Herbert Geer is an Australian commercial law firm with more than 300 staff and offices located in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.
The law firm of Herbert Geer was founded on 26 January 1939 when Keith Geer commenced his sole practice in Bank Place, off Collins Street, Melbourne. After the disruption of the Second World War, Keith Geer resumed his practice and was joined in 1946 by Geoffrey Herbert, who continued to operate from his office in Black Rock.
The firm was known as Herbert & Geer and was largely a conveyancing practice. In 1950 the partnership expanded further with the addition of Eric Rundle and in 1960 it assumed the name, Herbert Geer & Rundle. In 1962 the Melbourne office relocated to 113 William Street, taking with it a total of ten partners and staff and three residents in the office at Black Rock. At about this time the firm purchased an office in Niddrie at the request of the Bank of New South Wales, for professional expansion in this area. This office was sold in 1988. Between 1962 and 1970, three small practices were absorbed into Herbert Geer & Rundle; Farmer & Ramsay, Williams & Matthews and the office of Cyril Brooks. Many clients from these three firms are still associated with the firm today.
The firm achieved publicity in the early 1970s by handling the defendant’s litigation for all workers' compensation claims arising from the Westgate bridge collapse. Further office relocations occurred with moves to Owen Dixon Chambers and BHP House before arriving at the State Bank Building in 1983 when the firm had 12 partners and 110 staff. In April 1999, Herbert Geer & Rundle opened a Sydney office and expanded to Brisbane in early 2001.
In 2008 the firm became Herbert Geer. At the same time it joined with the 80 partners and staff of Brisbane firm Nicol Robinson Halletts Lawyers, as well as the boutique construction firm RDK in Sydney.
Herbert Geer has acted for iiNet Limited, an Australian ISP, in its defence of a landmark Federal Court claim and subsequent appeal brought by a group of major film studios alleging that iiNet had authorised copyright infringements by its subscribers[1], and in successfully arguing the matter of Kirk v Industrial Relations Commission[2] in the High Court.