Peter Slattery was born in 1961 and grew up in Adelaide, South Australia. He completed high school in 1977 and university in 1982. During his youth he was particularly interested in tennis and Australian Rules football, while developing a professional focus on corporate law.
Slattery completed high school in 1977 and university in 1982. He holds a Bachelor of Laws and studied at the University of Adelaide. His legal education led directly to his admission to professional practice and the beginning of his corporate-law career in Adelaide.
Slattery began practising law with the Adelaide firm Finlaysons in 1983 and became a partner in 1988. Working in the firm's corporate group, he advised on corporate matters before undertaking a one-year secondment with the New York office of Sullivan & Cromwell in 1990–1991. In 1993 he joined Tony Johnson and Nigel Winter in founding Johnson Winter & Slattery with a group of other lawyers. The firm subsequently expanded beyond Adelaide, opening offices in Sydney in 2004, Melbourne in 2005, Perth in 2008 and Brisbane in 2010. Slattery served as the firm's managing partner from 1996 until mid-2021 and was responsible for its national development, including office openings, senior-partner recruitment, client-base development and the expansion of administrative and support functions. Earlier in his career he acted as lead adviser on mergers and acquisitions, capital raisings and major projects involving industries such as oil and gas, biotechnology, agriculture, insurance, and wines and beverages. He has also held non-executive director positions in commercial and not-for-profit organisations. In January 2022 he became Chairperson of the Legal Services Commission of South Australia.
Co-founded Johnson Winter & Slattery in 1993 and helped develop it from an Adelaide practice into a national law firm.
Led the national development of Johnson Winter & Slattery as managing partner from 1996 to 2021, overseeing office expansion, senior-partner recruitment, client development and support functions.
Peter Slattery has been listed as a reputable lawyer by Martindale-Hubbell.
Slattery has expressed support for a law-firm model that emphasises direct access to senior lawyers, quality of legal work, quality of service and commercial efficiency rather than individual fee targets or practice-group budgets.
Slattery has participated in professional and public-service activities through his leadership of Johnson Winter Slattery and his appointment as Chairperson of the Legal Services Commission of South Australia. The Commission provides legal assistance services in South Australia, including support for disadvantaged and vulnerable members of the community.
Slattery has described himself as increasingly committed to his work after joining Finlaysons, taking satisfaction in broad corporate responsibilities and professional challenges. He has articulated a preference for organisational models centred on senior-lawyer involvement, commercial acumen, service quality and limited internal bureaucracy.
Quotes from others about the person
He has been described by Johnson Winter Slattery as highly regarded for his commercial acumen and recognised as one of Australia's leading law-firm chief executives. The Legal Services Commission of South Australia has described him as a highly respected South Australian lawyer.
Slattery co-founded Johnson Winter & Slattery in 1993 with Tony Johnson and Nigel Winter after the three lawyers had worked together at Finlaysons. He has also maintained professional connections with commercial and not-for-profit organisations through non-executive director positions.
