Listed law firm acquires Sydney boutique

Australia's Slater & Gordon - the world's first publicly-owned law firm - has made its largest acquisition since listing in May, buying Sydney personal injury litigation firm McClellands.

The deal, which is due to be finalised at the end of the month after the completion of due diligence, consists of an undisclosed cash sum and A$2m (£837,000) worth of Slater shares.

McClellands specialises in personal injury litigation and raked in around A$4.5m (£1.9m) in revenue last year. It houses 21 staff across offices in Sydney, Parramatta and Canberra.

Slater became the first law firm in the world to float on a public market when it made its debut on the Australian Stock Exchange in May.

Since then the firm has also acquired a niche military compensation practice, D'Arcys, which was brought for A$2.8m (£1.2m) in May. As part of the deal, D'Arcys principal Vince Green was locked in to the firm for a minimum of three years.

Slater's progress, which is being watched closely by the UK's legal community, comes in the wake of recent changes to Australian law allowing non-lawyers to invest in law firms.

The firm now has 22 offices across Australia.