Corrs’ $7 Million Man and the Side Hustle That Has Canberra Talking
If you were pulling in $7 million a year running a mid-tier Australian law firm, you might think that was enough to keep you busy. But Corrs Chambers Westgarth CEO Gavin MacLaren clearly believes otherwise by operating a new consultancy business.
The highest-paid law firm boss in the country – in a firm that isn’t even in the very top tier – has decided to add a second act. He’s popped up as founder and director of Garran Advisory, a shiny new consulting shop promising “expert advice on the issues facing government,” a report in the Australian Financial Review discloses.
Garran’s co-founder is Tom Harley, Liberal Party royalty, corporate lobbyist, and Alfred Deakin’s great-grandson. Harley’s CV reads like a Who’s Who of political connections – former Liberal vice president, Menzies Research Centre chair, personal ties to Malcolm Turnbull and Julie Bishop. The man lives six doors down from MacLaren’s $12 million home in South Yarra. (Pictured).
Garran isn’t some private MacLaren moonshot. Corporate records show Garran’s sole shareholder is Flinders Lane, Corrs’ own partnership holding company. The registered office is at Corrs’ Melbourne HQ with its senior advisers bieng line-up of ex-defence chiefs, bureaucrats, and, awkwardly, moonlighting Corrs partners.
Last year Corrs pulled in $8.9 million in federal government work. This year, the figure slipped over fee concerns – but it’s still serious money. Garran’s arrival raises the obvious question: is Corrs happy to risk conflicts of interest, or confident it can manage them better than PwC managed its tax leaks scandal?
The MacLaren contract extension – locking him in until 2033 for up to $100 million – already had eyebrows on permanent lift and his appointment and money deal has already created some considerable controversy and intrigue both within the firm and within the profession.
It’s a risky game. Law firms and consulting outfits have been trying to poach each other’s turf for a decade, mostly without success. When MinterEllison’s Annette Kimmitt was pushed out in 2021, the spark was an email – but the kindling was concern she was more interested in consulting than core legal work.
Corrs has grown under MacLaren’s watch, but it’s also lost key partners, failed to deliver the promised M&A muscle, and been called out for lagging on diversity. That $7 million pay packet towers over those of bigger, more prestigious outfits. And now Garran Advisory suggests the CEO’s focus is… let’s just say “diversified.”
If the Garran play works, MacLaren will have proven he can turn a law firm into a consultancy and keep the government work flowing. If it doesn’t, he’ll have offered a case study in why lawyers and lobbyists shouldn’t mix their toys in the same sandpit.
