Gadens has 135-partners and 1100-staff spread across five Australian cities and two offshore outposts.

While its offices in Sydney, Perth, Singapore and Port Moresby are integrated, its offices in Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide operate as separate branches and it is unclear whether they will be privy to the tie-up.

Dentons global communications director Ashley Burke said in June the firm was "very interested" in meeting client needs in the "strategically important market" of Australia.

By 2013 most of the domestic firms traditionally called the top 'Big 6' underwent a global transformation.

Eaton Capital Partners associate director Justin Whealing said (generally of mergers in Australia) that he did not think there would be many more tie ups between large full service law firms in the near future given a lot of the large global firms already arrived.

Mr Whealing said many international firms saw Australia as already too competitive while the decline in the resources sector and the shift of major banking and finance mergers and acquisitions work to Hong Kong and Singapore meant they were more keen to set up shop there.

"We will see more international firms coming to Australia but they will be more specialist boutiques looking to operate in niche areas," Mr Whealing said citing Quinn Emanuel and Seyfarth Shaw as examples.

"If big globals do come knocking it could be hard to resist for mid-tier law firms."


Of all the Australian independent firms Corrs Chambers Westgarth has been the most steadfast in rejecting the idea of a merger. Minter Ellison has also remained wedded to the concept of independence while growing its international network particularly in Asia.

Other Australian independent firms such as Clayton Utz and Gilbert + Tobin have so far rejected the idea of a merger or alliance with a global firm, but take a more "never say never" approach.

Corrs chief executive John W.H. Denton said the firm was resolutely an independent law firm and the most globally connected law firm based in Australia.

"And we intend to stay that way," he said. "Corrs is an independent client driven partnership. We have remained fiercely and proudly independent for 174 years. Absolutely no global merger is on the cards."

It follows a spate of tie-ups between global and domestic firms in the past five years that have dramatically changed the legal market.

Blake Dawson rebranded as Ashurst Australia following its tie-up with United Kingdom firm Ashurst, while Australian firm Allens left "Arthur Robinson" behind on its alliance with UK-based Linklaters.

Herbert Smith Freehills also arose from a merger between Freehills also merged UK "silver circle" firm Herbert Smith while "Mallies" Mallesons Stephen Jaques merged with China's King & Wood, to become King & Wood Mallesons.

Other entrants in Australia included most recently Hogan Lovells in April this year as well as Norton Rose Fulbright in 2010, which merged with Deacons Australia and DLA Piper in 2011.