Gadens, which has offices across Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney, has merged with Canberra-based law firm Trinity Law to expand its offering across the country.

As part of the merger, Gadens will gain seven partners and 30 other staff, who the firm said are a mix of senior associates, associates, lawyers, and support staff.

The partners coming across to Gadens are John Irvine, Maurice Falcetta, Mark Poretti, Sarah Mason-Jones, Jacob Powell, Michael James, and Rebecca Scully.

This news comes after a partner and 150 staff left the firm in June to launch Green Mortgage Lawyers. On 1 July, Gadens firms around the country merged to become one big national law firm, trading as Gadens, following the addition of five new partners in December. Gadens remains associated with independent law firm Lavan in Perth.

Gadens CEO and managing partner Mark Pistilli (pictured) said that the merger will help the firm capitalise on its existing work with various government departments and agencies and grow the team in Canberra.

“Building on the skills and expertise of Trinity’s seven partners and over 30 staff, this merger will support the growth aspirations of our firm as well as provide us with the base from which we can enhance our government-sector offering at both the federal and territory level in Australia’s capital city, enhance our focus on the defence sector and allow us to continue our support for Canberra’s vibrant business community,” he said.

“Trinity has been a consistent feature of the Canberra legal market for nearly 20 years. It is a highly regarded and multifaceted, specialised legal practice which is focused on the people and businesses of the ACT and with deep roots in the Canberra community, with values aligned to those of our firm.”

Trinity Law managing principal John Irvine added that the merger was a “natural development” for Trinity and its lawyers.

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“We can now support our clients as they do business across the whole of the country, and work closely with existing Gadens teams doing work in Canberra,” he said.

“Our people will also be part of an exciting and ambitious firm that puts them at the centre of everything it does and is going places.”

The Gadens fully integrated national firm currently comprises 106 partners and more than 350 lawyers, with over 600 total staff, including those coming across from Trinity.

Gadens chair Jeremy Smith said this is the first time in history the partner count has been this high at the firm.

“This is a very exciting time for Gadens, and possibly the most significant time in a history, which can be traced back 177 years for some of our previous member firms,” he said.

“We are creating a modern Australian law firm which aims to help its people become the best versions of themselves, in and out of work, and also exists to support and provide comfort to its clients and other important communities. We want to be recognised as a leading Australian law firm, and these recent mergers provide the foundation for us to achieve that vision.”

Lauren Croft

Lauren is a journalist at Lawyers Weekly and graduated with a Bachelor of Journalism from Macleay College. Prior to joining Lawyers Weekly, she worked as a trade journalist for media and travel industry publications and Travel Weekly. Originally born in England, Lauren enjoys trying new bars and restaurants, attending music festivals and travelling. She is also a keen snowboarder and pre-pandemic, spent a season living in a French ski resort.