“Tony is an outstanding business leader and we are very pleased he will be joining Minter Ellison,” said Minters chairman Bruce Cowley.

Harrington was the senior partner and chief executive of PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in Australia from 2000 to 2008.

More recently, he has combined his role as a managing director with the investment bank Moelis & Company with being an adviser to the board of King & Wood Mallesons.

Minters announced late last year that Weber would not seek re-appointment as chief executive partner when his term expired on 30 June.

Minters engaged global recruiter Egon Zehnder to find Weber’s replacement.

A recent partnership vote rubber-stamped Harrington’s appointment.

Weber is still with the firm, however it is unclear if he will remain a member of the partnership beyond July.

Weber joined Minters in 2000 and after being head of the firm’s Canberra office for six years, he became the firm’s chief executive partner in July 2009.

Harrington is the second non-lawyer to head Minters in the past decade.

Prior to Weber, Guy Templeton was the firm’s CEO from early 2005 to July 2009.

Templeton had an engineering background.