Jon Robins looks behind the scenes of Slater & Gordon’s recent buy-out
Earlier this month, Slater & Gordon, the world’s first publicly listed law firm, snapped up Russell Jones & Walker for £53.8m. The trailblazing Australian personal injury (PI) firm has been consistently named-checked as a role model for aspiring UK firms in this newly regulated world of legal services ever since it went public in 2007. RJW is an obvious cultural fit.
S&G, has made little secret of its interest in making an entrée into the UK market. Last summer the firm told investors that it was exploring the “potential opportunity” in the UK; meanwhile RJW has been busy working on its plans to extend the Claims Direct brand.
A couple of months ago I interviewed Andrew Grech, S&G’s managing director, for a report out last month, Brave New Worlds: New thinking in legal services (see www.jures.co.uk). He shrugged off what he called the “natural fascination” of UK commentators in S&G’s status as a listed company. “It somewhat misses the point,” he said. “For me, the start is the company and
