When Charles Coffey Russell established his law practice in Wollongong in 1885, the colony of New South Wales was less than 100 years old and Wollongong was a small town serving the farming communities of the Illawarra. Its main industries were farming, timber-cutting and fishing. Coal mining was starting to boom, but the steel industry that was to transform the region was still four decades away.
Mr Russell had not long arrived from Belfast, where he had studied at Queen's University and practised law before emigrating with his family to New South Wales, and settling in Corrimal. Within days of opening his practice he was advertising in the Illawarra Mercury that his was "the office for obtaining probates, letters of administration etc).
Two years later in 1887 another Irishman, Keiran Ryan, founded a law practice in Kiama, the picturesque quarrying and dairying town 35 km south along the coast.
The two firms became established as the leading legal practices in the district. Interestingly, Kiama Courthouse records show Mr Ryan and Mr Russell first appeared in court together on 27 April, 1888.
Mr Ryan was followed into his practice by his son Bobby and the firm grew into Ryan Watkins Kearns & Garside (abbreviated in 1969 to simply Kearns & Garside). Meanwhile Mr Russell's practice grew into Russell McLelland Brown (affectionately known as Russell Mac's).
Australia became a nation in 1901, but the really big change in Wollongong occurred in 1928 when the Port Kembla Steelworks opened. It sparked the Illawarra's transformation into the industrial heartland of Australia.
In 1975 the region witnessed another major milestone, when the Wollongong University College gained its autonomy and became the University of Wollongong (UOW). Like the establishment of the Steelworks, this was to have a hugely significant impact on the region. UOW has become one of the most successful universities in Australia, transforming Wollongong into a "university city" as well as a centre of manufacturing and commerce. These days many of RMB's outstanding young lawyers are graduates of UOW's excellent Faculty of Law.
By the start of the 21st century RMB Lawyers had evolved into a large, multi-dimensional law practice with an outstanding reputation across NSW. In fact, such was its standing that it was used as the test bed for the new Law 9000 legal accreditation in 2004, and became the first legal firm in New South Wales to gain the accreditation. The legal profession's quality management organisation QL Inc awarded RMB's Managing Partner Craig Osborne that year's Phillip King Memorial Award for his leadership role with the introduction of Law 9000.
Meanwhile, Kearns & Garside had developed a specialisation in local government, planning and property law, with a reputation and client base that extended well beyond the Illawarra's borders. Partners Sandy Rendel, an Accredited Specialist in Property Law and Peter Moggach, an Accredited Specialist in Local Government and Planning Law, had built up a large and diverse client base in the property development, planning and local government areas. They were looking for opportunities to provide the broad spread of legal services in the expanding Kiama district.
It was a perfect match when, in 2005, the Illawarra's two longest-established law firms merged. RMB gained Kearns & Garside's specialties while the town of Kiama gained the full resources of the larger RMB group, with the merger allowing Kearns & Garside to greatly expand the services it provided from its Collins St offices.
Since the merger the combined firm has continued to expand, opening an office in Dapto in 2006.
In the same year, RMB entered into an alliance with Shoalhaven firm Morton & Harris that saw RMB's specialist lawyers regularly working from Morton & Harris' Kinghorne offices in Nowra offering Compensation and Family Law services.
That shared arrangement was such a success in the following two years that the two firms agreed on a merger which took effect on 1 July 2008.
The merger provided RMB with a strong presence in the Shoalhaven, as Morton + Harris had been established for 70 years, while boosting the firm's specialist expertise. Morton & Harris partner Ross Dixon is the only Accredited Specialist in Wills and Estates on the coast between Sydney and Victorian border, while his fellow partner Grant Gleeson is one of only three Accredited Specialists in Local Government and Planning Law (one of the others being Mr Moggach).
The merger also gave Shoalhaven residents access to RMB's complete range of legal services without having to travel outside the district. Since the merger Compensation and Family Law services in the Shoalhaven have expanded, and other specialist lawyers from the Wollongong and Kiama offices now work in Nowra as required.
Morton & Harris partners Ross Dixon and Grant Gleeson say the merger, in offering Shoalhaven residents far greater depth and resources in legal services, reflects the growing importance of Nowra as a regional centre.
"It's a vote of confidence in the Shoalhaven. At a time when regional centres across NSW are struggling to retain professional people and skilled tradesmen, the Shoalhaven is getting a significant boost to its legal services," Mr Gleeson said. "That's great news for the Shoalhaven's commercial sector, as well as the wider community."
Also in 2008, RMB opened a Compensation Law branch office at the Centre Health Complex in Barrack Heights.
Reflecting RMB's growth, in June 2008 the firm appointed its first external chairman, experienced business executive Murray Steele, to provide high-level management experience, commercial expertise and strategic advice to the firm
Mr Steele, the former chief executive officer of Metal Manufactures (MM), is an experienced senior executive who has managed large scale international businesses.
Managing partner Craig Osborne said appointing an external chairman was a logical step for the expanded RMB Lawyers group, which with the Shoalhaven merger had developed the strongest legal presence on the NSW South Coast and grown into one of the largest regional law firms in NSW.
"We have effectively doubled the size of our business in three years, and we are delighted to have someone of Murray Steele's experience and business acumen to help guide the firm's strategic objective of sustainable and sensible growth," Mr Osborne said.
The firm expanded to Bowral in August 2009, moving into the offices of Garry Barnsley, a long-serving and much admired lawyer who had decided to retire after 37 years serving the Southern Highlands.
From the start RMB offered a full range of legal services to Southern Highlands residents - allowing Mr Barnsley to move progressively into full retirement and concentrate on his other passion, writing plain-language books of legal templates.
Mr Osborne said succeeding Mr Barnsley in his law practice was an honour for RMB Lawyers.
"Garry Barnsley has made an extraordinary contribution to the Southern Highlands, both as a lawyer with a reputation for published writings on many legal topics, and in his many public roles - including founding Bowral's famous Bradman Museum," Mr Osborne said. "So it was a great privilege for our firm to succeed Garry, as we had long admired him and his work. We were delighted to be able to provide a succession option for his existing clients and of course develop relationships with new clients in the Southern Highlands."
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