Creating Allens Arthur Robinson

The Allen Allen & Hemsley partners were a notoriously individualistic group.

They valued their autonomy, both personally and as a firm. The task of convincing them to merge fell to the managing partner, Ian McGill. 'Despite the sense that the merger was inevitable, the partners had to be convinced scientifically that it was the best of the available options,' he explains. 'The demand to work alongside clients nationally and internationally was increasing and there was much more that bound us than divided us'.

The Arthur Robinson & Hedderwicks partners were more flexible by nature but equally worried about cultural differences. In Melbourne, partners, along with their families, often spent weekends and holidays together, while the Allen Allen & Hemsley partners were less inclined to mix office and domestic life. Also of concern was the need to manage client conflicts and the complexities of achieving financial integration. 'The main thing that had held back both firms was that we had always done very well as we were,' according to Tom Poulton, then managing partner at Arthur Robinson & Hedderwicks. 'However, despite our differences, it was clear we would serve our clients better by merging with Allens'.

On 14 March 2001, the 103 partners from Allen Allen & Hemsley and the 78 partners from Arthur Robinson & Hedderwicks voted to merge. The next morning, McGill stood in the ballroom of the Wentworth Hotel and informed the Sydney staff. Poulton informed the Melbourne staff at the RACV. The emotional relief of finalising the agreement was clear to all and the process of bringing the firms together commenced.

The merger came into effect on 1 July 2001 and the new firm was known as Allens Arthur Robinson. The union brought together 181 partners and 1450 legal and support staff, creating one of the largest law firms in the Asia Pacific. The merger was structured so the Arthur Robinson & Hedderwicks partners joined the partnership of Allen Allen & Hemsley, ensuring the continuity of Australia’s oldest legal practice. Together, they acted for most of the top 100 companies in Australia and 13 of the world’s top 100 companies.

Michael Robinson and Kevin McCann, chairs of the antecedent firms, co-chaired the new partnership. Poulton was appointed the managing partner and spent three days a week in Sydney sharing an office with McGill. McGill took on the role of senior executive partner, integration and client services. ‘There were some bumps along the way,’ McGill says. ‘However, in general the integration went better than anyone had expected'.