Humble beginnings
From humble beginnings, Stacks law Firm has grown into one of Australia’s largest and most respected legal practices
by keeping at its core a genuine care for clients and their needs.
Stacks Law Firm owes its origin to a determined honours graduate from Sydney University, Edward Raymond Stack, who established a law firm in Wingham on the mid North coast of New South Wales during the Great Depression in 1931.
Ray Stack grew up on a small farm in the community of Bogan Gate near Parkes. He owed his legal career to a bursary from the Bogan Gate public school, which enabled him to attend Fort Street High School, where he obtained a scholarship to the university.
Ray Stack graduated in law from the University of Sydney at the height of the Great Depression. With no background in the law and with no contacts, employment was impossible, even for an honours graduate. Undaunted, he did his homework and selected Wingham on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales to open his own law firm.
Ray Stack never forgot his humble beginnings and devoted his life to providing a friendly and highly skilled service to the members of the community who came to his office. He achieved outstanding success as a lawyer, taking special interest in helping those less fortunate than himself. His ethos of genuine care for clients and providing expert legal service in a friendly manner at an affordable price was passed on to his three sons Ray, Maurie and Tim, who joined him in his legal practice in the 1970s.
To Taree and beyond
The arrival of Ray, Maurie and Tim and the opening by them of a new office in the nearby regional centre of Taree began a new period of growth for the firm. With growth came new and talented staff and when key people decided to relocate for one reason or another, the firm moved with them rather than lose expertise. That organic approach to growth saw the firm expand into many new destinations across NSW while also ensuring that the ethos of genuine care for clients continued.
Reform of the legal profession in the early 2000s was the catalyst for Stacks to think strategically about how best to organise itself to deliver the best outcome for clients into the future and a new, network model of practice was put into effect.
Today
Today, Stacks is a network of locally-owned, independent law firms that together employ more than 250 people across more than 25 locations in NSW, the ACT and QLD. We share a common brand and a common set of values, which has at its core a genuine care for clients and their needs.
By working together, Stacks firms can specialise in their chosen fields while still providing clients with access to a full range of specialist legal services by harnessing the expertise of others in the group. It also means Stacks firms are always improving the cost-effectiveness of the legal services they provide through the sharing of ideas and knowledge and joint investment in new technology and systems. All of this translates to a better outcome for clients.
