A number of Brisbane law firms remain shut a week after being evacuated ahead of what has become the most devastating flood in Queensland history. 

Some firms have been able to return to their premises today, but many other offices remain unsafe and non-operational following the flood. Some firms have established temporary offices across the city so that staff can work together and meet with clients, while others continue to operate remotely.

Like many of their clients, law firms in the city have been dealing with the shock of what has happened as well as the logistical nightmare left by the damage to the city’s infrastructure. Slater & Gordon has been able to reopen its office but the firm is also looking at establishing a temporary office in Southport or Ipswich to assist staff whose commute has been severely affected by traffic congestion and severely disrupted public transport services.

One of the main buildings to be hit by the flood is the aptly named Riverside Centre, home to firms such as Blake Dawson and Allens Arthur Robinson. “The office will be out of action for a week or longer. The car park levels underground have been severely flooded and will take some time to empty, clean and repair,” said Blake Dawson Brisbane practice head Ian Humphreys. Blake Dawson has responded to the situation by sending staff to other offices and establishing a temporary office. A small number of staff will continue working from home, while others have stayed on special leave for personal reasons, said Humphreys. “During this event we have worked not as a Brisbane office, we have worked as a national law firm; it’s been a national response and I’m thankful for our staff elsewhere who have contributed to that,” he added.

At Freehills there was a similar reaction to the floods, with staff from the Brisbane office sent to Sydney and Melbourne to continue work on major transactions. Freehills was in the midst of advising Santos on the GLNG Project when the flood struck and continued to work through the height of the crisis. Freehills partner Matt Fitzgerald said the firm saw the work as part of the rebuilding process: “The project’s A$16bn investment into the Queensland's LNG industry will help to bolster the Queensland’s economic recovery after the recent devastating floods in Queensland,” he said.