Left to right: Jean-Pierre Douglas-Henry, Managing Director of Sustainability and Resilience; Amber Matthews, Australian Managing Partner; Simon Levine, Global Co-CEO, DLA Piper. 

One of the world’s largest law firms – advising more M&A clients globally than any other firm – DLA Piper has over 1650 partners globally across around 90 offices in 40 countries. The firm’s extensive presence in the Americas and Africa are key differentiators to other global firms operating in Australia, which tend to be more Europe and Asia focussed.

“We are one of the few truly global and sector-focussed firms in the Australian market and we think that the local market hasn’t yet appreciated the strength of our offering,” Amber explains.

“We’re going to be very focussed over the next few years on emphasising those areas of competitive advantage and ensuring that the local market understands just what we can do.”

“This will mean focussing on our global footprint as one of the world’s largest and most integrated law firms and what this delivers for clients. A simple example is our ability to work seamlessly for global clients on cross-border transactions delivering better and more efficient transaction execution. This is one of the reasons that we have been the leading firm for M&A deal volume globally for the last 12 years,” said Amber.

“It also allows us to support our clients when they enter new markets. Essentially, we want to be the first choice for Australian firms looking to expand internationally. After 11 years in the Australian market, the firm has a fantastic client base and continues to grow and change.”

“Our heritage as a firm is also about growth and change. We became one of the world’s largest law firms by identifying new opportunities and challenging incumbents and we will continue doing that. This means that we are heavily invested in those sectors that are going to drive growth and change over the next decade.

“We will be growing our leading technology practice, which supports tech clients at every stage of their development.

“In energy and natural resources, we will continue our work on energy transition both here in Australia and globally, where we have acted on more renewable energy projects than any other firm.

“We’re focussed also on infrastructure, construction and transport, where our front and back end teams combine to provide excellent coverage for both domestic and international players operating in Australia and with particular focus on digital and other transformative infrastructure,” she added.

“To support our efforts in these areas, we are also going to grow our corporate practice further as the engine room of the firm. We’ve developed excellent capital markets and M&A credentials over recent times and we’re looking to build on these further.”

Corporate partner Shane Bilardi will take on the role of Head of Corporate in January 2023, and be tasked with building on the strength of the Corporate team and client base to further expand their client relationships and to embed the firm’s unique Integrated M&A solution.

Integrated M&A was developed by the legal firm and its consulting arm, DLA Piper Business Advisory, to assist clients with improving the M&A outcomes, including through working together on post-merger integration, process and governance improvements in relation to M&A transactions and M&A capability development for clients.

DLA Piper is headed by Global Co-CEO Simon Levine, who was recently in Australia for the Australian partners conference and the launch of the strategy.

“We continue to see significant potential for DLA Piper in Australia,” said Simon Levine.

“In a market dominated by domestic firms, what we provide in Australia is a genuine global offering for our clients. This is particularly valuable for complex cross-border transactions or investigations, where being part of an international network is a distinct advantage. For our domestic clients, we bring insight and experience of international trends across key business sectors, which helps clients anticipate and prepare for changes that will likely hit the Australian market further down the track. That horizon scanning is only possible given the close relationships between our Australian practice and the rest of the world.”

“There is continued growth potential in Australia, particularly in the technology and energy and resources sector, which caters to the ongoing growth of the Asia Pacific region. These are strong fundamentals for our Australian offering.”

Also joining Simon and Amber at the conference, was Jean-Pierre Douglas-Henry, an Australian expatriate who is the London-based Managing Director of Sustainability and Resilience at the legal behemoth.

“Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) is central to our strategy internationally and in Australia. Helping our clients transition to, and thrive in, a more sustainable future is a shared international vision to which we are committed,” Jean-Pierre Douglas-Henry said.

“ESG issues now form the top five global risks according to the annual WEF Global Risks Report and ESG increasing in its importance amongst the senior management of businesses around the world,” Jean-Pierre said.

“Our clients are at different stages of maturity in addressing this topic, and their priorities, sensitivities, risk profile and level of ambition will vary across sectors and jurisdictions,” he added.

Jean-Pierre said DLA Piper is advising clients in Australia on a wide range of ESG issues, such as “acting on ground-breaking renewable energy projects, through to advising clients on green-washing risk mitigation, sustainable supply chain management and human rights, diversity and inclusion, governance and reporting issues.”

When asked about some of the challenges for the firm, Amber Matthews outlined an industry-wide problem in securing talent.

“While the pandemic is fading, the skill shortages are not. We are spending more time on recruitment and retention than ever before. Securing the right talent is very competitive, so we’re committed to offering the best culture and development opportunities for our people, including the chance to undertake global work.

“We can offer a truly global working experience to our people – both through working on cross-border matters in Australia and through international secondment opportunities, where the firm has tripled its pre-COVID investment,” Amber said.

But it’s not just the war for talent which is occupying the minds of law firm leaders, but the direction of the global economy.

“We remain cautiously optimistic for 2023, and whilst M&A activity is likely to slow down compared to the record-levels experienced in the past two years, we anticipate the Australian economy will hold up better than in Europe and US. As a firm we are very well hedged geographically but also in terms of industries, sectors and practice areas,” Amber said.

“The push for energy transition and concerns about energy security will continue, and we expect to see continued investment and regulation in the energy sector. We also expect to see more activity in restructuring and insolvencies, employment and industrial relations issues, and data protection and cyber,” she added.

“There is always a demand for quality legal services. Providing quality advice and understanding client needs are important — whatever the economic environment – and the pandemic has shown that clients need their trusted advisers, more than ever, during times of crisis and uncertainty. In times of change, we work with clients which shape the new world,” Amber said.