BRW last week (March 9-15) produced its annual Client Choice awards, a list which ranks all service firms (including law firms, accounting firms, consulting, actuarial, engineering and every other sort of firm) as judged by clients. This year, the winner of the best large professional services firm award was national law firm Allens Arthur Robinson.

Allens CEO, Tom Poulton was interviewed by BRW (although one would expect that the Allens spinners would have carefully reviewed Poulton’s comments this year, with Allens’ reputation among young lawyers still not fully recovered after Poulton said last year that Allens’ lawyers have no right to free time and must treat the clients like gods). This year, BRW legal writer, Jacquie Walker, quoted Poulton (in an article ironically titled “The Gods are Pleased”) as saying that Allens’ success lies in how it recruits lawyers and “you have to start off with people who understand their clients, who relate well to their clients…and care what their clients are trying to achieve”.

Indeed. Crikey just reported (yesterday, item 6) that the ATO is now pursing James Hardie for $222 million in back taxes following its ill-fated move to the Netherlands. The move (whose primary aim was allegedly to jilt asbestos-related cancer victims out of compensation) was of course devised with the assistance of none other than that really understanding law firm, Allens. So much so that the former Hardie executive who was believed to be the most pivotal in the Netherlands move, Peter Shafron, once claimed that Hardie “kept Allens close by our side throughout [the] transaction”.

So folks, if any company is looking for a large law firm that understands their needs and also has some great precedents on how to avoid paying tax and cancer sufferers, Allens may be a safe choice.