Arnold Bloch Leibler has joined the likes of Corrs Chambers Westgarth and Clayton Utz by declaring that its future lies in remaining independent.

“We’re quite fiercely independent and we want to maintain that,” said Sydney head Paul Rubenstein. “The jury’s still out on international mergers – it’s a bit early to judge [existing mergers], but we’ve deliberately kept away from all of that.”

Rubenstein said that the firm’s priority was preserving its identity. “The type of lawyering at ABL is quite distinctive – our clients are the strong, entrepreneurial type,” he said. “More often than not the work we do is driven by people who either own or are very influential in their organisation – they’re decision makers; they know what they’re doing and they need a trusted advisor.”

While ABL does participate in some panels, it prefers a more relationships-based approach. “When you go on a panel, you’re commoditising your offering,” explains Rubenstein. “The commodity can be very sophisticated, but what will happen [on a transaction or matter] is you’re told to put in your bid and four or five very good firms will put in an offer but basically you’re chosen on price. For us, there needs to be a good reason to use us – we want clients to use us for our expertise. We’re very focussed on relationships; most clients tend to be long term clients. We do some one off matters, but even those come through referral sources. The model’s not pure, but that’s where we tend to put our emphasis.”

ABL Sydney has 10 partners and offers a full service in conjunction with the larger Melbourne operation. “In the last few years it’s taken a bit of a leap -  we’ve recruited a bit of capacity in a few partners laterally which we hadn’t done before,” says Rubenstein. “We’ve got to a point of good critical mass – we’re going in right direction.”

ABL held a function on Monday night to mark the 10th anniversary of the opening of the Sydney office, with NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell in attendance as the guest of honour.