Media Release A new report, released today by the Committee for Sydney and the Law Society of New South Wales, has identified Sydney’s golden opportunity to become the next global legal hub.
Making the Case: Sydney as a global legal hub highlights Sydney’s legal sector as a hidden gem in the economy, with more than and two law schools in the global top 20.
Jeremy Gill, Head of Policy at the Committee for Sydney: “This report makes the case for Sydney’s legal sector being a major economic opportunity for NSW.
“Sydney is home to industries that will shape the coming decades – quantum technology, bio-medical specialisations, cutting edge renewable energy research. But these can’t scale without an ecosystem of supporting sectors – particularly law – to help navigate regulation, international trade, investment and dispute resolution.
“The challenge is we haven’t historically included these sectors in industry and innovation policy, and we haven’t done the work to market these strengths on the world stage.
“It takes a village to raise a child. If we want to translate Sydney’s ranking as the Southern Hemisphere’s number one city for startups into being a global city for advanced industries, we need to make sure the rest of the village is part of that journey. A capable, specialised and well-supported legal sector will be crucial.
“The encouraging thing is, Sydney has so many of the fundamentals in place. A deep concentration of law firms and legal skills, a highly regarded judicial sector and an existing seat of arbitration among them. We need to translate this strength into a story the world knows about us.”
Ronan MacSweeney, President of the Law Society of NSW, said the report contributes to his President’s Priority, announced at the beginning of his term, to promote NSW as a legal jurisdiction of choice within the Asia-Pacific region.
“This report demonstrates that Sydney has the potential to bring a significant portion of international legal work to our shores and provide a sound basis for government to continue to invest in improved court infrastructure.
“This can be driven by highlighting the strengths of the legal market here: the heavy concentration of legal talent in Sydney, the efficiency and speed of the NSW Supreme Court in delivering speedy, well-reasoned decisions, our common law system, and our high ranking in the Global Rule of Law Index. All these factors make NSW an attractive jurisdiction of choice.
“Building on this opportunity will require a combined effort from government, the legal profession and the wider business sector. I trust that the light this report now shines on NSW’s enormous potential will propel these sectors to work together to make Sydney a key global legal hub.
“Investment and commitment will be necessary, but the example of Singapore demonstrates clearly that such an approach can reap real benefits for the legal profession, the justice system, and the wider community.”
Six ideas to build Sydney’s case as a global legal hub:
- Put NSW front of mind, at home and abroad by increasing awareness of our legal and arbitration capabilities
- Build the sector relationships that turn the case into contracts by engaging with key sectors to understand their legal needs and embedding legal specialisation within NSW Government industry and innovation policy
- Build the coalition to tell Sydney’s story and promote a coherent sector and market-relevant narrative that clearly articulates the case for NSW
- Back the Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration (ACICA) to compete by enhancing sector-body funding of ACICA’s operations
- Connect the courts to international parties and to arbitration by continuing to build digital access so international parties can file, appear and give evidence without travelling
- Compete for legal functions and legal talent by developing a targeted in-house counsel attraction programme