The Magic Circle firm, which has now been fully operational in Sydney and Perth for three months, received more than 500 applications when it recently put out the call for its first round of Sydney-based summer clerks.

"For a small partner group (which now stands at 20), it is pretty overwhelming," Fuzi told Lawyers Weekly.

"I think people - the staff, the lawyers - are saying, 'We get it. Here's a very different service offering.' Being part of a growing, fresh player in the market is contagious. It's really exciting."

A&O's Perth office is also having no trouble attracting talent, with a 100 per cent acceptance rate for the graduate rotation program.

These figures come on top of the 1500 job applications Fuzi said the firm received within one week of opening.

"If I break it down, it has been interest at both partner and all other staff levels. I think it is fair to say we have been inundated with approaches," he said.

"Having said that, we are being very careful about our build up ... so we are being very selective as to who we think will fit the legal and cultural brand that we are trying to create."

Claire Chaffey