National law firm Macpherson Kelley has expanded into South Australia with the acquisition of an Adelaide commercial law firm.
Macpherson Kelley has expanded its operations into a new state with the acquisition of Adelaide firm O’Loughlins Lawyers – an independent firm with a key focus on health, aged care, retirement living, and commercial law.
The merger will see all four O’Loughlins’ partners – Hamish Archibald, Josh Abbott, Kym Ryder, and Rebecca Barr (pictured) – join Macpherson Kelley, as well as all other existing lawyers, support, and services staff.
Macpherson Kelley national managing principal Grant Guenther said the acquisition supports the firm’s strategic growth ambitions as it looks to address client needs, grow its presence in new markets and expand its capabilities in specialist areas – and that the move was a “win-win”.
“In addition to providing great advice and service to an impressive bundle of clients, the leadership team at O’Loughlins has worked hard to foster a uniquely positive and collaborative workplace culture. It’s something we actively seek out when vetting growth opportunities because we know it produces good thinking and great results for our clients,” he said.
“We benefit from being able to support our clients with their business activities in South Australia and expand our national capability in an important industry sector. Our new clients from Adelaide will continue to get great service from their existing trusted advisors, as well as access to more specialist capability to assist with complex challenges.”
Macpherson Kelley’s new Adelaide office will provide property, corporate and commercial, litigation, insolvency, employment, and private client services to South Australian clients. Including staff from the acquisition, the firm now has 45 principals, 160 total fee earners, and approximately 280 employees.
This news comes after Macpherson Kelley added a principal lawyer in July, as well as the firm’s appointment of a new principal lawyer and promotion of five lawyers at the end of June.
Archibald, Abbott, Ryder, and Barr will lead the new office after O’Loughlins officially joins Macpherson Kelley on 1 September.
“We’ve had the pleasure of helping some South Australian clients do really exciting things with their businesses, but having access to a national team will mean we can offer clients so much more,” Archibald said.
“Macpherson Kelley’s appetite for cross-border and cross-team collaboration will mean we’ll be able to take our offering to the next level while maintaining client service excellence and continuity of care.”
Lauren is a journalist at Lawyers Weekly and graduated with a Bachelor of Journalism from Macleay College. Prior to joining Lawyers Weekly, she worked as a trade journalist for media and travel industry publications and Travel Weekly. Originally born in England, Lauren enjoys trying new bars and restaurants, attending music festivals and travelling. She is also a keen snowboarder and pre-pandemic, spent a season living in a French ski resort.
