O'Brien Solicitors

What O'Brien Solicitors does

O'Brien Criminal & Civil Solicitors is a privately-held, founder-owned Sydney-based law firm established in 2004 by Principal Solicitor Peter O'Brien. The firm delivers legal representation across three practice areas — criminal defence, civil litigation, and defamation — serving individual clients rather than enterprises, with matters ranging from summary traffic offences through to murder, sexual assault, institutional abuse claims, and reputation matters. Although headquartered at Sydney CBD, the firm serves clients across Australia via phone and video consultations alongside in-person meetings.

The firm's practice areas are organised around specialist sub-services: the criminal defence line includes assault, sexual offences, drug charges, driving offences (drink driving and drug driving), firearms, homicide, robbery, protest arrests, and white-collar crime (including ASIC investigations and vape importation matters). The civil practice handles discrimination, fair trading, false arrest and unlawful imprisonment across multiple Australian jurisdictions, specialist sexual abuse claims (historic and institutional), medical negligence, professional misconduct hearings, and coronial inquests. The firm does not operate a proprietary technology platform; its digital footprint consists of a WordPress-based website with content marketing, social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram), online booking, and earned media coverage as legal experts. The team comprises Principal Solicitors (Peter O'Brien in criminal; Stewart O'Connell in defamation), additional criminal and civil solicitors, paralegals, and a practice manager, with multiple Law Society Accredited Specialists.

Revenue is generated through three billing models: fixed fees for specific matters (e.g., A$2,200 flat fee for most drink driving cases), hourly billing for most criminal, civil, and defamation work, and no-win-no-fee arrangements for claims against police, institutional abuse, and selected defamation matters. The firm maintains Legal Aid NSW panel lawyer status, enabling representation of government-funded clients, and offers pro bono and reduced-fee services at the Principal's discretion. Distribution is direct-to-consumer via the Sydney office and remote consultations, supplemented by content marketing, media appearances, Google Reviews (4.6 stars across 120 reviews), and online search visibility. The firm holds multiple NSW Law Society, Doyle's Guide, APAC Insider, and Australian Law Council recognitions, including the 2024 Presidents Medal awarded to founder Peter O'Brien.

Name

O'Brien Solicitors

Legal name

O'Brien Criminal & Civil Solicitors

Website

https://obriensolicitors.com.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

O'Brien Criminal & Civil Solicitors is a privately-held Sydney-based law firm founded in 2004 that provides criminal defence, civil litigation, and defamation legal services to individual clients across Australia, led by Principal Solicitor Peter O'Brien with 25+ years of experience.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legal Services

NAICS

Offices of Lawyers (541110), Offices of Lawyers (54111), Legal Services (5411)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Litigation Support & Expert Witness Services (BPAHALAG)

Keywords

• Criminal defence law
• Civil litigation
• Defamation law
• Legal representation
• Solicitor services

Headquarters

HQ city

Sydney

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Legal Fee - Flat Fee: Fixed fee arrangements for specific matter types such as drink driving cases at $2,200 flat fee, providing cost certainty for clients.
2. Legal Fee - Hourly/Time-based: Traditional hourly billing for criminal, civil, and defamation matters with flexible payment plans to accommodate client financial situations.
3. No Win No Fee: Conditional fee arrangements available for claims against police or corrective services, claims against institutions for abuse, and some defamation matters. Clients pay no legal costs if case is unsuccessful.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

O'Brien Solicitors is a Sydney-based law firm that provides legal representation and advice to clients facing criminal charges, civil disputes, and defamation matters. The firm represents individuals in court proceedings, handles negotiations, and provides ongoing legal counsel across its core practice areas.

Product overview

O'Brien Criminal & Civil Solicitors is a Sydney-based law firm providing a unified suite of legal services across three core practice areas: Criminal Defence, Civil Law, and Defamation. The Criminal Defence practice serves as the primary service line, encompassing specialist sub-services for specific charge types (assault, sexual assault, drug offences, traffic/drink driving, firearms, murder, robbery, protest arrests, and white-collar crimes). The Civil Law practice handles victim compensation, abuse claims, discrimination, medical negligence, and police misconduct cases. The Defamation practice protects clients' reputations against media, social media, and workplace defamation. Services include free initial consultations, flexible payment plans, and no win-no fee arrangements in select practice areas.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Criminal Defence Representation Legal representation and advice for individuals facing criminal charges, police investigations, and court proceedings across all levels of the NSW court system.
• Civil Litigation Representation for individuals in civil disputes, including claims, defences, and court proceedings in matters such as contractual disputes and other civil claims.
• Defamation Law Legal advice and representation for individuals whose reputations have been harmed by defamatory publications, including pursuing or defending defamation claims.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• PEXA Property Exchange AustraliaminorOthersMember of PEXA Property Exchange Australia, a digital property settlement platform. This membership indicates a peripheral connection to the property law ecosystem but does not represent a core strategic partnership for the firm's criminal, civil, and defamation practice areas.
• Legal Aid NSWcoreOthersPanel Lawyer status with Legal Aid NSW, enabling the firm to represent clients who qualify for government-funded legal assistance. This is an important partnership for providing access to justice for financially disadvantaged clients.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• LegalVision: Tech-enabled Australian law firm offering fixed-fee legal services across many practice areas including defamation and civil disputes. Comparable as a larger, technology-forward incumbent operating in overlapping consumer and SME legal segments.
• Shine Lawyers: Large Australian plaintiff and criminal law firm with national offices and a No Win No Fee model across many practice areas. Comparable as a much larger incumbent offering overlapping criminal defence and civil claims capabilities under similar fee structures.
• Slater and Gordon: National Australian law firm with criminal, civil litigation, and defamation practices alongside large personal-injury operations. Comparable as a broader incumbent whose multi-disciplinary portfolio overlaps with O'Brien's service lines.

Direct peers

• Armstrong Legal: Mid-sized Australian law firm offering criminal defence, traffic law, and family law services across multiple states. Directly comparable as a similarly sized multi-practice firm targeting individual clients with fixed-fee and payment-plan offerings.
• Sydney Defence Lawyers: Sydney-based criminal defence firm covering assault, drug, drink driving, and traffic offences. Directly comparable because of shared geographic market and concentrated criminal-defence practice.
• Sydney Criminal Lawyers: Specialist criminal defence firm in Sydney offering a similar criminal law practice (assault, drug, drink driving, traffic, fraud, sexual offences) to individuals. Directly comparable because of overlapping service lines, geographic market, and individual client focus.
• Stacks Law Firm: Established Sydney-headquartered firm with criminal law, civil litigation, and defamation capabilities among other practice areas. Comparable due to similar multi-disciplinary Sydney focus and individual-client orientation.
• Boss Lawyers: Australian criminal defence firm specialising in drink driving, drug driving, and traffic offences. Comparable due to similar Sydney footprint and consumer-facing fixed-fee criminal defence model.
• McAuliffe Legal: Sydney-based criminal defence firm covering drink driving, drug offences, assault, and fraud. Comparable due to similar Sydney market focus and individual criminal-defence client base.

Regional players

• Carroll & O'Dea: Mid-sized Sydney-based firm with civil litigation, defamation, and insurance law practices. Comparable as a Sydney-focused firm with overlapping civil and defamation expertise rather than primary criminal defence work.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/obriensolicitor
• Facebookfacebook.com/CriminalDefenceLawyer
• Instagraminstagram.com/obriensolicitors
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/o-brien-criminal-and-civil-solicitors

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about O'Brien Solicitors