KHQ LAWYERS - FIRM SPOTLIGHT
- Priyanka Sharma
- Jul 14
- 7 min read
Updated: Jul 22
Established: 2006
Size (personnel): 120
Office Locations (Australia): Melbourne
Practice Areas: Commercial Property & Development, Competition Law & Regulatory, Compliance, Construction & Infrastructure, Corporate & Commercial, Data Privacy, Cyber & Digital, Family & Relationship Law, Food & Beverage, Insolvency & Restructuring, Intellectual Property, Litigation & Dispute Resolution, Private Wealth Law, Superannuation & Financial Services, Tax & Structuring, Technology, Wills & Estates, Workplace Relations & Safety
ABOUT KHQ LAWYERS
In 2006, two lawyers with top tier and in-house experience had a revelation – that the traditional law firm service model was outdated. They realised clients often felt like six-minute billing blocks, not people with urgent needs, expectations, and commercial realities needing flexible and swift action. The notion that every client should feel supported, understood, and genuinely valued should not have been revolutionary, but it was – and they wanted to go further.
Their vision? To create a new style of law firm, one that paired the ‘boutique’ service fundamentals of flexibility, earned trust and personal relationships, with top-tier representation and expertise. That was the real lightbulb moment – boutique service, from top-tier lawyers, for top-tier clients. And so, in 2006 the firm was born, and with it a new category of law firm – the ‘boutique top-tier’.
Like any business the success of which stems from exceeding clients’ expectations, KHQ did not assume its offering was perfect from day one. The early years were focused on refining, innovating and listening to our clients to make the KHQ difference even more attractive, effective, and nimble.
This new genre of firm was perfectly suited to the evolving nature of technology, the unprecedented speed of doing business, and the practice of law. KHQ’s ability to deliver clarity of insight and action is paramount to its clients’ success.
Today, the KHQ experience is an established, respected, genuine full-service offering, delivering technically excellent, commercial solutions to leading corporates and private clients.
The KHQ bottom line – world class lawyers who believe that accountability matters, that personal service, availability and relationships are key, and that we are judged by our actions and our clients’ lived experiences.
RECENT NOTEWORTHY CASES INVOLVING KHQ LAWYERS
Examples of our recent work include the following.
Food innovation – regulatory approval for cell-cultured meat: Vow Food Group is an Australian--based biotechnology company, and the first company to ever seek regulatory approval of a lab-grown/cell-cultured meat product as food in Australia (and in other countries around the world). Given the highly innovative nature of its endeavour, Vow was supported by KHQ (acting as the company’s sole legal advisor on food and beverage regulation) in advising on its interactions with food regulators as well as import and export regulators.
M&A: We assisted the founders of CTRL in the sale of the shares in CTRL to Pemba Capital Partners and the rollup into a newly formed platform investment vehicle on which Pemba and CTRL would build their presence in the market. CTRL is a cyber-security testing and consulting business based in Melbourne with substantial standing in, and share of, the cyber market. We not only advised on the legal aspects of the transaction but also acted in a quasi-corporate advisory role to the founders of CTRL on various elements of the deal, including structuring back-end value to mitigate downside risk, while maximising upside potential.
Major infrastructure projects – Australia-wide: John Holland is a longstanding client. We are currently the company’s key strategic advisor on major infrastructure projects (totalling $30 billion+) nationally, including Melbourne Metro Tunnel and West Gate Tunnel Projects (Victoria), Gold Coast Light Rail (Queensland), M1 Pacific Highway and M7 Projects (New South Wales) and Torrens to Darlington Project (South Australia).
ACHIEVEMENTS OF KHQ LAWYERS AND ITS PEOPLE
We are proud to be consistently recognised by leading legal ranking directories, including Chambers & Partners, Legal 500 Asia Pacific and Doyle’s Guide. Notable recognition includes the following:
Employment law: our Workplace Relations & Safety team has been ranked a leading firm in Legal 500 Asia Pacific for a decade. Director, Chris Gianatti, is ranked a leading partner (and has been since 2015), with Michael Cochrane and Claire Brown recommended. Both Chris and the team are also ranked in Chambers & Partners, Doyles Guide and The Best Lawyers in Australia.
Wills & Estates: Ines Kallweit, Principal and head of the team, is widely regarded as one of the country’s leading experts in Wills and estates. She is ranked a preeminent practitioner in both the estate planning and estates litigation categories of Doyles Guide, with the firm also ranked Tier 1 in both categories.
Superannuation law: Natalie Cambrell is another practice group leader with an exceptional reputation in a highly complex area of law. Natalie is ranked in Chambers & Partners for superannuation law, and has been recognised in The Best Lawyers in Australia since 2010. The Best Lawyers also named her “Lawyer of the Year” in the superannuation law category in 2017, 2019, 2021 and 2025.
Private Wealth law: Jack Stuk has been ranked in the prestigious Chambers & Partners High Net Worth guide since 2018, with the firm also ranked in the same category.
