Alison Cui, Commercial Law Partner at HNT Legal in Parramatta

How long has HNT Legal been in Parramatta?

HNT Legal is an all service firm (with major practices in commercial and corporate law, small business law, litigation and dispute resolution, family law, property and conveyancing, wills and estates and criminal law). We have been servicing clients in Western Sydney since the 1950's and have proudly been part of Parramatta for the last 11 years.

Why did HNT Legal choose Parramatta?

Our law firm chose parramatta for a number of reasons but the main thing that stuck out was that we wanted to be in the beating heart of the Western Sydney community.

We understand our clients, we speak their languages, literally and figuratively, and we live in the community.

1) Location 

The location of Parramatta is great for our staff and our clients. Most of our staff live within a short bus, train, walk, and soon enough Metro or Light Rail ride away. It’s very convenient.

2) Local talent

There’s a huge amount of local talent in Parramatta with five amazing Universities providing us with great lawyers, admin staff and paralegals. A lot of our lawyers actually obtained their law degrees in Parramatta. It’s amazing to have these facilities here in Parramatta.

3) Rapidly growing client base

We have access to a huge rapidly growing client base in Parramatta and in the Great Western Sydney area. I’ve been fortunate enough to work with clients in different industries including education, real estate, childcare, as well as professional and financial services. I’m really excited to be on my clients’ growth journeys.

4) Parramatta Justice Precinct 

Parramatta’s Justice Precinct has been really great for our court-based lawyers, with most major courts in one central area.

5) Parramatta’s vibrancy

We love the vibrancy and diversity that Parramatta brings in terms of its night-life offerings. You’ll often find us at an Indian restaurant on Friday nights or you might even find us getting a Banh Mi during the week.

What sets Parramatta apart as a place to do business?

Apart from being the geographical centre of Sydney, what sets Parramatta apart is its individuality. Every person, every business has their own story of how they got there, what they’re doing now, and where they want to be.

What are you most excited about for the future of legal services in Parramatta? 

With the population of Parramatta set to double by 2036, there’ll be a huge influx of people and businesses who will be requiring legal and professional services, which we’re really excited about.

Why should businesses be based in Parramatta?

Businesses should be based in Parramatta because there is so much opportunity here, given the diversity of its population as well as its businesses, and access to different industries. 

With its centrality to different suburbs in Sydney, it’s a great place to be located for people to gain access to and be a part of that journey of up-and-coming industries.

Danielle Camilet, Paralegal at HNT Legal in Parramatta

What do you love about living and working in Parramatta?

Parramatta is central to everything. I live a short 10-minute walk from work and it’s only a 20-minute train ride away to the Sydney CBD too. 

Working and living in Parramatta I’m spoilt for choice, with so many restaurants, bars and cafes, there’s always something for you to do here after work and after Uni. The team at HNT Legal does monthly drinks, food, and activities like Escape Rooms and Paint & Sip Classes. There is a wealth of options of things to do after work in Parramatta. 

I love the entertainment options from the Riverside Theatres to the new Parramatta Aquatic Centre, and the proximity to Westfield for shopping. 

There’s a great sense of community in Parramatta as well. I really love living and working here.

What do you like about working at HNT Legal?

HNT Legal is unique in that we come from a variety of different backgrounds, and we can really use our differences to better serve our clients. 

I love the collaborative spirit we have here. There’s no ego or pride in getting help from one another. We’re able to do what’s best for our clients by using our own specialities and using our own strengths. I think it’s really unique in that way. It’s warm and inviting, we try and make the law as accessible as we can which is how I think the law should be.

How do your clients benefit from HNT Legal being based in Parramatta?

Most of our clients do live locally and we get a lot of word-of-mouth referrals. 

Being only a short walk away from the Justice Precinct as well, it’s really easy for our clientele to access different services in the Legal department.

What are you most excited about for the future of Parramatta?

I’m excited to see how all the building developments go and seeing the different businesses that migrate here. It will change the landscape here and I’m keen to see Parramatta becoming the new central city, particularly when the transport options come through like the Light Rail. 
 

Visit HNT Legal to find out more about their services 

SCHOOL HOLIDAY ACTIVITIES

There is so much to do and see these summer school holidays!

Holiday fun at your library 

Escape the heat at PHIVE 

Get out and get active with the Active Parramatta School holiday program

Make a splash at The PAC

Holiday programs for any interest imaginable at Syndey Olympic Park 

Downloads

Download the latest version of City Happenings below.

Your City Happenings - December

Your City Happenings - Easy Read

Your City Happenings - Accessible

What is the Parramatta Legal & Justice Coalition?

The Parramatta Legal and Justice Coalition is a group of universities, businesses, law firms, barrister chambers, as well as the City of Parramatta Council, who have come together to promote Parramatta and its surrounds as a centre for access to justice in Western Sydney. 

What have the Parramatta Legal & Justice Coalition been advocating for?

We have been advocating principally for a more permanent presence of the superior Courts in Parramatta. At the moment we have regular sittings of the Local Court of NSW, but we’re hoping to attract more civil sittings of the District Court of NSW, Supreme Court of NSW, Federal Court of Australia and High Court of Australia.

What kind of advocacy work has the Coalition been doing?

We have been meeting with various heads of jurisdictions, politicians, State and Federal members of Parliament to promote an awareness of Parramatta and its potential for further sittings of the various courts in Parramatta.

Why is it important to advocate for an expansion of the Parramatta Justice Precinct?

Parramatta is the geographical centre of Sydney and it’s had a huge explosion in population, so it makes sense that there are regular Court sittings here in Parramatta rather than a predominance of court sittings in the Sydney CBD.

There’s been a huge growth in population and an increase in the number of businesses that have relocated here - the four major accounting firms are now here in Parramatta. There’s so much construction and investment in infrastructure - we’ve got the Parramatta Light Rail and we’ll have greater connectivity between Parramatta and the Sydney CBD with the Metro.

There’s a lot of business going on and we think there is a real need for a greater focus on the expansion of the Legal Precinct here in Parramatta. We’ve got great court facilities but they need to be better utilised and expanded so that the people of Western Sydney can more readily access justice here in Parramatta.

What benefits could there be for Parramatta in having an expanded Justice Precinct?

It will continue to grow Parramatta as the geographical and commercial centre of Sydney.

There’d be a huge growth in jobs. We’ve done studies to suggest the number of legal jobs has grown and will continue to grow with the population. More businesses will benefit from having more access to justice here in Parramatta.

It’s very important that people can have their cases dealt with in Court, in close proximity to where they live or do business. 

Why did McAuley Lawyers choose Parramatta?

My firm McAuley Lawyers saw Parramatta as a sleeping giant in terms of the potential for growth. Parramatta has tremendous potential for growth over the next five to ten years, with the population forecasted to grow, the increasing number of jobs and businesses opening up here in Parramatta. There’s so much potential. We saw Parramatta as a great opportunity for our firm.

What opportunities do you envisage for the future of legal services in Parramatta?

The superior courts sitting on a regular basis in Parramatta will expand the number of legal jobs in and around Parramatta, and is in line with the population and business growth in the west of Sydney.  This will lead to further development of the existing law schools in and around Parramatta which are already producing outstanding lawyers.  The Parramatta region is already the fastest growing region in terms of number of lawyers, and this will only increase in the years ahead.