Australia's largest legal partnership.
Since our inception and through our combination of legal specialists and industry experience, HWLE has firmly established a reputation as a legal service provider of choice for organisations across Australia and internationally. HWLE is the only fully integrated commercial law firm with offices in every State and Territory across Australia. Our rapid rise to become the largest legal partnership in Australia shows that clients and lawyers want to do things differently. Let us demonstrate how you can benefit from those differences.
Governance & Leadership.
HWLE's new leadership and governance structure commenced with the appointment of the Board of Partners on 1 July 2024, at which time Kris Hopkins and Russell Mailler also assumed the positions of Chief Executive Officer and Chief Executive Partner, respectively. Jamie Restas has been elected to the position of Chair of the Board.
Our community impact
Pro Bono.
The HWLE Pro Bono Practice provides assistance to vulnerable and disadvantaged individuals as well as Community Legal Centres (CLCs), registered charities and not for profit organisations who directly assist those who cannot otherwise access or afford legal assistance.
HWLE’s Pro Bono Practice does not have specific focus areas but aims to have a meaningful and positive impact on the lives of those in need in the community by listening to and collaborating with organisations that are best placed to assist those individuals.
Our aim is to be innovative, agile and to reimagine how pro bono can work alongside and support the legal assistance sector, particularly in regional and remote communities, in order to add the most value.
HWLE partners with many CLCs, registered charities and not for profit organisations across Australia providing pro bono secondments, accepting individual referral matters, and jointly running legal clinics on matters that vary from disability law, employment and victim’s compensation to consumer law and retirement village contracts. We also directly advise CLCs, registered charities and community organisations on a wide range of legal issues including governance, employment and privacy.
Last financial year, HWLE met the National Pro Bono Target and provided close to 40,000 hours of pro bono legal assistance. We are continually looking for ways to increase and maximise our commitment to access to justice across Australia.
HWLE does not accept direct requests from individuals for legal assistance on a pro bono basis. If you need help please contact Legal Aid, the Law Society in your State or Territory, or your local Community Legal Centre. Contact numbers and details can be found via the link opposite.
Over a century of rich history.
HWLE is the product of a series of acquisitions, and has origins dating back to the 1890s.
Firm established in Melbourne
Sydney office opens
Brisbane office opens
Norwest, Sydney office opens
Abbott Tout Lawyers joins Home Wilkinson Lowry
Becomes HWL Ebsworth Lawyers with the addition of Ebsworth and Ebsworth, a firm with origins dating back to 1896
Expands into the ACT, Canberra office opens
Expands into WA through the addition of Downings Legal in Perth
Expands into SA through the addition of Kelly & Co. in Adelaide
Further expansion of the Adelaide office with the addition of the insurance team from Lawson Smith Lawyers
Expands into the Northern Territory through the addition of Cridlands MB
Becomes the largest legal partnership in Australia (according to AFR Partnership Survey)
Expands into Tasmania with the addition of the majority of the partners and staff of Hunt and Hunt (Tasmania)
Becomes the first firm in Australia to have offices in every State and Territory
Merged with TressCox Lawyers, adding significant expertise across HWL Ebsworth's Brisbane and Sydney offices
The Adelaide office expands again with the addition of the majority of the partners and staff of Botten Levinson Lawyers
Reconciliation.
As a leading Australian law firm, we recognise the responsibilities we have to our clients, staff, suppliers and the communities in which we live and work. HWLE also acknowledges the influence our organisation's culture has on people, performance, service and the community in which we operate. We acknowledge the importance of reconciliation in order to forge respectful and lasting relationships with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
We have implemented our Reflect Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP), allowing us to reflect on our history, create a roadmap for ourselves for the journey ahead, and set our intentions for future actions. Our RAP sets out the key steps for the firm to develop plans to promote cultural competency, equality, historical and cultural recognition, and the benefits of diversity in the workplace.