The Brief:
Ashurst Perkins Coie and HSF Kramer lead the Big 8 for female partner representation, while Clayton Utz posts the biggest year-on-year jump.
Lander & Rogers is still the only large Aussie firm holding a female partner majority since 2023.
Women are cracking the partnership ranks.
New data from the AFR’s Law Partnership Survey shows female partner numbers ticking up at most top-tier firms year-on-year.
Ashurst Perkins Coie and HSF Kramer are the ones to beat, both sitting above 42%. Clayton Utz made the biggest leap of the lot.
Here’s how the Big 8 stack up:
Firm | Total Partners | Female Partners | Female %(2026) | Female %(2025) | Y/Y Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ashurst Perkins Coie | 196 | 90 | 45.9% | 46.1% | -0.2 |
HSF Kramer | 177 | 76 | 42.9% | 41.2% | +1.7 |
Allens | 169 | 70 | 41.4% | 41.0% | +0.4 |
Mallesons | 192 | 77 | 40.1% | 36.2% | +3.9 |
Gilbert + Tobin | 126 | 50 | 39.7% | 40.0% | -0.3 |
MinterEllison | 239 | 85 | 35.6% | 36.3% | -0.7 |
Corrs Chambers Westgarth | 149 | 53 | 35.6% | 33.6% | +2.0 |
Clayton Utz | 183 | 64 | 35.0% | 30.8% | +4.2 |
Clayton Utz was the standout mover, lifting its female partner share by 4.2 percentage points in a single year, the biggest jump of any top-tier firm. Mallesons wasn’t far behind, up 3.9 points, while Corrs added 2 points to crack 35.6%.
Ashurst, Gilbert + Tobin and MinterEllison were the only firms to go backwards, though all three only slipped marginally.
Many firms in the market have set 40:40:20 targets, aiming for 40% women, 40% men and 20% flexible. Now, half of the Big 8 have exceeded that target.
But no firm has gone further than Lander & Rogers. Women currently make up 52% of its 122 partners, making it by far the biggest firm to report gender parity in the latest AFR survey, and the only one to stay at or above parity since 2023.
Source: AFR