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Two prominent figures in Australia’s infrastructure law sector have established a “next-generation” law firm that aims to challenge traditional large firms.
Jason Ricketts and David Hugo, both former senior partners at Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF), have launched Chord Advisory, a boutique firm that integrates legal and consultancy services.
With offices in both Perth and Sydney, the firm operates across a wide range of industries, including energy and resources, transport and logistics, healthcare, water management, waste management, and social infrastructure, serving both the public and private sectors.
Chord Advisory aims to compete with the global and national law firms within this domain by “offering the same know-how and experience, while being able to move faster with a more agile and individually tailored approach to client service”.
Prior to embarking on this venture, Jason Ricketts, who chairs Chord Advisory, served as general counsel for the Minderoo Foundation and Tattarang group under the Forrest family.
Before that, he enjoyed a 30-year tenure as a partner at HSF, where he also sat on the board and held a position on the global executive team, ultimately leading the firm’s Perth office.
“Global law firms have their place, but they carry a lot of overhead and bureaucracy, and we don’t believe they can match the quality of service and personally delivered experience we can provide.
“We believe that this is an offering that will appeal to not only clients but also top legal talent as an alternative to traditional law firm career paths,” Ricketts said.
David Hugo serves as the managing director of a boutique firm, after spending nearly 15 years as a partner at HSF, where he successfully led legal teams on numerous significant Australian infrastructure projects.
Starting with two national offices, Chord Advisory intends to expand in the future in response to “client demand and talent identification”, already exploring opportunities to establish a presence in more cities across Australia.
Hugo shared that the firm was established after identifying a “clear gap in the market” in terms of combining legal and consulting services related to infrastructure.
He believes the firm stands to find itself in a “sweet spot for growth”, particularly as industries like health and energy are expected to flourish and thrive over the next two decades.
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