The secondment-based legal sector is hopeful of more competition, according to the two main players. Advent Lawyers in Sydney, Melbourne and Singapore and Balance Legal in Perth have been expanding their businesses successfully since launching in 2008 and are hopeful more legal providers of a similar vein will open in the near future. “It would validate the sector if there were more players,” said Advent CEO and founder John Knox. “If what we and Balance Legal do represents 0.5 percent of the legal market, if there were others then we could grow that to 10 or more percent – competition is good in any market.”
Balance Legal’s Ken Jagger is equally keen to see more players enter the secondment-based legal services market. “I would like to see the secondment style of legal work turn into a sector [of the legal industry] rather than it being a niche,” he told ALB. “I think the secondment model is bigger than the two firms currently operating in that space.”
Advent and Balance provide legal staff to clients on a fixed-fee basis, something both claim is gaining traction with general counsels here and abroad. “If you look at where the model has already grown, the U.S. and the UK, it’s obvious that this style of legal services is bigger than two providers,” said Knox. “I’m sure that the addition of new entrants in those markets has helped validate the market overall.”
Advent opened its third office in Singapore at the start of last year and has already increased its legal team by 15 lawyers. “The market has reacted positively to the offering we have,” said Knox. “The business is continuing to grow and we are ahead of where we thought we would be.”
Jagger said he expected Balance to continue to grow in the Australian market, but that he had no overseas plans at this point in time. “We have only scratched the surface of the domestic market capabilities,” he said. “I think there will be more opportunities in Australia [for Balance] as a result of the legal market consolidation.”
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