The $6,250-Per-Hour Tax Titan
Brisbane-based tax expert Mark Robertson, KC, has emerged as potentially Australia’s most expensive lawyer, commanding an astonishing $6,250 per hour or $50,000 for a full day’s work.
A confidential survey conducted by The Australian Financial Review among instructing solicitors and barristers’ clerks revealed the top pay rate.
Robertson’s fees significantly outpace those of other renowned barristers, including Bret Walker, SC, who typically charges around $25,000 daily.
With offices in both Brisbane and Sydney, Robertson has built a reputation for handling high-profile cases involving major entities such as PwC, Gina Rinehart, and Crown Resorts’ Perth casino.
While several other tax specialists command premium rates exceeding $30,000 per day, including Melbourne silks John de Wijn, KC, (pictured, right); David Bloom, KC, and Jennifer Batrouney, KC, (pictured, left) a highly respected tax adviser who has advised many professional associations and corporate, academic and government institutions, as well as consulting to the Australian Taxation Office
Robertson stands out as the clear frontrunner in the tax law arena with his sky high fees.
Practising from Wentworth Chambers, law profession insiders attribute Robertson’s success to his exceptional client relations and business acumen, according to the AFR report.
“He’s just so good with clients. Boards love him,” was one solicitor’s comment.
Despite his elite clientele, Robertson has maintained a low public profile, with his 2022 purchase of a $12.5 million riverside mansion in Tennyson (pictured) being his only notable media mention in the past decade.
As in several jurisdictions, tax experts consistently charge higher rates compared to their commercial bar counterparts with generally high net-worth clients and substantial amounts involved in the revenue and tax issues for which they seek top advice.
Some commercial silks even employ a dual pricing structure, with tax-related work attracting a 20-25 percent premium over the non-tax work. This price difference is partly justified by the substantially higher insurance premiums associated with tax law.
Robertson’s career trajectory includes roles as an associate to Federal Court Justice Trevor Hartigan, stints at PriceWaterhouse (now PwC) and Blake Dawson Waldron (now Ashurst), before joining the bar in 1996 and taking silk in 2013.
His expertise spans revenue law, trust law, and administrative law, with a particular focus on complex tax arrangements for multinational corporations.
Tax Expertise
He lectured at Bond University and has maintained his interest in academia, teaching post-graduate subjects in trust law and taxation, which lead to significant impact upon tax policy and tax reform issues in Australia.
His tax expertise saw him obtain a Bachelor of Civil Law from the University of Oxford and a Doctor of Juridical Studies from the University of Sydney. His Doctoral Thesis concerned the rights of beneficiaries in a capital gains tax context and his suggested tax reforms were sufficient to form the basis for the Tax Institute of Australia, the Institute of Chartered Accountants Australia and the Australian Society of Certified Practising Accountants’ submission to the Tax Law Improvement Project.
Unlike some of his peers Robertson reportedly has no interest in becoming a judge. His ability to command high fees is attributed to the complexity and high stakes involved in his cases, with his fees being tax-deductible as business expenses.
The article mentions other top-tier commercial law silks who can demand $25,000 or more per day, including Noel Hutley, SC, Justin Gleeson, SC, John Sheahan, KC, Philip Crutchfield, KC, and Peter Dunning, KC.
The AFR notes that Hutley has received up to $35,000 daily for trial work in Western Australia, where fees typically include a premium given the vastness of the Australian continent – which tends to also go with the vastness of the fees top lawyers can levy.
