The first 200 years of Allens
This year Allens will turn 200. Having begun in 1822 as a one-person legal practice in a modest cottage on Elizabeth Street in Sydney, today Allens is Australia’s oldest law firm. Allens has grown with Australia, advising on many of the landmark major economic and social events that have shaped the nation. Join us as we relive some of the highlights from the first 200 years of Allens and explore their impact on our lives today.
Listen on:
Episodes
Tuesday Nov 08, 2022
Tuesday Nov 08, 2022
Step back into the 1980s to relive the deal that was not just the largest in Australian history, but also helped to define the identity of an Australian corporate giant and cement the country's position as a major player on the global market. BHP's acquisition of the construction company Utah International from General Electric in 1984 was an ambitious deal that brought with it huge economic and political benefits that can still be felt in Australia today. And Allens was at its epicentre.
Friday Aug 05, 2022
Friday Aug 05, 2022
Today, it’s easy to take for granted our ability to read any book we choose, but it wasn’t always this way. Until the 1970s, Australia was governed by some of the most severe censorship regulations in the Western world. The publication of Phillip Roth's book Portnoy's Complaint in 1969 proved to be the tipping point for fundamental change to censorship in Australia.
From secret print runs, illegal sales and bootleg copies to colourful court scenes including testimony from Australian literary icons like Patrick White, this story will make you think twice about the freedoms we now have to read whatever we choose.
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Friday Aug 05, 2022
Friday Aug 05, 2022
Listen as the descendants of Prime Minister Ben Chifley and Allens partner Norman Cowper, along with banking experts, economists and historians, relive the moment Australia's banks were saved from nationalisation in a nail-biting legal battle that made it all the way to the Privy Council in London.
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Friday Aug 05, 2022
Friday Aug 05, 2022
Listen to Allens lawyer and proud member of the LGBTQ+ community Caitlin Burke, Equality Australia CEO Anna Brown, partner and ALLin Co-Chair Robert Walker and others recount Australia's emotional journey to marriage equality and the role Allens played in challenging the Federal Government's decision to annul same-sex marriages in the ACT.
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