Naked ambition and a penchant for social justice have led to unimaginable heights for a man whose heart still lies in the country. Claire Chaffey reports

When interviewing Danny Gilbert, it's easy to get the impression that he is the one calling the shots. While this can be disconcerting for a journalist, it's also an insight into the character of Gilbert: that he is endowed with a quality of natural leadership which has propelled him to the position he holds today.

As managing partner of Gilbert + Tobin - one of the youngest and most progressive firms at the top end of the legal market - it is arguably this trait, coupled with irrepressible ambition, that has assured Gilbert + Tobin's success thus far.

"The art of leadership is persuading people to follow you," says Gilbert.

"That involves open and regular engagement with people, but it also demands high levels of confidence in your own views, and you have to be passionate about those views. You need the determination and capacity to persuade others."

Judging by Gilbert's track record, it seems he has mastered this art and derived from it a legal success story.

A country boy, Gilbert grew up on a farm west of Griffith in south western New South Wales.

While he still loves the land and jointly owns a sheep property in Gundagai with two other Gilbert + Tobin partners, he says the decision to pursue law and not become a farmer was an easy one.

Gilbert commenced his practice in the country before eventually ending up at Sly & Russell - which later became Deacons - where he progressed to partnership by the age of 30.

It was here that he met and worked with Tony Tobin, and the dream of establishing a new firm emerged.

"I had decided ... that I wanted to do something on my own and build my own business. Tony and I were friends and had been young partners together at Sly & Russell, so we knew each other very well," says Gilbert.

"We knew we were going to have a commercial firm, because we were both commercial lawyers. We had a sense that we wanted to build a successful small business, but we didn't have any particular vision."

But Gilbert's ambition appears to have stood in the way of merely creating a small business, and when Gilbert + Tobin opened its doors in 1988, it wasn't long before a team of lawyers came on board. By the early 1990s Gilbert + Tobin had carved out a telecommunications and media specialty, and the firm started moving from strength to strength.

"I guess I was always a fairly ambitious person, but [building a business] is like climbing a ladder: you don't know what you can see until you climb each rung of the ladder. You can't [initially] see the range of possibilities of achievement," says Gilbert.

"I never imagined I would be part of building a firm of this size or distinction."

And while he admits that Gilbert + Tobin represents for him the "centrepiece" of his career, he has also invested a vast amount of drive and ambition into tackiling social justice issues, particularly in relation to Australia's indigenous population.

"Growing up, I always had a sense that the Aboriginal people weren't treated properly," says Gilbert.

"I had a close friend, Ted Kennedy, who was a famous priest in Redfern. It was through this friendship and working with him ... that I started doing a lot of work with Indigenous people in Redfern and across the nation."

Gilbert's involvement in Indigenous affairs has ranged from joining the community legal centre movement as a young lawyer to his recent appointment as chair of the Cape York Institute for Policy and Leadership, working alongside Noel Pearson.

"The institute is a really important think tank in Indigenous affairs," says Gilbert.

Gilbert has also ensured his firm caters to non-corporate clients, with Gilbert + Tobin becoming Australia's first firm to employ a full-time pro bono partner and practice group.

"I enjoy the opportunity that law affords you to really give something back to the community ... The opportunity to build a business and to think seriously about your contribution to civil society is very important to me," he says.

Gilbert's passion for social justice is equalled by his competitive spirit, and the changing face of Australia's legal profession provides an additional challenge into which Gilbert can sink his teeth.

"We will watch with interest what happens with the globalisation of the top end of the Australian legal market," says Gilbert.

"Norton Rose ... is obviously determined to lift its standing and capacity in Australia, and Allen & Overy, I am certain, will be determined to build a first-tier firm here as well. Then you have some of the American firms, so I think we are going to see increased competition for top work.

"It will be interesting to see how many firms can really settle into the occupation of serious roles in that part of the market. That is certainly where we aim to be."

And Gilbert has no doubt that, as the firm continues to grow, the team of partners to which he attributes the firm's success will keep them where they want to be in the market.

"The success [of Gilbert + Tobin] has many owners ... and is due to the skills of our partners, their ambition and hard work," says Gilbert.

"I enjoy the camaraderie and the restless ambition ... it is constantly engaging."