NEWS: Russell Kennedy Aitken Lawyers merger FAQs

FAQs

1. What does today’s announcement involve?

Following many months of planning, today we announce the completion of the merger of Aitken Lawyers of Sydney with Russell Kennedy of Melbourne. The merger will take effect from April 2019, and will create a combined 270-strong firm with offices in Melbourne and Sydney.

It will bring together two firms with complementary services and capabilities across a range of practice areas including corporate and commercial, litigation and dispute resolution, property and development, estate planning and family law, Commonwealth, State and local government, aged care and retirement living, workplace relations and employment, insolvency, rural services and renewable energy.

2. What are the terms of the merger?

The merger will be effective from 1 April 2019, and will see the formation of a fully integrated, multi-state law firm with an expanded range of client services.

The Aitken Lawyers partners will become principals of Russell Kennedy and all employees of Aitken Lawyers will join the combined firm. There will be no change to our fee structure and existing commercial arrangements with clients as a result of the merger.


3. What will be the name of the combined firm?

The combined firm will be known as Russell Kennedy, and as Russell Kennedy Aitken Lawyers in New South Wales.

4. What prompted the merger?

The two firms were in discussion for many months. From the time we started talking early last year, it was obvious that there’s a lot of common ground in terms of our respective values and cultures and how that translates to a shared commitment to doing our best for our clients and people, and for the broader community where our work has an impact.

The merger of Russell Kennedy and Aitken Lawyers is the next step in building a stronger client offering for our two firms in what is an increasingly competitive industry.

5. What services will the combined firm offer?

The merger gives us a strong presence in Melbourne and Sydney, with an expanded range of client services through a greater range of expertise, greater depth of resources and increased geographical reach.

We are moving to national practice groups combining the expertise of both firms. We expect that the Aitken Lawyers practice groups will become part of the following Russell Kennedy national practice groups:

Estate Planning – Corporate & Commercial
Commercial – Corporate & Commercial
Litigation – Dispute Resolution
Property – Property & Development
Family Law – Dispute Resolution

These will be in addition to Russell Kennedy’s other practice groups namely, Local Government, Planning and Environment, Public Law, Litigation and Aged Care, Workplace Relations, Employment & Safety, and Victorian Workcover Authority.

Click here to read the merger announcement.