The year was 1974. Floodwaters were rising ominously around suburban Brisbane, the city’s main river was blocked by a distressed bulk carrier and a young articled clerk reported for his first day at a law firm called  Thynne & Macartney.

“Upon reporting to the firm on the first day, I was asked to return home and change into some old clothes and travel to the then senior partner's house which was on the river, to assist with the clean up!” recalls John Moore.  “I was very happy to help out of course. There was an amazing amount of thick mud and sludge all over the yard and throughout the whole house. The partner had a very nice wine cellar and an extensive wine collection – tragically, all the labels had washed off the bottles. This was seen as a very serious occurrence that none of us were game to speak about!”

Moore has been with the firm ever since and in fact was offered his partnership the year after he was admitted – a salutary reminder of a long vanished era where the “single firm lawyer” was a far more viable proposition for the ambitious.

Moore has been the chairman of the firm since 2006. Thynne & Macartney does not have a managing partner as such, preferring to instead have a general manager who acts as a professional specialist practice manager of the firm. Management of the firm is delegated to this general manager, who is answerable to Moore and ultimately to the firm’s board of equity partners.  It is a structure which allows Moore to continue in full time practice as head of the firm’s professional indemnity section.  “This is a large and very active team within the firm, so I am very reliant on the general manager to deal with the day to day management issues, only coming to me when needed,” explains Moore.

Titles and good governance

Thynne & Macartney’s website refers to Moore simply as a “partner,” a deliberate understatement of his official title, which is Chairman of Partners. “I am not especially big on titles,” says Moore. “Everyone in a firm plays an equally important role – regardless of the position they hold.  Titles, as such, are really only required for governance purposes. We therefore do not promote the position of Chairman of Partners - externally, I call myself a partner like any of my other partners. Within the firm it is not a title I need to use because everyone knows the role I play in that respect. I use the title when executing agreements on behalf of the firm.”

That is a practice which sits well within the firm culture, which has eschewed traditional structures such as lock-step partnership and placed a new emphasis on proper governance procedures. Major decisions are made through the firm’s board of equity partners and all partners and employees are required to observe the firm’s governance rules.

“This has been one of the greatest benefits the firm has enjoyed,” says Moore.  “It makes management of the firm so much easier. It is great to see a group of partners raising matters in the correct forum and adhering to and supporting policies until they are changed – even if they individually do not necessarily agree with every aspect of them. It is remarkable what a firm can achieve when it has good governance arrangements in place.”

Moore says that good governance is essential for any law firm hoping to be successful: “It is an important point to make, because there is always a danger with mid sized firms, for partners to see themselves as their own bosses and what they say goes,” he says. “If there is a policy in place that does not suit them, then they seek to directly override it. That should not happen in a successful modern day law firm of any reasonable size.”

Reshaping the direction of the firm was, of course, not an entirely painless process. “During our change process phase, I can recall some really challenging decisions we almost gave up on – but we persevered and worked through the issues and eventually came up with excellent models and decisions,” says Moore. “When you face a challenging decision, it is important to allow time to work it through. It is also important, however, not to let it be put off to the never-never. You need to bring matters to a head and then make a decision.” And openness is the key to reaching those decisions: “Talking through a problem with a partner can be important.  However, it is also most important to discourage factions and individual lobbying or internal politics,” says Moore, “I am quite firm about that. It is most important to discuss things out in the open.”

Biggs & Biggs

Thynne & Macartney merged with fellow Brisbane firm Biggs &  Biggs in August 2008 in an intense process which also coincided with the introduction of a new document management system and new computer software and hardware. Major integration of the firms took about six months and it was about one year before the merger was fully settled. “. It was a challenge for everyone,” says Moore.  “I cannot speak highly enough of the Biggs & Biggs team because they came over into Thynne & Macartney premises and faced new surroundings, new equipment, new people and both firms then moved to become a new firm.    I really do compliment all those involved for the way in which they managed the transformation – I am not sure I would have been able to cope myself, so it is a huge credit to them. Neither firm had undertaken a merger of this size before, so it was new territory for all of us.”

The merger was part of a series of mid-tier mergers which is continuing to this day. Brisbane firms have been particularly active, with the most recent examples being Cooper Grace Ward’s merger with Bain Gasteen and Barry & Nilsson’s merger with Stubbs Barbeler. Brisbane is also home to several interstate arrivals which include Hebert Geer, Mills Oakley and most recently Johnson Winter & Slattery. All of this suggests a push towards mid-tier consolidation into national blocs, although Moore says this is only one possible analysis of the situation.

“There has been a move among a number of state based mid-tier firms to form second tier national firms,” he observes. “However, there has also been a strategy among some state based mid-tier firms to grow and reach positions of strength in their existing markets.  There are some obvious examples in Queensland.”

Moore says that  both avenues of development have merit with the ultimate decision for each firm  depending on their areas of expertise, client base and business aspirations.  “I think that the proposed establishment of a national legal profession will have an impact on strategic decision-making for mid-tier firms,” he says. “Thynne & Macartney’s strategy will be to assess the lay of the land at the end of the next financial year and act accordingly.”