Conflict-Free and Open for Business: Gadens’ Bid to Win Global Referrals
If you’re a global firm sitting on a tasty Australia matter with awkward conflicts—or a client you’d rather not hand to a rival’s Sydney office—Gadens wants the call. In an interview flagged by Law.com International, managing partner Mark Pistilli outlines a simple growth thesis, which is to win inbound work by being the go-to independent that international firms are comfortable briefing.
No merger badge. No politics. Just a full-service Australian team that doesn’t threaten your client relationship.
- How they’ll sell it: National coverage, sector depth, and a “we’re not your rival” message aimed squarely at global firms and in-house teams.
- Who’s driving it: CEO Mark Pistilli (ex-Clifford Chance, ex-PwC Legal), is the man driving the growth and strategy and he’s been public about building a top-tier independent platform.
- The Gadens pitch is to be the conflict-free, independent Australian destination foreign firms can brief without handing work to a competitor’s local outpost.
Gadens’ Independence Play
The sales pitch in four moves
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Gadens is leaning into an identity that makes some multinationals exhale: we’re not your competitor. That matters when conflicts bite or client control is sensitive for law firms. The firm’s own international-facing material all but underlines the message.
Pistilli has talked up unifying the firm nationally and expanding reach—recent public commentary referenced Canberra expansion and “top-tier” ambitions, because inbound work likes coverage and consistency.
Foreign referrers want a safe pair of hands in core Australian sectors and in areas like government, health, tech and finance Gadens has been publishing regular regulatory commentary and playbooks, catnip for GCs testing referral options.
Who’s steering this
Pistilli’s CV helps sell the story too. As founding/managing partner at Clifford Chance in Australia, senior roles across Asia strategy, and a stint at PwC Legal before taking Gadens’ helm he know how global firms think and act – and also what spooks them.
- For global firms: a conflict-free Australian outlet you can brief without creating a competitor-client problems, and for in-house teams the firm can provide a credible independent option when Australian coverage is needed but there where there is a need to avoid network politics or premium-on-premium pricing.
In a market that’s “dynamic and fragmented,” being the firm everyone else can brief might be the neatest arbitrage left. Gadens is betting that not joining a megafirm is precisely what wins megafirm work.
