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Thomson Geer merges with Perth boutique, adding 4 partners and team of 19 to its ranks
Perth-based boutique firm Tottle Partners is joining Thomson Geer, with the former bringing across four partners and a 19-person team, including 11 lawyers, bolstering the BigLaw firm’s West Australian presence.
Jerome Doraisamy
Thomson Geer is continuing its significant growth trajectory, with specialist litigation and construction firm Tottle Partners merging with the national law firm’s presence in Western Australia.
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Tottle Partners was founded in 1995 by Paul Tottle, who was appointed a justice of the Supreme Court of Western Australia in 2015.
Partners Stephen Penrose, Lee Panotidis, Richard Wilenski, and Yin Fang are all joining Thomson Geer along with their team of 19.
The addition of Tottle means that Thomson Geer’s Perth office – which opened in 2019 with eight partners – now boasts 18 partners.
The merger takes effect on 1 July 2024.
The news follows a year of substantial growth for Thomson Geer, which has more than 700 staff across its offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, and Canberra.
The firm took teams from Holding Redlich and Gadens, as reported in February; it nabbed a property team, including two partners, from Macpherson Kelley in November; hired a special counsel from Clayton Utz as a new taxation partner in October; took two M&A partners from Carter Newell in September; promoted 23 professionals in June; elevated three to partner in the same month; appointed a Perth-based partner from a Hong Kong-based investment company in May, and added a banking and finance partner from Allens in April.
Speaking about the additions, Thomson Geer chief executive partner Adrian Tembel said: “We are excited to have the Tottle team joining Thomson Geer.
“Their litigation and construction experience will greatly bolster the capabilities of our Perth office and enable us to provide greater service to national clients.”
“Our strong growth and capability in transaction advisory has triggered our need for more depth in our litigation team, which our merger with Tottle will provide. The boost to our construction team also comes at a time when Australia is in the middle of an infrastructure boom across public projects, health, and energy.
“We look forward to being able to assist from the east coast to the west.”
Penrose, who served as the managing partner of Tottle, said his team is “looking forward” to joining Thomson Geer.
“We know Thomson Geer and its people well. We share the same outlook towards client service and achieving results and feel we will complement each other well,” he said.
