:
Australian law firms average $562k revenue per lawyer.
Small firms (2–20 lawyers) top the table at $595k, ahead of large firms at $555k.
$562,000. That’s what the average Australian law firm generates per lawyer, per year.
New survey data from Best Law Firms in Australia put a number on it for the first time, drawing on voluntary disclosures from more than 40% of firms nationally. Solo practices through to 500-plus lawyer firms all contributed.
But strip the average back by firm size, and a different story emerges.
Small firms topped the table at $595k RPL, ahead of midsizers at $569k, large firms at $555k, and solo practitioners at $533k. The range is narrow, barely $62k separating the top from the bottom.
Small firms keep pace with their large rivals on a per-lawyer basis, without the reach, headcount, or institutional overhead.
That said, the national average only tells part of the story. At the top end of the market, RPL diverges sharply.
Based on 2025 data, Herbert Smith Freehills (before its Kramer Levin merger) leads Australia’s top-tier pack at $1.06m RPL, with Ashurst close behind at $1.04m. Both firms benefit heavily from their international footprints.
Domestically focused firms trail by a significant margin. Corrs Chambers Westgarth sits at $756k, Mallesons at $667k, while Clayton Utz, MinterEllison and Allens all sit below the $500k mark.
On a per-lawyer basis, a two-partner boutique and a large firm are virtually neck and neck. The real gap isn’t between small and large. It’s between domestic and global.