Middletons have confirmed they are moving into Brisbane through a merger with Flower and Hart.

From March 1 the Flower & Hart office will be rebranded Middletons in a move designed to capitalise on client demand north of the border. “This is a key plank in our strategy to be truly national. With a significant presence now in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth I think that goes a long way to being national and represents our commitment to being available to support our clients in all major markets,” Middletons national managing partner Nick Nichola told ALB.  “We had been exporting a significant amount of work north of the border to a variety of firms – it made logical sense for us to open a Middletons office in Brisbane.”

In less than five years Middletons has doubled its geographic footprint from Melbourne to Sydney and lastly Perth. Nichola said he was confident that in Flower and Hart, the key attributes for a successful merger have all been satisfied . “For us the key factor was cultural compatibility. This is based on experiences in the past, when we get the people right, everything else follows,” he said.

Flower and Hart managing partner Robert Cunningham added that the merger is one based on “mutually agreed” goals and objectives. “Flower and Hart shares the same service philosophy as Middletons…The Middletons network strengthens the scope of our service offering and provides our clients with national reach.” Flower and Hart have six partners and more than 15 legal staff.

Nichola said he would be looking “reasonably quickly” to bolster the energy and resources practice and workplace relations and safety practices of the Brisbane office. Both firms received unanimous support from their partnerships on the merger.