Robert Ishak, one of the founding directors of Sydney and Melbourne-based law firm William Roberts Lawyers, describes his firm as being somewhat akin to a teenager.

Promoted by Lawyers Weekly • 04 February 2011 • Big Law

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Robert Ishak, one of the founding directors of Sydney and Melbourne-based law firm William Roberts Lawyers, describes his firm as being somewhat akin to a teenager.

A commercial litigation lawyer, Ishak founded the firm with his brother's best mate and fellow University of Western Sydney (UWS) alumni Bill Petrovski. And, interestingly, the pair chose to use their first names instead of adopting the usual surname combination.

"At first it was going to be Robert Williams," says Ishak, "but we thought it would be too close a nexus to Robbie Williams, the singer. And, well, William Roberts just sounded a whole lot better than Ishak Petrovski."

Thus William Roberts was born, and the founders held the fort in their CBD-based office until Ishak's apparent inability to fold letters correctly forced them to hire a receptionist. She arrived in September 2005, a graduate soon followed (who is now an associate with the firm), the firm now boasts more than 30 lawyers in two capital cities, and Ishak fully expects the growth to continue.

"I didn't think we would [get to this point so quickly]," he says.

"The growth was exponential for the first four years, in this last year we have consolidated, [and] I foreshadow that we will go through another growth spurt."

Having taken on a third director, Carlos Jaramillo (also a UWS graduate), conquering the Eastern Seaboard is now on the firm's agenda before moving into the remaining states and territories. And it is likely that more UWS graduates will be part of that story, with the William Roberts Law Award ensuring the brightest commercial litigation students get not only a financial reward, but also a foot in the door with the firm.

While growth alone indicates that William Roberts has been a true success thus far, Ishak credits much of the firm's appeal to the way in which they deliver legal services; via a cutting-edge, online information sharing system that provides clients with complete web access to their file.

"[The system] means that clients can access emails, file notes, pleadings, affidavits, reports etc [online]. It's complete transparency," he says. Another differentiator, says Ishak, is that the firm focuses solely on commercial litigation.

"We compete only in one area, and because of our critical mass we can compete with the large firms," he says.

"If you were to take out the commercial litigation group of … a top-tier firm, you'll find that, in terms of numbers, we're about the same. So we can compete on that level, but we don't have the overheads of a top-tier law firm, which is why our rates are far more competitive and we can offer a far more personalised service.

"We certainly are different."

- Claire Chaffey

>> Read more about the lawyers leading their firms through innovation and ideas in our Firm Profiles series