Slater and Gordon

Slater and Gordon Lawyers

Type	Public law firm
Traded as	ASX: SGH
Founder	Bill Slater and Hugh Gordon
Headquarters	Melbourne, Australia London, United Kingdom (sub-headquarters)
Key people	Andrew Grech (Group Managing Director) Ken Fowlie (Managing Director - UK and Europe) Hayden Stephens (Head of Australia)
Revenue	A$521.8m (2014/15)
Number of employees	2,500
Website	www.slatergordon.com.au www.slatergordon.co.uk

Slater and Gordon is a multinational law firm headquartered in Australia employing over 2,500 people worldwide. In 2007, Slater and Gordon became the first law firm in the world to go public. The firm is Australia's largest consumer law firm by total revenue. In 2012, Slater and Gordon entered the UK market with the acquisition of several UK based law firms, and has since become one of the UK's largest consumer law firms. In 2014 the firm was ranked as the 7th largest international law firm operating in the UK by revenue. In 2014, the firm's UK revenue exceeded £100 million for the first time, with a reported 119% increase on the previous year's turnover. The firm was founded in Melbourne, Victoria in 1935 by a barrister and solicitor from Irymple, Victoria, Hugh Lyons Gordon, and Labor politician Bill Slater.

On 20 March 2015, Slater & Gordon announced the acquisition of the professional services division of Quindell for £637m. The acquisition of Quindell’s professional services division was said to increase its market share of UK personal injury law to about 12 percent from the current 5 percent, making the firm the largest law firm in the country with respect to personal injury. The deal was, however, highly controversial, Quindell being seen as a "basket case" at the time, and many commentators questioned the wisdom of the acquisition, and the price paid.

Bill Slater was born to parents of an Irish background in Wangaratta on 20 May 1890. When Slater was a child his father left the family, leaving his mother to raise him and his two siblings in Prahran. Slater attended Armadale State School but left to sell newspapers. An incident in which he was caught skinny dipping in the Yarra River led to a brief period of self-reflection. During this period, Slater chose to better himself and began reading vigorously at a public library in an attempt at self-education. His endeavour was successful and he was eventually hired as an office boy, later being employed as a clerk for Percy Park, a Mildura solicitor. After various misadventures, including an arrest for support of John Curtin, relocations to and from England and Australia, Slater entered partnership with Hugh Gordon—his brother in law—forming Slater & Gordon.