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.

History

MinterEllison is considered a leading law firm, known as one of the '' Big Six''

law firms A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise consumer, clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and Obligation, respon ...

in Australia. The firm's origins trace back to 1827.Law firms merge
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Canberra Times ''The Canberra Times'' is a daily newspaper in Canberra, Australia, which is published by Australian Community Media. It was founded in 1926, and has changed ownership and format several times. History ''The Canberra Times'' was launched in ...

'' 3 October 1984 page 32 Its first international office was

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

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. In 1986, Ellison Hewison & Whitehead merged with Gillotts and with Minter Simpson to become Minter Ellison. In October 1992, Minter Ellison and Morris Fletcher & Cross merged to form Minter Ellison Morris Fletcher, the fourth largest law firm in Australia. The firm established offices in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

in 2000,

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

in 2001,

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

in 2010, and

Ulaanbaatar Ulaanbaatar (; mn, Улаанбаатар, , "Red Hero"), previously anglicized as Ulan Bator, is the capital and most populous city of Mongolia. It is the coldest capital city in the world, on average. The municipality is located in north ce ...

in 2012. In 2015, MinterEllison moved into new premises at the Governor Macquarie Tower in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

and Collins Arch in Melbourne. 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." In April 2016, it launched an alternative cost contract service called 'Flex'. In October 2016, it announced an expansion into non-legal consulting. The firm acquired ITNewcom, a boutique technology consulting firm on 1 July 2017.

Operations

Pro bono

The firm performed 37 hours of pro bono work per employed lawyer in 2018. 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. It participates in the New South Wales Expert Advice Exchange, and a number of social enterprises including the Mwembe Foundation, the FOCUS women's leadership program and the Third Link Growth Fund. 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. The firm exceeds its panel requirements for pro bono work.

Recognition

Recent awards won by MinterEllison include: * WGEA Employer of Choice for Gender Equality (for the past 14 years) * ITR Asia Awards 2018 **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 ** Innovation in Use of Technology' 2015

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; the A$1.14 billion joint takeover of Aquila Resources Limited by Boasteel Resources Australia Pty Ltd and Aurizon Operations Limited; and the sale by Lloyds Banking Group plc 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.

Criticism

MinterEllison has been criticised for its treatment of women. In 2021, the firm was subject to negative publicity following the resignation of CEO Annette Kimmitt. Kimmitt's position was deemed 'untenable', after she sent an email to staff criticising a senior partner for advising then

Attorney-General of Australia The Attorney-GeneralThe title is officially "Attorney-General". For the purposes of distinguishing the office from other attorneys-general, and in accordance with usual practice in the United Kingdom and other common law jurisdictions, the Aust ...

Christian Porter Charles Christian Porter (born 11 July 1970) is an Australian former politician and lawyer who served as the 37th Attorney-General of Australia from 2017 to 2021 in the Turnbull government and the subsequent Morrison government. He was a Mem ...

. In 2022, Western Australia's

Corruption and Crime Commission The Corruption and Crime Commission is an independent anti-corruption agency established on 1 January 2004 to improve the integrity of the Western Australian public sector and investigate allegations of misconduct against public officers. It t ...

alleged that the employees of the

Department of Communities (Western Australia) The Department of Communities is a department of the Government of Western Australia. The department was formed on 1 July 2017, out of the former Department of Child Protection and Family Support, Department of Local Government and Communitie ...

disclosed competitors' pricing information and manipulated tender processes to benefit law firm MinterEllison in exchange for corporate box tennis tickets and spa vouchers.

References

External links

Official SiteOfficial New Zealand SiteOfficial Hong Kong Site
{{Big Six Law firms established in 1827 Australian companies established in 1827 Foreign law firms with offices in Hong Kong