Rockwell Olivier follows ILH into administration

Perth law firm Rockwell Olivier has been placed in the hands of administrators, after its sole director concluded the business was insolvent.

The news comes two-and-a-half weeks after its ASX-listed parent company, ILH Group, was also placed in administration.

Michael Brereton, Cliff Rocke and John Bumbak of KordaMentha were appointed as joint administrators of Rockwell Olivier (Perth) Pty Ltd.

Mr Rocke told Business News he was keen to complete a sale of the business as quickly as possible.

He said options included the sale of the business as a going concern to its current staff, or a break-up of the business.

“A number of parties have shown interest in certain parts of the business,” he said.

“But it’s very early days, I was only appointed last night.”

Mr Rocke said the appointment was instigated by Rockwell Olivier’s Sydney-based director John Ridgway, who is also the firm’s head of legal services.

KordaMentha announced on December 24 that ILH Group has reached binding agreements for the sale of its Law Central and Capricorn Investment Partners subsidiaries.

Other ILH subsidiaries, including Rockwell Olivier’s Sydney and Melbourne arms, are continuing to operate on a business as usual basis.

Business News reported last month that the collapse of ILH Group followed a big loss in 2013-14, and the departure of many senior staff from Rockwell Olivier’s Perth office.

Rockwell Olivier was established as a national brand in May 2013, when ILH brought together its three legal operations - Sydney’s Argyle Lawyers, Melbourne’s Rockwell Bates and Perth-based Talbot Olivier.

Rockwell Olivier currently has eight partners and 21 legal staff in WA, ranking it number 32 on the BNiQ listing of WA law firms.