Partner

Location: Brisbane
Discipline: partner & special counsel
Job type: Permanent
Salary: Uncapped Earnings
Contact name: Craig Ashton-Sward

Contact email: craig@lawstaff.com.au
Job ref: P271121
Published: over 2 years ago
  • Partner | National Law firm
  • Recipient of Numerous Awards
  • Uncapped Earnings for You as a Principal
  • March 2022 Start Negotiable
THE FIRM
 
This is a firm with a deep level of technical capability while also being relatively young, respectful and highly collaborative. 

It has established itself as an award-winning, fast-growing and full-service commercial law firm that is driving transformation in the legal profession and re-humanising how the law is practised. It comprises more than 40 Principals, offering services across 20+ practice areas, from 4 offices across Australia.

Like any successful legal practice they offer you the benefits of:
  • providing a full service offering for your clients;
  • internally generated and referred work;
  • team work and collegiality;
  • all the services and support you need including junior lawyers, paralegals, technology, marketing, operations and finance.
Unlike conventional law firms, the Board has removed outdated conventions that hold so many lawyers back: 
  • No longer will you have billable hour targets and budgets as you work whatever hours you choose;
  • Presentee-ism is non-existent as you may work from their CBD offices, or remotely from your home;
  • There are no restrictive policies in relation to charge-out rates as you choose how you meet client demands on fees;
  • Partner meetings and financial reporting is no longer a burden as you control what you do and how much you bill;
  • For any sole practitioner, the administrative and financial micromanagement of running a practice is delegated to the central operational team to handle for you.
The result is a modern, progressive law firm, that offers generous market-leading financial rewards to their Principals, true flexibility and genuine decision-making control. And it works.

They are lauded as one of Australia's leading practices in key areas of law, as well as in its innovation, to the point where they have been the recipient of numerous awards.
 
THE ROLE
   
The Board has a strategic plan of expanding further with the lateral appointment of an additional Partner to each their Brisbane practice groups. The appointment may also accommodate a Special Counsel looking to step up to Partner level on commencement.  

The preferred candidate will have a skillset in one of the following key areas:

Dispute Resolution: 
  • Corporate Insolvency - secured recovery; preference claims; oppression actions; shareholder litigation; directors' duties; winding up applications; corporate restructuring and trade-on arrangements; or
  • Construction Litigation - BIFA claims; security of payment issues; adjudications; construction disputes; or
  • General Commercial Litigation - disputes under the Corporations Act; breach of contract; Consumer Protection issues; real property disputes; resources disputes.
or Corporate Commercial:
  • Mergers & Acquisitions - capital raisings; private equity; equity capital markets; acquisitions an disposals; takeovers;
  • Corporate Advisory - corporate start-ups and restructures; joint ventures; regulatory compliance; corporate governance.
or Workplace Relations | Employment Law:
  • drafting and advising on employment agreements and contracts;
  • enterprise bargaining agreements;
  • front and back end workplace health and safety matters;
  • unfair dismissal proceedings and unlawful terminations;
  • restraint of trade issues; and
  • workplace harassment and bullying claims.
or Property Law:
  • complex commercial, industrial and residential property transactions;
  • property development;
  • off the plan contracts;
  • body corporate and  community title matters including advising on titling structures and good governance of community title schemes, by laws, and new community management statements;
  • body corporate litigation and dispute resolution;
  • retail, commercial and industrial leasing transitions;
  • liquor licensing and gaming; and
  • planning and environment litigation.
WHAT YOU NEED

The expectations are genuinely for 8-25 years post-admission experience, in any one of these service lines. A fair portion of that experience must have been recently obtained within Brisbane firm.

Indicative of your skillset in servicing these demographic clients, you will have existing relationships at various levels within the commercial arena. 
 
In addition, you will have a high level of commercial acumen and a strong client focus.


WHAT YOU GET
   
This is a lateral appointment at Partner level were your earnings will be uncapped and limited only by your own application to work. This is not to work harder, but smarter, allowing you to focus on servicing your clients without the distraction of administrative issues. Your earnings will be well in excess of industry benchmarks without the need to compromise on prestige or resources. As a guide, if you have Personal Fees of:
  • $400,000 then you will earn $280,000 p.a. at this firm.
  • $600,000 you will earn $420,000 p.a.
  • $750,000 you will earn $525,000 p.a.
  • $1.2M you will earn $840,000 p.a.
  • $1.5M you will earn $1,050,000 p.a.
While other firms are cost-shedding to maintain their profit pool, this firm maintains an extensive national back-office infrastructure that underpins the very success of each partner. They have had zero redundancies during Covid, have maintained a seamless transition to working remotely, and have exceeded their earning projections during and after lockdown.


OUR EXPERIENCE
 
In challenging times, there has been the need for law firms to recalibrate in order to maintain a competitive advantage and a sustainable profit pool for its Principals. Those that have managed this have emerged as magnets to other Principals looking to transition their clients to a more innovative and profitable platform.

With 30 years as specialist consultants to the legal profession, Law Staff has an impressive history of facilitating discreet moves for partners (and whole teams) to specialist, mid or top tier practices, all while providing critical intelligence on:
  • Individual profitability of the relevant firms;
  • Partnership structures and equity distribution;
  • Strategic growth plans;
  • Intra/Cross practice compatibility;
  • Historical transitions;
  • Performance expectations; as well as
  • Partnership culture and idiosyncrasies (trust us when we say that no one firm is perfect).
In addition, our Senior Client Advisors have assisted hundreds of partners in writing detailed business plans that identify only relevant information including key practice components as well as transitioning requirements, and less of the white noise. We advise you when the appropriate time is to table this information to ensure your commercial interests are preserved. Most importantly, we will only ever confer with the relevant Managing Partner after you have done your research and at a time when you have expressed in writing that you are ready to take that cautious next step. Absolutely everything stays in the vault until that time. A list of partner references can be made available at your request.

THE NEXT STEPS

At Law Staff we maintain the highest protocols during Covid and therefore offer a meeting over Zoom or FaceTime, as well as offer a contactless meeting in a lounge room setting for a relaxed confidential discussion over coffee/tea, allowing you to comfortably provide us with an understanding of your considerations in that next move. 

For a uncompromisingly confidential discussion, please quote REF: P271121 and contact either:
  • Craig Ashton-Sward (Director & Senior Client Advisor) 
  • craig@lawstaff.com.au
  • 0413 743 838 (8:00 am to 8:00 pm 7 days)
or
  • Trudy Reading (Senior Client Advisor)
  • trudy@lawstaff.com.au 
  • 0401 504 203 (8:00 am to 8:00 pm 7 days)
Feel free to maintain your anonymity in the first instance if you choose.
LawStaff | Level 22 HSBC Building | 300 Queen Street | Brisbane