Sparke Helmore Lawyers
Sparke Helmore Lawyers is a firm with more than 800 people working from nine offices across Australia, serving the needs of the insurance, government, financial services, technology, mining, construction and property sectors. Its business spans corporate and commercial to construction, workplace to insurance, IP to IPOs, mining to manufacturing, and property to procurement.
| No. of offices | 9 |
|---|---|
| Offices | Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Darwin, Melbourne, Newcastle, Perth, Sydney, Upper Hunter |
| No. of employees | 800+ |
| Major practice areas | Corporate & Commercial, Government, Insurance, Workplace |
| Company type | Partnership |
| Website | http://www.sparke.com.au/ |
Overview
In 1882, William Sparke started a law firm in Newcastle.[1] In 1922, the firm changed its name to Sparke and Helmore when Basil Helmore became a partner.[1] In 1949 another partner, Peter Withycombe, joined the firm which became known as Sparke, Helmore & Withycombe in 1950.[1]
The firm opened the Sydney office in 1962 to meet client demand.[1] In the 1980s, it used its reputation in workers' compensation insurance as a platform to expand into insurance litigation areas, including public liability and some professional indemnity work, and from there into some specialised commercial and government work.[2]
In the 1990s, the firm expanded at a significant annual rate in terms of office locations, revenue and staff numbers.[2][1] The Melbourne office opened in 1992, followed by Canberra in 1996, Brisbane in 1999, Muswellbrook in 2000, Adelaide in 2001, Perth in 2002 and Port Macquarie in 2014.[2] In 2013, it was rated one of the top 10 law firms in terms of employer growth, partner numbers and proportion of female equity partners.[3]
Between 1992 and 2001, the firm more than quadrupled in size,[2] growing from a staff of 99 and revenue of $9.75m in 1992[4] to a staff of 610 and revenue of $65m in 2002/3.[4]
In 2017, the firm merged with boutique Perth Insurance firm, Jarman McKenna, continuing to operate under the Sparke Helmore name.
Recent firm rankings[5]:
Law Firm of the Year, Australasian Law Awards 2018
Insurance Specialist Firm of the Year, Australasian Law Awards 2018, 2017 & 2016
Insurance Team of the Year, Lawyers Weekly Australian Law Awards 2018
Winner, Government, Lawyers Weekly Partner of the Year Awards 2018
Winner, Insurance, Lawyers Weekly 30 Under 30 Awards 2018
Winner, Government, Lawyers Weekly 30 Under 30 Awards 2018
Law Firm of the Year, Occupational Health & Safety Law, Best Lawyers in Australia 2019
Lawyer of the Year, Occupational Health & Safety Law (Adelaide and Melbourne), Best Lawyers in Australia 2019
Listed, Best Lawyers in Australia 2019
Listed, Insurance and Government, 2018 Chambers Asia-Pacific Guide
Sparke Helmore Lawyers' expertise spans:
- Corporate & Commercial
- Banking & Finance
- Commercial Litigation & Dispute Resolution
- Construction, Projects & Infrastructure
- Corporate Advisory
- Funds & Financial Services
- Insolvency & Reconstruction
- Intellectual Property & Technology
- M&A
- Mining & Resources
- Planning, Environment & Local Government
- Property
- Sports & Entertainment Law
- Insurance
- Aviation
- Commonwealth Compensation
- Construction Risks / ISR
- CTP
- Cyber Insurance
- Directors & Officers
- EPL / Workplace Risks
- Health Care
- Liability
- Life / Accident & Health
- Professional Indemnity
- State Compensation
- Government
- Government Administrative Law
- Government Commercial
- Government Dispute Resolution
- Workplace
- Employment
- Safety
- Non-legal services
- Immigration services
- Royal Commissions
References
- "The making of a national firm: Sparke Helmore". Lawyers Weekly. 2 June 2011.
- "History". Sparke Helmore Lawyers.
- "The Partnership Survey". The Australian. 5 July 2013.
- "BRW Top 100 Law Firms 1992". BRW.
- Johnston, Nathaniel. "Market recognition :: Sparke Helmore". www.sparke.com.au. Retrieved 20 September 2018.