2011 was a momentous year for the Australian legal profession. The LPO elephant landed in Mallesons Stephen Jaques' boardroom, global law firms arrived, and Blake Dawson announced it would be bowing out. Lawyers Weekly reports on a year which saw the profession grapple with mental illness and diversity, the High Court strikes down onshore processing, and law firms talk about harnessing the power of social media.

It is doubtful if there has ever been a year like 2011 in the Australian legal sector. Clifford Chance arrived in style by having a swish launch party at Guillaume Restaurant next to the Sydney Opera House at a time when the M&A market was touching the dizzying heights pre-GFC.

However, like the other major global arrival last year, DLA Piper, which lost scores of partners after its official launch, the M&A market soon ran into trouble and limped to the end of the year.

While law firms were handling the extra flow of work and partner movements in their stride, it doesn’t appear that they are any closer to solving the riddle of why so many lawyers suffer from mental illness. Similarly, the issue of diversity continues to bedevil the profession, with the large number of female law graduates not translating into a proportional increase into senior positions.

These issues, and so many more, are dissected, deliberated and discussed by the Lawyers Weekly team as it looks back on what was, by any measure, an extraordinary 2011.

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Progress, paradox and ongoing pain

A lingering and contentious issue for the legal profession in 2011 has been that of the mental ill-health of lawyers.

A timely debate

The billable hour attracted both praise and criticism in a year punctuated by moves to either eradicate or entrench time billing practices.

The tweetest thing

2011 saw a profession grounded in tradition embark on a love-hate relationship with new communication tools and, finally, begin to embrace them.

The year of LPO

This year’s announcements that Mallesons Stephen Jaques and Blake Dawson have signed legal process outsourcing agreements indicated the changing nature of the Australian legal profession and the significant part LPO will play in 2012 and beyond.

The global firm onslaught

Looking back at the year that was, it’s impossible to overlook the continuous fl ow of global law fi rms into the Australian market.

A mixed bag

Diversity in the legal profession remained one of the key issues in 2011, with consistent reports that more needs to be done to improve it.

A tale of two markets

The M&A market in 2011 started with a bang but finished with a whimper.

View from the tiers

Lawyers Weekly spoke with three managing partners – one from an established global fi rm, one from a blue-chip top-tier fi rm, and one from an increasingly infl uential mid-tier fi rm – to hear their thoughts on the year that was, the year ahead, and the challenges confronting the legal sector.