Of the top 10 firms by partner, only HWL Ebsworth – which still had the biggest jump in partners – did not report a Ken Hayne "sugar hit". Most commercial firms said, at the very least, it was cream on the top of a very good year.

Even for those not directly involved in the commission, the survey indicates the focus on compliance has driven a lot of new business.

Gilbert + Tobin reports commission work is a third of all new profit, Wotton + Kearney says its Hayne area of practice is up 55 per cent, and Herbert Smith Freehills said work volumes "have increased substantially as a result of the Royal Commission".

King & Wood Mallesons chief executive Berkeley Cox said that "while the royal commission did drive an increase in work volume, the uptick has been across the board".

Solid growth

Clayton Utz CEO Rob Cutler said he was "expecting solid growth in 2019".

"There'll certainly be ongoing work out of the Hayne royal commission. We're also likely to see growth in M & A, significant activity in class actions, as well as a strong pipeline for infrastructure investment ...


"Then we're looking at the aged care royal commission, so that's going to keep firms busy."

Clayton Utz has six new partners, but its numbers remained steady at 171. This was a recurring theme, with plenty of movement but only an 0.5 per cent lift in total numbers since July.

Sparke Helmore, Gilbert + Tobin, DLA Piper and Johnson Winter & Slattery all put on more than four partners, but their total fell. Mallesons, Freehills, Allens and Ashurst went backwards slightly.

Clayton Utz CEO Rob Cutler.. the firm's partner numbers were steady despite six new recruits Nic Walker

On top of the statistical information, for this half year The Australian Financial Review asked participants: Has the reported increase in demand for legal services over the past year led to your firm putting on more lawyers? Are you also taking on more graduates/summer clerks? What concerns have clients raised post-Hayne?

The most common answers were yes, an even stronger yes, and an increased regulatory burden.

Client concerns

Mills Oakley Financial Services partner Mark Bland said many clients were "concerned about the cost impost of additional regulation to address the poor conduct on display in the royal commission hearings".


"Clients are also concerned about the uncertainty that will arise from aggressive enforcement of high-level obligations and being used by a regulator as an example for the rest of industry who may be engaging in the same conduct."

King & Wood Mallesons Chief Executive Partner Australia Berkeley Cox says there has been an 'uptick' in all sectors Janie Barrett

Piper Alderman also cited post-Hayne fears "that action by regulators such as ASIC could be more enforcement-focused in circumstances where compliance issues may be better addressed through consultation and co-operation".

"In addition, the superannuation sector has queried whether there will be changes to the procedures for director appointments and the equal representation requirement."

Cooper Grace Ward said that "clients are more sensitive to the likelihood of public scrutiny, given the continuing trend of commissions of inquiry".

Global firm Clyde & Co said it had "begun to see requests from clients for advice on how to handle the many claims and class actions that are arising post royal commission in addition to the new regulatory obligations".

Gilbert + Tobin managing partner Danny Gilbert reports that royal commission work accounts for a third of the firm's growth Jessica Hromas

It said this was part "of the changed landscape the Australian financial services sector will now be operating in".


"There will be a need for additional legal advice both from a regulatory perspective, but also a litigious perspective."

Heavy impact

Deloitte said it expected the royal commission "to have a heavy impact" on its Legal Management Consulting business.

The local branch of another global player, Dentons, said the pressure post Hayne to focus on regulation and compliance was having an impact on all levels of a business: "This includes day-to-day operations across customer interactions as well as creating and empowering internal positions to oversee compliance with a more rigorous approach."

Baker McKenzie said Hayne aftershocks would affect all financial institutions and that as banks refocus on their core business, there would be substantial M & A activity. The firm is advising Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation on its $4.1 billion acquisition of Colonial First State Global Asset Management from the Commonwealth Bank.

Gilbert + Tobin said it had thrived off the back of royal commission work.

"The direct revenue from our work on the royal commission would account for just over one-third of the firm's overall year-on-year growth," said managing partner Danny Gilbert.

"The overall resources involved (including all external firms plus the in-house resources in financial institutions) would also have had a significant indirect effect on overall work volumes."


Keypoint Law CEO Warren Kalinko said a big attraction for recruits was the fact it had no time sheets or budgets. Supplied

Wotton + Kearney said it had been retained by a major international insurer to advise on coverage for all notifications received as part of the Hayne royal commission and that it was also advising on related remediation programs and class actions . It added that the practice of its lead Hayne partner, Patrick Boardman, "has received a 55 per cent increase in billable fees as a direct result of the Hayne royal commission".

More graduates

The good conditions led to increased demand for more younger lawyers, including graduates. Another notable feature of the survey was the continued development of law firms as technology providers. Clayton Utz said that while the firm was bigger across the board, "the cohort that has grown the most is the paralegal cohort in our FTS (forensic and technology services) practice group".

HWL Ebsworth said it would take on 100 new lawyers, up from 66 in 2018. Allens said its graduate intake would rise from 80 to 98. The other big firms were in the 80-90 zone.

Mills Oakley said its graduate numbers were up (29 v 21 last year) as were seasonal clerks (30 v 24 last year).

Another firm in the circa-100 partners category, Thomson Geer, grew by 12 partners on the back of its acquisition of Kemp Strang. That firm was yet another mid-market casualty over the past 12 months, following Henry Davis York, TressCox and Dibbs Barker into oblivion.

A notable mover was Keypoint, which basically allows its lawyers to choose their hours and place of work. It put on seven "consulting principals" (its equivalent of partner) over the past six months and says it is ideally placed "to fill the vacuum" caused by the mid-market ructions.

CEO Warren Kalinko said a big attraction for recruits was the fact it had no time sheets or budgets. Consulting principals typically earn 70 per cent of their personal billings, which Keypoint claims is up to twice what is commonly achieved in traditional firms.