Danny Gilbert on how he built Gilbert + Tobin to become a top-tier law firm
The firm's co-founder and chair details the strategies and philosophies that helped Gilbert + Tobin become one of Australia's top players — and explains why it would be difficult to do the same today.
In the 36 years since co-founding his law firm with Tony Tobin, Danny Gilbert has seen the market change drastically.
"The media world is completely different, the companies that were the dominating players in corporate activity have all changed. [The] large tech firms have come in. The world is a very different place," he told Capital Brief in an interview one year into his role as chair of Gilbert + Tobin.
But it's the change ahead, because of factors including the rise of generative AI, the energy transition and changing pools of capital, that will be "more significant than any change in the history of the firm to date", Gilbert said.
All that change brings exciting legal work, but Gilbert is no longer alone setting the vision for his firm. Last year, Gilbert moved on from his role as managing partner, with Tim Gordon and Sam Nickless taking on leadership roles that have formed, in Gilbert's words, "a bit of a triumvirate" at the top-tier firm.
