Mellor Olsson is a long-standing and respected South Australian owned and operated independent law firm, providing specialist legal advice to families and businesses across the State. We focus on our clients’ needs and ensure we achieve the best outcome for them.
Our lawyers are leaders in their respective fields who strive to improve the lives and businesses of our valued clients.
What has been consistent throughout our existence are the fundamental principles of our business: a strong commitment to South Australia, a core focus on servicing clients, both in Adelaide and in regional areas, and a dedication to providing the highest quality legal advice with personalised service.
We are one of the largest full service legal firms operating in South Australia. We employ more than 90 people in our head office based in the Adelaide CBD and permanently staffed regional offices in Clare, Port Lincoln and the Barossa Valley. We also regularly visit towns in the Eyre Peninsula, Mid North, South East and Yorke Peninsula.
We take a pragmatic and commercial approach to our dealings which, when combined with our high quality standards and a personalised approach, are crucial in building successful and long-term relationships with our clients.
Our values
At Mellor Olsson, our purpose is to have a positive impact on our clients’ personal, commercial and financial lives. Put simply, we’re here to help other South Australian individuals and businesses succeed.
To ensure we are able to do this, we look for staff and clients who embody and embrace our firm values. These are:
- Excellence - We are the best version of ourselves
- Respect - We demonstrate regard for other’s feelings, wishes, rights, opinions, skills and knowledge
- Integrity - We do the right thing with honesty and through genuine conversations
- Care - We are invested in our people and our clients
- United - We are in it together.
Our history
The name "Mellor Olsson" was first used after the merger of Mellors and Olssons in February 1992, when the two firms saw an opportunity to bring their commercial clients and personal practices together, forming a natural balance to the other’s business.
Mellors originated from the firm of W&T Pope in 1875 while Olssons originally formed in 1909.
Since this initial merger, we’ve been three more, with Bonnins in 2001, Jenkins Anderson in 2013 and Heuzenroeders Lawyers in 2023.
Bonnins was established in the 1800’s and eventually named after well-known senior partner and 1960s Adelaide businessman, Frew Bonnin. This merger contributed to further growth for the firm with Bonnins' strong commercial and IT client base complimenting Mellor Olsson’s existing service offering, while increasing internal specialisation.
Our mergers with Jenkins Anderson and Heuzenroeders Lawyers have created a law firm with one of the largest footprints across regional SA. This expanded footprint has allowed us to further deliver on our mantra of providing legal services to businesses, individuals and government entities across South Australia.
While the firm itself and the nature of legal practice has changed considerably since our origins in 1875, vital elements such as the trust and confidence of our clients remain as important to us as ever.
Our community
We recognise that businesses have a need to contribute back to the communities in which we work, and we do this in a number of different ways.
We do not outsource any of our operations overseas and, as much as possible, we use local, SA based companies. Our preference is always to support other SA businesses where the choice exists to do so.
We also provide financial support for various community groups in South Australia and sponsor a wide range of clubs, events and charities on an annual basis in various locations throughout the State.
Additionally, the firm has casual Fridays each week during which staff are encouraged to make donations to a different monthly charity, and a number of our employees voluntarily sit on not-for-profit Boards.