Our story began in Angel Place in the heart of the city of Sydney in 1965 when Nicholas J Papallo OAM (affectionately known as ‘Nick’ by all who knew him) opened ‘NJ Papallo & Co’ which specialised in property and other areas such as estates, with various offices including in the city, in Ryde and in Turramurra.

The practice grew over the decades and at one point it had over two dozen employees.

By the early 1990s Nick decided to consolidate the practice within the city; by that time, he had established a strong client base throughout the CBD and preferred a more focused boutique-style practice that would allow him to service his clients more personally and efficiently. The firm therefore relocated and adopted a more streamlined operating model while continuing to provide the same high standard of service to its clients.

Following the path Nick had forged for the firm, by the early 2010s the firm had outgrown its earlier property practice and had moved into other areas including government, administrative law, and the media fields, handling all the litigation and dispute resolution processes that went hand in hand with practice in those fields.

By the mid-2010s, a more robust firm had developed which possessed a wealth of experience in a variety of areas.

After undergoing further evolution throughout the 2010s and into the mid-2020s, the firm entered a new phase in 2026, focused on versatility, the adoption of emerging technologies, and the expansion of its practice areas, including building and construction litigation. Having previously worked together, David Papallo and Richard Kouchoo reunited to form the collaboration that gave rise to the present-day practice, Papallo Kouchoo Lawyers. Alongside key contributors such as Giselle Casagrande, this next chapter builds upon a strong and enduring legacy. While the firm continues its long-standing tradition of managing complex transactions and disputes developed over more than six decades, it now also delivers increasingly focused advice across discrete and niche areas of law, particularly within the construction sector. This marks not merely a continuation, but a deliberate and forward-looking evolution of a respected and established practice.