Waldo Jones and Scott Miller reflect on how the legal landscape in Australia has changed
Sullivan & Cromwell recently celebrated the 25th anniversary of its Sydney office amongst clients and alumni in a widely attended event that honoured the firm’s significant history in the city.
“We were delighted with the turnout of over 200 attendees, which evidences the strength of our relationships in the Sydney market over the past 25 years”, Sydney managing partner Waldo Jones told Australasian Lawyer.
He commented that it was a rarity for such a large group to clients, alumni, and friends of the firm to come together in one place. Indeed, some made long trips from Canada and the US to show up for the milestone celebration – including Sullivan & Cromwell co-chair Scott Miller, for whom the event was a time of reconnection with people he hadn’t seen in a while.
“The collegial atmosphere facilitated engaging discussions about opportunities to collaborate in the years ahead, and to build on those relationships for the next 25 years and beyond. It was a wonderful evening—everyone enjoyed reconnecting with colleagues, clients, and friends, as well as meeting new and interesting people from across the market and internationally”, Jones told Australasian Lawyer.
Sullivan & Cromwell first opened its Sydney branch in 2001 to capitalise on the presence of major Australian financial institutions. Jones, who had relocated from New York to Australia in the 1990s, was tapped to head up the office, and he has remained in the role since then. In the past 25 years, he and Miller have seen talent come and go from the firm; many went on to lead illustrious legal careers, with some becoming judges or law deans.
Jones and Miller have also watched the legal landscape in Australia change in this time. Jones pointed to the A&O Shearman merger and Mallesons’ split from King & Wood as examples of recent major shifts in the market. Amid all this movement what has stayed consistent is Sullivan & Cromwell’s maintenance of good relations with Australian law firms, with whom it has worked on numerous transactions.
The firms don’t compete with one another but work cooperatively on cross-border deals and other matters, Jones told Australasian Lawyer. He added that the US is looking to work more with Australian companies in resources and other sectors on supply chain-related matters as it shifts away from relying on supplies from countries like China; thus, there is a greater focus on cross-border transactions involving the US.
When it comes to talent recruitment, Sullivan & Cromwell’s policy is still to source talent from schools. Its 2026 and 2027 classes of new talent reflect a consistent significant growth trend, Miller said. And even though AI is already changing how lawyers are working, empathy is still crucial to being a lawyer.
Miller shared that Sullivan & Cromwell intends to train younger lawyers to use AI effectively while not being replaced by it. The firm’s AI strategy is to be “agnostic” about AI products – it will collaborate with AI developers in the expectation that tools will improve efficiency. There is no intent to develop and maintain a bespoke AI infrastructure; rather, the firm will approach platforms like Harvey and Legora with ideas and improvements and work from there.
In 2023, Sullivan & Cromwell commemorated 40 years in Australia. The firm first opened in Melbourne in 1983.
