Precedents Lawyer

Harwood Andrews Lawyers; Geelong; On-site; AUD 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Harwood Andrews is seeking a Precedents Lawyer to work with Principals and practice group leaders to capture knowledge and develop clear precedents. You will draft, review and update precedents across practice areas, ensuring accuracy, currency and accessibility for the firm.

You will maintain a central precedents register, manage review cycles, and coordinate publication and archiving. Strong drafting, attention to detail and collaboration are essential for success.

Qualifications

• Admitted Australian lawyer eligible to hold a current practising certificate.
• Post-admission legal experience across practice areas.
• Excellent legal drafting, proofreading and document review skills.
• Exceptional attention to detail and commitment to accurate documents.
• Ability to work across practice areas and recognise when specialist input is required.
• Sound judgment assessing legal risk, materiality and priorities.
• Strong organisational skills and managing review cycles and multiple priorities.
• Collaborative style and ability to build productive relationships with lawyers.
• Clear written and verbal communication skills.
• Proficiency with Microsoft 365 and legal document management systems.

Responsibilities

• Drafting, reviewing and updating precedents, clauses, checklists, notes and guidance.
• Keeping precedents current with legal developments and best practice.
• Maintaining a central precedents register with ownership, review dates and version history.
• Coordinating structured review, approval, publication and archiving processes.
• Ensuring consistent document naming, version control and quality assurance.
• Identifying when specialist input is required and coordinating reviews.
• Prioritising precedent development based on risk, frequency and client impact.
• Providing progress updates on priorities and risks.
• Collaborating with lawyers and business services to identify document automation opportunities.
• Testing automated documents for legal accuracy and usability.

Skills

Legal drafting

Proofreading

Document review

Attention to detail

Organisational skills

Collaboration

Written and verbal communication

Microsoft 365

Legal document management systems

Education

Admitted Australian lawyer

Tools

Microsoft 365

Job description

As our Precedents Lawyer, you will work closely with Principals, practice group leaders and lawyers to capture legal knowledge and develop clear, reliable and easy-to-use precedents. Working across all practice areas, you will help ensure our lawyers have access to accurate, practical and current precedents that reflect legal developments, best practice and the needs of the firm.

Key responsibilities

• Drafting, reviewing and updating precedents, clauses, checklists, practice notes and supporting guidance.
• Keeping precedents current with legislative, regulatory and legal practice developments.
• Maintaining a central precedents register, including ownership, review dates, approval status and version history.
• Coordinating structured review, approval, publication and archiving processes.
• Applying consistent document naming, version control and quality assurance standards.
• Identifying when specialist legal input is required and coordinating appropriate reviews.
• Prioritising precedent development and updates according to legal risk, frequency of use, client impact and business need.
• Providing regular progress updates on priorities, completed work, outstanding reviews and emerging risks.
• Working with lawyers and business services teams to identify opportunities for document automation.
• Testing automated documents for legal accuracy, completeness and usability.

About you

• An admitted Australian lawyer who is eligible to hold a current Australian practising certificate.
• Demonstrated post-admission legal experience and a broad legal background.
• Excellent legal drafting, proofreading and document review skills.
• Exceptional attention to detail and a commitment to producing accurate, practical documents.
• The ability to work across different practice areas and recognise when specialist input is required.
• Sound judgment when assessing legal risk, materiality and competing priorities.
• Strong organisational skills and experience managing review cycles, approvals and multiple priorities.
• An approachable and collaborative style, with the ability to build productive relationships with lawyers at all levels.
• Clear written and verbal communication skills.
• Confidence using Microsoft 365 and legal document management systems.

About us

The Lantern Legal Group brings together Harwood Andrews in Geelong and Sladen Legal in Melbourne. Our firms provide legal expertise and practical advice to individuals, businesses and government, supported by a strong commitment to client service, collaboration and continuous improvement.