180 years of legal excellence

Geelong law firm Harwood Andrews celebrates its 182nd birthday this October, making it nine years older than the state of Victoria, and 17 years older than the Geelong Football Club.

And, like the Cats, Harwood Andrews can lay claim to being significantly woven into Geelong’s social fabric, in fact even more so than the club that formed at the Victoria Hotel in 1859.

Geelong’s oldest law firm, Harwood Andrews now has more than 150 people and can trace its links back to the city’s first solicitor, Henry Tyssen.

He hung out his shingle when Geelong consisted of 450 people, 42 houses and plenty of tents.

Sir Charles Sladen, a major public figure of his day and briefly Premier of Victoria, administered Tyssen’s estate after Tyssen died in 1842.

That marks the birth of the firm that would become Harwood & Pincott in the late 1800s, and then Harwood Andrews when it merged with Andrews & Backhouse in 1992.

Harwood Andrews believes that by making the right connections, its clients and the broader community will create a future in which individuals, business and government thrive when connected with the firm’s judgement and expertise.

The firm prides itself on providing specialist commercial and personal legal knowledge and expertise to the Geelong community in the following areas:

• Commercial law
• Dispute resolution and litigation
• Planning and environment
• Property law
• Wills and estates
• Employment law and Occupation health and safety, and
• Family law

Harwood Andrews aims to use its knowledge and expertise to better the community, and provides substantial pro bono services to charities and not for profits.

The firm invests in meaningful partnerships that better the community in a range of sectors including children’s health, disability, business, sport and tourism, and believes collaboration is key to enhancing the community.

“The Geelong Chamber of Commerce plays a vital role in supporting and strengthening the Geelong business community,” Harwood Andrews principal Paul Gray said.

“It provides education and training, advocates for policies that support economic growth, and fosters connection and networking opportunities with individual business owners who may not have that opportunity otherwise.

“The Geelong Chamber of Commerce does a fantastic job in creating a vibrant, thriving and welcoming local business community.”

For more, head to harwoodandrews.com.au