Person of Interest
Mills Oakley is a national firm that has been named by the Australian Financial Review and The Australian as the country’s fastest growing law firm for two years running. We interviewed CEO, John Nerurker about the firm and his vision for the future.
FS: It seems the legal sector has undergone a great deal of upheaval of late and a significant number of mergers have occurred. What are your thoughts on this and what is the Mills Oakley strategy?
JN: There has certainly been a spate of law firm mergers over the past six years. The viability of these tie ups inevitably comes back to cultural and client alignment and it is becoming clear that some firms have been more successful with their choice of merger partner than others.
Mills Oakley saw an opportunity in this brave new world. We decided to focus on being a premium Australian firm, with a national focus. We’ve been clear with clients that our niche is legal advice for the domestic needs of Australian companies and companies interested in investing in Australia.
This market positioning has resonated very well with our corporate client base and resulted in a bigger market share than even two years ago. What has been particularly gratifying is that we are not just wresting market share from mid tier competitors but top tier firms as well. To hold those premium clients, the quality of service and depth and breadth of capabilities needs to be right. That’s where
we invest our energies the most.
FS: The firm has been named by the Australian Financial Review and The Australian as the nation’s fastest growing law firm, measured by revenues and headcount. What is your growth strategy?
JN: We were honoured to receive these accolades, but it was certainly not a case of “growth for growth’s sake”. What we have found is that as our clients have grown, their need for legal services expanded. So, over the past few years we have been kept busy developing our offering in line with client demand.
For example, we opened a Perth office because we had clients on the east coast who were interested in using our services on the west coast. We opened a Canberra office to cater for our clients in the government space. So our growth has been client-led and closely linked with our strategy of building a national presence.
Being named Fastest Growing Firm for two consecutive years, 2014 and 2015, is great recognition for our growth story and gives staff and clients confidence that they are aligned to a firm on the rise. The fact that we are attracting partners from other firms and not losing partners is testament to the success of our model. At a staff level our turnover rates are similarly low. We invest in our people and want to do everything we can to hold onto them.
FS: How many partners and staff does the firm now have in Australia?
JN: As at August, we have 500 people, which includes 75 partners.
FS: Mills Oakley celebrated 150 years of operation last year. What did this milestone mean to you and how would you describe the firm’s culture?
JN: We describe ourselves as a modern firm, but also a firm with a strong sense of identity and purpose. Our 150th anniversary was a reminder of all the work we’ve done with great Australian businesses over the decades; it was a proud reminder of our place in the community.
Having said that, the current pace of economic transformation is the most rapid it has ever been. So the modern Mills Oakley is all about innovation and matching that pace of transformation, developing new service offerings and new ways of providing advice that are adapted to our clients’ needs.
FS: What areas do you specialise in?
JN: We are a full-service law firm, so we cover the full range of practice areas that commercial clients require. We also have a substantial private client practice, which advises individuals, SMEs and family-owned entities on their business and tax affairs.
There is a natural synergy between commercial practice and advising high net-worth individuals and families and we were one of the first corporate firms to develop a private advisory offering. We’re proud of being able to describe ourselves as a genuine full service commercial firm, serving both corporates and individuals.
