John Cain, the Victorian Government Solicitor, said that while two years ago the office had 50 lawyers, it now had 80. “We’ve had a very good period where we’ve seen growth in our revenue jump upward of 20 per cent,” he said.

It’s an impressive feat, considering the office really has only one client; the Victorian Government. While Cain said the work had come from a broad spectrum of areas, the charter of human rights and responsibilities was largely fuelling the boom.

Despite preparing to expand into another office, Cain said he would be surprised if the rate of growth continued.

“But we’re certainly at a size now where slower growth would be reasonable. We’re the size of a firm that’s appropriate for a government solicitor’s office,” he said.

“We are able to attract very good-quality lawyers because of the range and diversity of work the office does.”