Deacons (law firm)

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Deacons
Type	Associated Partnerships
Founded	1851
Headquarters	Hong Kong, Australia
Industry	Legal
Employees	1,000+
Website	Deacons Hong Kong & Asia Deacons Australia

Separate and independent partnerships which trade under the name of Deacons in Hong Kong and Australia respectively have cooperated under an Association Agreement since the early 1990s'. The Hong Kong and Australian firms maintain joint venture operations in Indonesia and Singapore and are both associated with independent partnerships in Thailand, Malaysia and Taiwan. Deacons Hong Kong owns and operates three separate representative offices in Mainland China located in Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou.

Deacons legal expertise is listed in the Asia Pacific Legal 500 ^[1]and extends to cover these key areas of practice: Anti-Money Laundering, Banking & Finance ^[2], Business Advisory, Commercial Dispute Resolution ^[3], Competition & Consumer^[4], Construction & Engineering^[5], Corporate / Mergers and Acquisitions, Environment & Planning,Financial and Investment Services, Insolvency & Restructuring, Insurance, Intellectual Property ^[6], International Projects, Occupational Health & Safety, Private Equity, Property, Taxation^[7], Technology, Media & Telecommunications, Workplace Relations.

Contents 1 Locations 2 History 3 Clients 4 Significant Achievements 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Locations

The firm has lawyers operating in the following locations^[8]:

• Bangkok
• Beijing
• Brisbane
• Canberra
• Guangzhou
• Hong Kong
• Jakarta
• Kuala Lumpur
• Melbourne
• Perth
• Shanghai
• Singapore
• Sydney
• Taipei

[edit] History

The Deacons Hong Kong partnership traces its origins to 1851. The name "Deacons" derives from an English solicitor, Victor Deacon, who joined a legal practice established by one William Bridges. Deacons Hong Kong is now the largest and longest established independent law firm in Hong Kong.

In the period between 1968 and 1975, various Australian legal entities (Sly & Russell, Weigall & Crowther and Sly & Weigall) were established in the main capital cities until in 1988 Sly & Weigall became a national firm.

In 1992, Sly & Weigall entered an association with Deacons of Hong Kong. By 1995 all Australian and Asian offices and newly merged firms (McPhillamy Cummins & Gibson and Gadens Ridgeway) became known as Deacons Graham & James. In 2000, the Australia firm changed its name to Deacons. In the same year, Brisbane, Canberra and Melbourne partners from Dunhill Madden Butler joined the Australia firm.

[edit] Clients

In Hong Kong and China Deacons provides legal services to a wide ranging international clientele, representing medium and large businesses across the full spectrum of commercial activity.

In Australia Deacons provides legal services to 47 of the ASX^[9] top 100 listed companies and 191 companies in the IBIS top 1,000 companies. The client base is across a range of industries including: construction and engineering; energy; financial services; franchising; government; health; pharmaceuticals and biotechnology^[10]; information technology; infrastructure; insurance; media and entertainment; property; resources; retail and distribution; telecommunications; tourism and hospitality; and transport and logistics.

[edit] Significant Achievements

• Deacons has been consistently rated a Top 50 global firm by the reputable PLC Which Lawyer? since 2004.
• In 2008 and 2007, Deacons was awarded Hong Kong Law Firm of the Year by Managing Intellectual Property
• Deacons Hong Kong was awarded the 2007 Asia Pacific Firm of the Year by the UK publication, Legal Week
• Deacons was awarded the 2007 Who's Who Legal Hong Kong Law Firm of the Year
• Deacons received the prestigious 2006 IFLR Hong Kong National Law Firm of the Year award
• Deacons was awarded 2006 Hong Kong Law Firm of the Year by Asian Legal Business and Asian Legal Business China
• Mergers and Acquisitions team ranked 5th^[11] in Australia and 11th for the number of Mergers and Acquisitions deals in the Asia Pacific.^{[12][citation needed]}
• Deacons ranked 10th for IPO market share and volume in Australia in 2006.^{[13][citation needed]}
• The largest Workplace Relations team in Sydney and Melbourne as compared with other leading firms.^{[citation needed]}
• The Intellectual Property team received a high ranking in international magazine, Managing Intellectual Property, for trademark and contentious work categories.^{[citation needed]}
• Runner up in publication Lawyers Weekly Fuji Xerox 2006 Australian Law Awards in the categories of Technology, Media, Telecomms and HR (employer of choice).
• Received an “EOWA Employer of Choice for Women (EOWA) award” for 2007 from the Australian
• Government’s Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency.
• The Intellectual Property team in Hong Kong and China, received Tier 1 and Tier 2 rankings respectively, in the trademark and contentious work categories. ("Patent firms of the year, Survey Results: Asia", Managing Intellectual Property, February 2007).

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Deacons Hong Kong
• Deacons Australia
• PLC 'Which Lawyer?' web site