Tony Macvean recently celebrated his 45th birthday. Hall & Wilcox’s head may be one of the youngest managing partners around, but he is also an old hand at leading a law firm.

For the past seven years, Mr Macvean’s stewardship has seen the firm increase revenue by double digits year-on-year.

In 2013/2014 alone, Hall & Wilcox grew revenue by 20 per cent and profit by 31 per cent.

Unlike some of the firm’s competitors which have either merged or made major acquisitions to achieve similar growth figures, Mr Macvean has focused on refining what he believes is Hall & Wilcox’s strength – providing high-quality legal services at a lower cost than the larger firms by keeping overheads low.

This has resulted in “steady growth over an extended period”, he told Lawyers Weekly during an interview at the firm’s Sydney office.

His slow and steady approach may not be setting the world on fire, but it has served the firm well as others struggle to find their feet amid a plethora of global mergers, interstate expansions and newly-launched boutique firms.

The firm’s success has also been aided by Mr Macvean’s intimate knowledge of it.

He joined the firm in 1995 as an articled clerk. He made partner in 2000 at the age of 29 and was charged with growing the firm’s commercial practice.

The practice grew substantially and the partnership soon recognised a leader in its ranks, appointing Mr Macvean managing partner at the age of 37.

He says he felt ready for the role at the time, but admits that in hindsight he may have been a tad over-confident.

“When I reflect on how I was when I started in the role compared to how I am now, I realise how naïve I was and how much I had to learn,” he says.

Uncertain beginnings It is clear when speaking with Mr Macvean that he has some affection for the firm that has been his professional home for almost 20 years.

He acknowledges the firm’s partners for their support and encouragement as he moved up the ranks, and says chief operating officer Sumith Perera, in particular, has been his right-hand man.

He reveals, however, that he never anticipated he would spend close to two decades in private practice when he left high school. Mr Macvean originally enrolled in medicine at Melbourne University.

He soon discovered that science wasn’t his strong suit. Plus, he couldn’t stand the sight of blood, so he decided to take most of his first year off.

He spent those months working factory jobs and travelling.

“I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do,” he says. When he returned to university the following year, he transferred to a law/commerce degree with a view to working in business or as a writer.

“I didn’t really have a passion to be a lawyer; it was only at the end of my degree that I thought that I wanted to be a lawyer,” he says.

‘Being a lawyer’ is now a fundamental part of Mr Macvean’s identity. He still practises law in addition to managing the firm, and is as enthusiastic as ever about the future of legal practice, including the business aspects of running a law firm.

Mr Macvean is currently working on a business strategy that could see Hall & Wilcox open its third Australian office.

In January, after almost 100 years since its establishment, the firm finally opened a second office in Sydney by acquiring the employment team of New Zealand firm Duncan Cotterill. Mr Macvean hinted that the coming year could see the firm make more bold expansion moves.

“We want to be a national law firm; it’s entirely possible we’ll have more offices in the future,” he says, nominating Brisbane as the most likely location for Hall & Wilcox’s third office.

Keeping the culture Since opening in Sydney, Hall & Wilcox has kept overheads down by sharing resources across the two eastern seaboard offices.

“This means people are up and back all the time and there’s a cost associated with that, but we think it’s really good for our culture,”

says Mr Macvean. Culture, he adds, is critical, which is why he insists that new recruits are a “good cultural fit” and the Hall & Wilcox team “make sure those people feel part of the firm and work as part of the firm”.

Finding culturally-aligned talent has become easier since global firms entered the market, Mr Macvean continues.

He explains that firms like Hall & Wilcox can pick up top talent and top-tier work in areas that are no longer of interest to the newly-merged global firms, many of which are concentrating on big ticket international work.

“We are able to differentiate ourselves by being an independent business firm focused on the domestic market, compared to the global firms not as focused on the domestic market,” he says.

While Hall & Wilcox has informal alliances with firms in Asia, the United States and Europe, the firm currently has no interest in participating in a global merger.

Rather than get mixed up in merger talks, Mr Macvean’s immediate priority is to work out which practice areas, industry sectors and geographic markets the firm should be nurturing and which should be treated as secondary practices.

He nominates insurance, litigation, aged care and healthcare as areas he is currently eyeing for increased investment.

The firm will also continue to support its private client and family office practice that targets high-net-worth individuals.

Residential conveyancing, on the other hand, is not a priority for the firm.

“It’s an area where we feel we can’t add value or compete successfully,” he says. Personally speaking Refining the firm’s business strategy is likely to upset Mr Macvean’s work-life balance.

However, he is adamant about not tipping the scale too far in favour of work.

“I wouldn’t say that I get it perfectly right all of the time but I’m pretty focused on ensuring that I spend time with my family,” he says. He often leaves work early to pick up his twin four-year-old boys from childcare, but will log back in after dinner, admitting that “it never really stops”.

His wife Amy can relate, being a former lawyer herself.

The couple met when Mr Macvean was working on the sale of Lonely Planet to BBC Worldwide and she was an in-house lawyer at Lonely Planet.

Amy has since changed careers and is studying architecture. Mr Macvean is also open to change that will not only lead to a successful career, but also a fulfilling one. “The idea is to not die wondering and always give it my best shot,” he says.