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While boutique firms have traditionally been viewed as smaller players operating outside the orbit of BigLaw, that distinction is increasingly being challenged.
On a recent episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, Jerome Doraisamy spoke with BlackBay Lawyers’ managing partner, Victoria-Jane Otavski, about winning the Boutique Firm of the Year category at the 2026 Australian Law Awards, along with how boutique firms are increasing in popularity for clients.
For Otavski, the growth of boutiques such as BlackBay Lawyers reflects a more extensive shift in what clients and lawyers expect from a legal services provider – with agility, accessibility, and personalised service becoming increasingly powerful points of difference.
“I think, increasingly, clients, businesses, [and] individuals are recognising that boutiques have so much to offer and can actually provide services and experiences and attention in a wonderful way that can actually be better,” Otavski said.
“I think recognising that more and more is sort of moving away from the traditional top-tier kind of structure of legal services and thinking that boutique, and recognising that boutiques offer, you know, great, exceptional quality legal services, but might also be a bit more accessible to that client.”
Talking about the changing landscape of the legal profession, Otavski recognised that boutique firms may challenge the BigLaw practices and take more work away from them.
“We’ve got clients that are ASX-listed, we’ve got top Forbes 100 clients and increasingly more,” Otavski said regarding her firm’s success.
“If that boutique has done an exceptional job for that client, they will speak with their associates, their friends, their family members, and it will result in further work and referrals.
“I believe that there is an increasing recognition of boutique law firms or smaller practitioners that are able to provide that service quality with added benefits of being contactable, accessible without 100 hands touching the matter, and being able to deliver results efficiently, economically, and in a way that really just outstrips conventional practices in the past.
“I know that there [are] more solo practitioners and boutiques than ever before, and they’re taking market share.”
With the potential for boutique firms to match the prestige of BigLaw firms, Otavski expressed her excitement about the growth and how high the ceiling is, particularly for BlackBay Lawyers.
“There are generational changes, and we’ve got a wonderful cohort year on year, coming through and thinking about how you can make a wonderful workplace environment for them and foster them and give them the opportunity,” Otavski said.
“I love small businesses, medium businesses, SMEs, and I think it’s a hugely wonderful thing to create employment opportunities for individuals.
“I like the fact that we’ve got small businesses where you can have a really, you know, wonderful, close-knit family within a workplace and particularly in the legal profession.
“So I’m a huge supporter of boutiques, and I love that there’s more of them and winning work that would otherwise conventionally have gone to the top tiers.”
