In 2009, Allens initiated a voluntary redundancy program and imposed a pay freeze as the GFC hit the legal sector hard.

“I love this job, the team I work with and the firm I belong to,” said Rose. “We have a strong and stable firm, great clients and great opportunities to work with those clients on the things that matter most to them.”

Rose was re-elected unopposed for a further three years following a recommendation from the Allens board to the firm’s partnership that his tenure be extended.

In announcing the alliance with Linklaters in April last year, Rose told Lawyers Weekly that the similar cultures of both firms meant the link-up made sense.

“One of the most significant things for us was that, with Linklaters, there is a very close fit in relation to clients … and we thought this kind of structure, with this firm, will work for us [and] it will work for our clients.”

Under the terms of the alliance, the firms will establish two joint ventures in Asia targeting the lucrative areas of energy & resources and infrastructure.

The alliance has been criticised in some quarters for creating some confusion in the market as to how formal the arrangement is and how it is different from a fully-fledged merger.

Allens is the only one of the six top-tier firms in Australia that has decided to enter into a formal alliance with a global firm rather than pursue a full merger or remain independent.

While the alliance means that both Linklaters and Allens only refer work to each other in relevant countries, it has also meant that Allens lost a flow of referral work from similarly well-regarded firms such as Slaughter and May.

Allens has around 200 partners spread throughout its domestic and overseas offices.

In 2011 it became the first Australian law firm to open an office in Mongolia.