This is just a snapshot – check out our website for details on other rankings.
HOW KHQ LAWYERS EMBODIES ITS MISSION
We call the set of values we live by ‘The KHQ Way’. It is the path that we choose to follow for our fundamental principles, behaviours, relationships, and accountability – to our clients and to each other.
With authentic values comes the understanding that they can never be fully mastered; they exist to guide continuous learning and improvement through practice. Understanding that the path is always evolving invites growth and new opportunities, while honouring our values each day transforms them into a way of being.
Dare to be different: We’re committed to continuous learning and improvement. We value individuality, encourage innovation, and never assume there’s only one way to solve a problem. Our people are supported to think differently, take initiative and grow.
Live the relationship: Relationships are central to everything we do. We take the time to understand our clients and each other, and we build trust through integrity, accountability and clear communication.
Delivering results: We focus on delivering real results. That means setting clear goals, following through on promises, and aiming to exceed expectations - without compromising quality.
The KHQ Way isn’t just words on a page. It’s how we work, every day.
WHAT SETS KHQ LAWYERS APART
We are very proud of our inclusive culture. We work diligently to foster an environment where everyone (regardless of background, identity or experience) is valued, supported, and given the opportunity to thrive. Examples of how we achieve this:
Open door policy: our open-plan office encourages collaboration within and across teams. More importantly, our people have ready access to directors and senior leaders and are encouraged to reach out, regardless of the issue. This open-door approach is enshrined in our Employee Handbook and reflects our commitment to transparency and accessibility at all levels.
Mentor and buddy program: every new team member is assigned a “buddy” (from another team or service area of the business) to help them settle in and feel connected to the firm, and to help with any questions they may have throughout their employment. We encourage our people to prioritise catch-ups with their buddies over coffee or lunch. In addition, everyone is assigned a mentor to help with professional development, which is a popular and successful program and has nurtured excellent working relationships, founded in mutual respect, between staff members of all levels.
Regular and inclusive staff functions: including monthly pizza lunches, Friday night drinks, games nights, trivia nights, movie outings and EOFY/Christmas celebrations. This involves group activities and meals and drinks to give our people time to unwind and enjoy each other’s company. This aids in promoting a culture of inclusiveness and support for our people.
Gender equality: our commitment to gender equity is reflected across the firm. Women comprise 60% of our total workforce, 37% of our senior leadership, and 52% of lawyers across the firm. We are proud to have strong female representation at all levels of the business and continue to implement initiatives that support gender-balanced leadership and career progression.
Strategic Alliance with Deheng: in June 2025, KHQ entered into a strategic alliance project with one of the largest law firms in China, DeHeng. The alliance combines KHQ’s expertise with the global reach of DeHeng, which has more than 5,000 legal professionals across 16 countries. Our clients will benefit from the combined expertise and world class talent of both firms - one seamless, culturally fluent touch point across twenty practice areas. Whether clients are investing in Australia, expanding into China, or navigating complex cross border deals, the alliance creates a bridge between east and west and genuine cross-cultural understanding.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR LAW STUDENTS AND GRADUATES
Each year, KHQ welcomes a small group of outstanding graduates to join our 12-month graduate program, which involves quarterly rotations through our practice groups. The program affords a well-rounded understanding of each team’s work and helps graduates to make informed decisions about their long-term direction. Graduates will be mentored by one of KHQ’s directors over the course of their graduate year, together with practice group mentors and buddies to help them settle into KHQ life, and ultimately to succeed in their roles. Graduates should be prepared for a busy social calendar early on, with plenty of coffees and lunches designed to help them build connections across the firm.
We support our graduates every step of the way with guidance, feedback and opportunities to learn.
THE FUTURE AT KHQ LAWYERS
KHQ Lawyers was founded on a simple but powerful idea: that exceptional legal services could be delivered smarter, faster and with more flexibility than the traditional law firm model allowed. We have carved out a distinct niche in the legal services market as the originator of the boutique top tier segment. This means we combine the technical excellence and commercial acumen of a top-tier firm with the agility, accessibility and pragmatism of a boutique.
Looking ahead, we are focused on sustainable growth, expanding our capabilities in key practice areas while staying true to what makes us different. At the same time, we are investing in emerging areas to ensure we can support our clients through an increasingly complex and rapidly changing legal landscape.
Our culture is one of our greatest strengths and is a key element in our success. We value collaboration over hierarchy and substance over show. Our people are smart, curious and down-to-earth. We foster an environment where everyone, regardless of seniority, is encouraged to think commercially, act with integrity and question assumptions. That mindset shapes the way we work with clients and the way we develop our people.
We are excited about the future. As the legal profession continues to evolve, so too will KHQ - always with the same commitment to delivering great outcomes for our clients and great careers for our people. For graduates, this means the opportunity to make your mark early, learn directly from experienced practitioners and grow within a firm that is building something different.
