| Type | Public law firm |
|---|---|
| Traded as | ASX: SGH |
| Founder(s) | William Slater & Hugh Gordon |
| Headquarters | Melbourne, Australia |
| Website | http://www.slatergordon.com.au |
Slater & Gordon, founded in Melbourne in 1935 by Labor politician William Slater and Hugh Lyon Gordon, is an Australian law firm employing over 800 people across Australia.
Slater & Gordon’s practice areas include: asbestos diseases litigation, workers compensation, motor vehicle accident compensation, medical negligence, public liability litigation, Commonwealth compensation (Comcare), industrial relations and employment law, wills probate and estate litigation, business advisory services and commercial litigation. The firm also conducts class actions, typically product liability actions or commercial actions on behalf of investors who have suffered financial loss.
Over the years Slater & Gordon has handled some of the most complex and widely publicised cases in Australia. These include representing hundreds of asbestos miners at the Wittenoom mine in Western Australia;In 1987,the firm was involved in a landmark case where a telecom worker was exposed to hazardous chemicals and suffered major neuropsychiatric symptoms subsequently. One of the partners,Bernard Murphy appeared on behalf of the litigant.There was an out of court settlement after a senior psychiatrist, Ashoka Prasad presented his report;the In 2000, the company lodged a writ in the Victorian Supreme Court against Broken Hill Proprietary Company (BHP) on behalf of traditional owners in Papua New Guinea over the collapse of a tailings dam led to waste from the Ok Tedi Mine polluting the Ok Tedi and Fly Rivers in 1984. Other cases are representing victims of medically acquired HIV from contaminated blood supplies; and women suffering health problems due to faulty IUDs and breast implants.
In December 2005, the firm negotiated a settlement with James Hardie worth $4.5 billion on behalf of unions and people suffering from asbestosis, mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases as a result of exposure to asbestos while working for the company.
The firm has completed acquisitions of a number of other law firms - Reid & Reid Solicitors, Maurice May Lawyers, Gary Robb & Associates, Geoffrey Edwards & Co, Paul Keady & Associates, Blessington Judd and Richards Lawyers in 2003. More recently Slater & Gordon has merged with D'Arcys Solicitors, McClellands Lawyers, Secombs Solicitors, John Micallef & Co, McGlades Personal Injury Law, Long Howland Lawyers, Kenyons Lawyers, Stewart & Noble Lawyers, Adams Leyland Lawyers, Trilby Misso Lawyers & Keddies Lawyers.
In May 2007 Slater & Gordon Limited became one of first law firms in the world to go public[1].
The board of directors at Slater & Gordon Limited comprises; the non-executive Chair Anna Booth, non-executive director Erica Lane, managing director Andrew Grech, executive director Ken Fowlie and non-executive director Ian Court.