Allens

Origins

One of Allens' predecessor firms is Allen Allen & Hemsley, founded in 1822 by George Allen. This makes Allens the longest continuous legal partnership in Australia.

The other major predecessor firm of Allens is Arthur Robinson & Co., which began trading in Melbourne, Victoria on 11 May 1914, just prior to the outbreak of World War I.

20th century

By the early 1920s Allens had gained a reputation as Australia's preeminent law firm for establishment interests, with many high-profile and wealthy clients.

The firm acted for the Australian banks in the Bank Nationalisation Case, and for the Australian Bankers' Association in relation to the Whitlam Labour Government loans scandal.

Former Managing Partner Sir Norman Lethbridge Cowper is credited with developing Allens into one of Asia's leading law firms.

In 1984, Arthur Robinson & Co. merged with Hedderwick Fookes & Alston to form Arthur Robinson & Hedderwicks.

21st century

Allens Arthur Robinson was formed on 1 July 2001 by merger of the Melbourne-headquartered Arthur Robinson & Hedderwicks (ARH) and Sydney-headquartered Allen Allen & Hemsley (AAH). This created one of the largest law firms in the Asia Pacific. The firms had been associated for 15 years prior to the merger through the Allens Arthur Robinson Group alliance.

Allens dropped the "Arthur Robinson" part of its name on 1 May 2012. From that date, Allens began operating in an exclusive integrated alliance with the Magic Circle law firm Linklaters, each firm remaining financially independent. The firms operate two joint ventures in Asia.

Allens has 149 partners and 1,200 personnel. Since 1 May 2012, the firm has operated in association with Linklaters, one of the law firms in the UK referred to as the "Magic Circle". Allens also comprises a separate patent attorney firm, Allens Patent & Trade Mark Attorneys.

In May 2024, Allens had offices in Brisbane, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Melbourne, Perth, Port Moresby, Singapore and Sydney. Through its integrated alliance with Linklaters, Allens' network extends to offices in Abu Dhabi, Africa, Belgium, Brazil, China, Dubai, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Latin America, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom and United States.

Controversies

In the early 1990s, a controversy arose when Adrian Powles, a former partner in the London office, was discovered to have secretly accessed a client's trust account to fund a gambling addiction. A Sydney journalist, Valerie Lawson, published a book in 1995 entitled The Allens Affair that details the Powles case and touches on much of the early history of the firm.