Lawyers Weekly reports that Mr Kapp slated global firms for being run from London and New York as he  sat next to A&O's Australia managing partner Grant Fuzi, also a former Clayton Utz colleague of his.

'Struggle'

'I am not a huge fan of the international firms,' said Mr Kapp, 'they obviously have a place, and Grant and I are old friends...but our experience was that it is run out of London and New York and you will struggle with billing because it is run on New York and London rates, and the New York and London firms will throw 75 people at due diligence while we will send two junior lawyers down there'.

Exchange rate

Mr Kapp, who once headed the now collapsed global law firm Andersen Legal in Australia, further argued his case with his experience of being set US-dollar rates for the Australian partners, meaning they were costing $1,000 more than their Australian competitors.
Despite their years of collaboration at Clayton Utz, Mr Fuzi, stoically defended international firms and countered Mr Kapp's arguments by declaring the need to 'dispel a couple of myths'. 'This concept that London tells an Australian office what to charge because of the exchange rate is rubbish, and this concept that they impose UK budgets on Australian partners is, again, rubbish.'