HFW is headquartered in London and landed on Aussie soil in 2006 with a founding team of 10 lawyers. A decade on, the international law firm has an Australian workforce of more than 80 and a presence in three capital cities – Melbourne, Sydney and Perth.

Gavin Vallely (pictured), managing partner of the firm’s Melbourne office, said he was proud of the contribution the Australian offices have made to the growth of HFW’s international business. HFW has focused on diversifying its service offering and the expansion of what it describes as its “traditional strengths”, the firm said in a statement.

“When we established the first HFW office in Australia, we were confident that being part of a firm with a focus on the international supply chain for commodities and the capacity to service clients' legal requirements in all major international trading centres would resonate positively with our clients in the logistics, mining, energy and agribusiness sectors," Mr Vallely said.

“This proved to be correct and the firm is committed to making further investment to grow our Australian business whilst maintaining our industry sector focus."

Speaking to Lawyers Weekly earlier this year, HFW partner Amanda Davidson underscored the value the firm deliberately placed on open, “obvious” teamwork.

Over the course of her 30-year career, Ms Davidson said she had observed few other law firms embrace or actively encourage teamwork – it is an ethos that she believes sets HFW apart.

“In nearly 30 years of practice, I do not believe that good teamwork is something which is truly encouraged or valued within law firms and is often not very visible,” she said.

Ms Davidson joined the HFW construction team in 2014, bringing a team of 12 projects practitioners with her.

According to HFW, the firm's Australian business has grown almost ten-fold in the past decade.