The firm is one of the largest in the Asia-Pacific region and has many high-profile political, judicial and corporate alumni.
It is in an alliance with Linklaters in the UK, but is independently owned by its Australian partners.[2]
Operations
Allens has 149 partners and 1,200 personnel.[3] Since 1 May 2012, the firm has operated in association with Linklaters, one of the law firms in the UK referred to as the "Magic Circle". Allens also comprises a separate patent attorney firm, Allens Patent & Trade Mark Attorneys.
Allens has client relationships stretching back over decades and, in the case of Westpac, over 160 years.[5] In the early years of large firm legal practice in Australia, Allens was also able to cement relationships with other leading Australian businesses, including with Sir Frank Packer's Consolidated Press Holdings,[6] later continuing the relationship with his son, Kerry Packer's Nine Network Holdings.[6] Allens is also known to act for 55 of the world's top 100 companies by market capitalisation, including for News Corporation in Australia.[7]
History
Origins
Deutsche Bank Place, Allens' Sydney office
One of Allens' predecessor firms is Allen Allen & Hemsley, founded in 1822 by George Allen. This makes Allens the longest continuous legal partnership in Australia.[6]
The other major predecessor firm of Allens is Arthur Robinson & Co., which began trading in Melbourne, Victoria on 11 May 1914, just prior to the outbreak of World War I.
20th century
By the early 1920s Allens had gained a reputation as Australia's preeminent law firm for establishment interests, with many high-profile and wealthy clients.[5]
Former Managing Partner Sir Norman Lethbridge Cowper is credited with developing Allens into one of Asia's leading law firms.[8]
In 1984, Arthur Robinson & Co. merged with Hedderwick Fookes & Alston to form Arthur Robinson & Hedderwicks.[9]
21st century
Allens Arthur Robinson was formed on 1 July 2001 by merger of the Melbourne-headquartered Arthur Robinson & Hedderwicks (ARH) and Sydney-headquartered Allen Allen & Hemsley (AAH). This created one of the largest law firms in the Asia Pacific. The firms had been associated for 15 years prior to the merger through the Allens Arthur Robinson Group alliance.
Allens dropped the "Arthur Robinson" part of its name on 1 May 2012. From that date, Allens began operating in an exclusive integrated alliance with the Magic Circle law firm Linklaters, each firm remaining financially independent.[10] The firms operate two joint ventures in Asia.
The firm has an arrangement with Widyawan & Partners for its Indonesian operations.[11]
Controversies
In the early 1990s, a controversy arose when Adrian Powles, a former partner in the London office, was discovered to have secretly accessed a client's trust account to fund a gambling addiction. A Sydney journalist, Valerie Lawson, published a book in 1995 entitled The Allens Affair that details the Powles case and touches on much of the early history of the firm.[5]
Corporate art collection and involvement with the arts
The firm has a large collection of Australian contemporary art. Included within its collection are works by Rosalie Gascoigne, David Aspden, Emily Kame Kngwarreye, Dale Frank and Ildiko Kovaks. There are over 1,500 works in its offices across Australia and Asia.[12]
The firm provides pro bono support to the Arts Law Centre of Australia, and is an ongoing patron.[13] The firm acted on behalf of Angus & Robertson in an obscenity trial brought for selling Philip Roth's novel Portnoy's Complaint.[14]
Notable alumni
The following persons once worked at Allens:
George Allen, founder of the law firm and politician.
