Lawyer - Dispute Resolution (Government)

Thomsons; Canberra; On-site; AUD 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working

Parental leave

Wellbeing programs and staff events

Job summary

Thomsons in Canberra seeks a 1-2 years PAE Lawyer to join the Government Dispute Resolution team. The role involves working with partners on a variety of matters, including a broad range of Commonwealth government litigation and disputes.

The successful candidate will be part of a ~12‑person team, have opportunities for career progression, mentoring, and involvement in diverse matters from investigations to parliamentary inquiries.

Qualifications

• Experience in civil, administrative or commercial litigation and disputes.
• Experience in ACT or Federal Courts and Tribunals preferred.
• Experience in or with a Commonwealth government agency is advantageous.
• Willingness to learn about Commonwealth government litigation and disputes work.
• Candidate should be proactive with attention to detail and strong communication.

Responsibilities

• Work on a broad range of Commonwealth government‑focused litigation and disputes.
• Draft advices, pleadings, submissions, correspondence and briefs.
• Attend high level meetings with clients, counsel and opponents.
• Appear in Court, settlement conferences and mediations as required.
• Contribute to a collaborative team environment and participate in pro bono matters.

Skills

Analytical skills

Communication skills

Organisational skills

Time management

Multitasking

Autonomy

Security clearance eligible

Job description

The role

We are seeking a 1-2 years PAE Lawyer to join our growing Government Dispute Resolution team in Canberra, working with partners Melanie McKean, Rob Andersen and Tom Gaffney. We promote diversity of experience and learning for our junior lawyers, so our successful candidate will work with each of the team's partners on a variety of matters.

Our successful candidate will work in a cohesive team of approximately 12 lawyers, being one of Canberra's largest government litigation teams. They will work on a broad range of Commonwealth government-focused litigation and disputes work, including class actions, civil claims, regulatory litigation, commercial disputes, administrative law advice and litigation (merits and judicial review), investigations, royal commissions and parliamentary inquiries, and advice for clients in those areas.

We would be excited to hear from candidates who possess the following attributes:

• experience working in one or both of the following areas is preferred but not essential:
• acting in civil, administrative or commercial litigation and disputes, with experience in ACT or Federal Courts and Tribunals; or
• working for or in a Commonwealth government agency, including experience in front-end legal, commercial, contracting or contract administration roles;
• desire to learn about Commonwealth government litigation and disputes work and to develop their career in this area;
• excellent analytical and communication skills;
• strong organisational, time-management and multi-tasking skills;
• a high level of attention to detail;
• a proactive approach to managing their work and exercising considerable autonomy within a supportive team;
• holds, or eligible to obtain, a security clearance from the Australian Government Security Vetting Agency.

What we offer

As a leading national firm, we offer an opportunity to work with a strong and established Commonwealth client base.

Our Canberra Government Disputes Team is a close-knit and supportive team, where junior lawyers are well supported by peers, seniors associates and partners to learn, develop and excel. We provide a clear career progression path, with promotion to Associate considered after 2 years of post-admission experience.

We offer a strong program of CLEs and we encourage attendance at external CLEs and events that are of relevance or interest to our lawyers.

In relation to the work they will be performing, we can offer our successful candidate the opportunity to:

• work on a wide range of matters at any point in time, whilst also having the opportunity to work on similar matters so as to begin to develop some specialisation;
• work on matters that are complex, strategically significant for our clients, and sometimes high-profile;
• draft advices, pleadings, submissions, correspondence and briefs;
• work on matters in which junior and senior counsel are briefed;
• attend high level meetings with clients, counsel and opponents;
• attend and appear in Court, settlement conferences and mediations;
• work on interesting and challenging pro bono matters;
• receive feedback, support and mentoring from senior members of the team.

We offer a variety of benefits including: flexible working, generous parental leave, flu vaccinations and skin checks annually, full study assistance framework with leave, sophisticated employee assistance program, corporate discounts, a variety of social activities including EOFY and end of year functions, sporting teams and much more.

We have a collaborative approach to all we do, based fundamentally on openness, transparency, respect and accountability to get the best outcome for our clients and make sure we take care of our team.