Lawyer - Public Law - Governance, Procurement and Probity

Maddocks; Canberra; On-site; AUD 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Maddocks, a leading Australian law firm, is seeking lawyers to join its Public Law – Governance, Procurement and Probity team in Canberra. You will work with Commonwealth government departments and agencies on major procurements and grants projects, providing pragmatic, solutions‑oriented advice on complex matters.

The role targets early‑career lawyers admitted to practice, with a genuine interest in the public sector and strong drafting and communication skills.

Qualifications

• Admitted to legal practice and able to obtain a government security clearance.
• Interest in public sector and governance, with a track record of collaborating in a team.
• Clear and confident communicator with strong drafting and statutory interpretation skills.

Responsibilities

• Provide pragmatic, solutions‑focused advice across procurements and grants projects for Commonwealth departments and agencies.
• Advise on complex and often sensitive matters with real‑world impact.
• Contribute to a fast‑paced, high‑performing Public Law team in Canberra.

Skills

Public Law

Governance

Procurement & Grants

Statutory interpretation

Legal drafting

Team collaboration

Education

Admitted to legal practice

Job description

Lawyer - Public Law - Governance, Procurement and Probity

Legal - Public Law | Canberra

About us

We are a modern Australian law firm with a leading reputation.We focus on exceptional service, operational excellence and beingat the forefront of employee experience. We work closely withAustralian and international businesses, organisations andgovernments.

About The Role

We are currently looking for confident and enthusiastic lawyersin the early stages of their legal careers to join ourhigh-performing Public Law - Governance, Procurement and Probityteam in our Canberra office.

This is a great opportunity to join a collaborative team workingwith (primarily Commonwealth) government departments and agenciesto provide pragmatic, solutions-focused advice across a variety ofmajor procurements and grants projects. You will be involved insignificant and high profile projects, and advise on complex andoften sensitive matters with real-world impact. Things are neverdull in this team!

About You

We are looking for a candidate who ideally:

• is admitted to legal practice and has or is able to obtaina government security clearance
• has a genuine interest in current affairs and the publicsector, a passion for helping clients make lawful and ethicaldecisions regarding commitments of public money, and a goodtrack record of working collaboratively and contributing to ateam environment
• brings a sense of curiosity and openness to learning newskills, and is able to see the 'big picture'
• is a clear and confident communicator with strong attentionto detail and sound technical drafting and statutoryinterpretation skills
• has, or has the ability to obtain quickly, a strongunderstanding of probity and integrity in the public sector,and governance principles applicable to procurement, grants andother spending processes
• has general public sector and/or legal experience(preferably in one or more of procurement and grants,commercial law, statutory interpretation and/or administrativelaw decision-making, audit, risk and investigations)
• has strong emotional intelligence and interpersonalskills
• who thrives in a fast-paced environment, working on avariety of complex and interesting projects at any onetime

Maddocks is simply a great place to do great work. We foster aculture of collaboration, learning and engagement where you willexperience:

A diverse and inclusive workplace: We have beennamed an employer of Choice for Gender Equality by the WorkforceGender Equality Agency (WGEA) every year since 2004 along withbeing named a Silver Employer at the Australian Workplace EqualityIndex's 2024 LGBTQ Inclusion Awards. We promote diversityinternally through our Maddocks Gender Equality Network, MaddocksCALD, Maddocks Disability Inclusion and Maddocks Pride groups.

Career Development: Learn and develop throughstructured learning and development programs at each stage of yourcareer and study support programs.

Community involvement: give back to thecommunities in which we operate through our thriving pro bono andgrants programs and staff volunteering initiatives.

Work flexibly: work in a hybrid way with partof your week in the office and support to set up your homeoffice.

Wellbeing & Benefits: access to up to 20 weekspaid parental leave, discounted gym memberships & health insurance,salary continuance insurance, Employee Assistance Program andparents and carers wellbeing programs.

Our people are our greatest advocates and we believe this is aresult of our inclusive culture and focus on complex andinteresting work.

To be eligible for this role you must be legally permittedto work in Australia. Please note that unsolicited applicationsfrom agencies will not be considered at this time.