Senior Associate - Responsible Business & ESG

Corrs; Melbourne; On-site; AUD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working as standard

Bonus leave

Parental leave

Wellbeing program

Diversity and Inclusion

Responsible business approach

Learning and development opportunities

Job summary

Corrs Chambers Westgarth, Australia’s leading independent law firm, seeks a Senior Associate to join our Responsible Business & ESG practice in Melbourne. You will lead complex client mandates across business and human rights, ESG governance and contentious matters, while mentoring junior lawyers and contributing to the growth of the practice.

The role offers leadership opportunities, direct engagement with high-profile clients, and the chance to shape an emerging area of law within a

Qualifications

• 4+ years post-qualification experience and exposure to ESG mandates.
• Strong understanding of business and human rights standards and ESG frameworks.
• Ability to manage complex matters and client relationships autonomously.
• Experience supervising junior lawyers and contributing to their development.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage client mandates across business and human rights, ESG governance and contentious ESG matters.
• Supervise and mentor junior team members to build capability and culture.
• Contribute to strategic growth and thought leadership in the ESG practice.
• Engage directly with high-profile clients and cross-disciplinary teams.

Skills

Post-qualification experience

ESG knowledge

Client relationship management

Leadership

Job description

Join Corrs Chambers Westgarth, Australia’s leading independent law firm.

We are seeking a Senior Associate to join our growing Responsible Business & ESG practice in Melbourne. This is an exceptional opportunity for an experienced lawyer with 4+ years’ PQE to play a leading role in one of Australia’s most dynamic and strategically significant practice areas.

You will take a central role in delivering complex client mandates across business and human rights, ESG governance and contentious ESG matters, while also contributing to the strategic growth of the practice. This role offers genuine leadership opportunities, direct engagement with high-profile clients, and the platform to shape an emerging area of law at a market-leading firm.

At Corrs, we help you achieve your ambition – at every stage of your career.

The Opportunity

Since launching in 2022, our Business and Human Rights (BHR) practice has rapidly established itself as the preeminent Australian practice in this field and a globally recognized leader, ranked in Chambers Global Market Leaders Business and Human Rights Law. Led by Dr Phoebe Wynn-Pope, our BHR specialists provide uniquely integrated human rights advisory and legal advice and is part of our broader Responsible Business & ESG practice, a multidisciplinary team combining expertise in business and human rights, climate and sustainability, investigations, governance, and sustainable finance to deliver practical, cross-border solutions for boards, executives, and in-house counsel.

Our work spans three core areas:

• Business and human rights advisory: Developing, reviewing and evaluating human rights governance and compliance frameworks (including policies, procedures, due diligence frameworks and contractual mechanisms); advising on the application of international human rights standards for business across a range of contexts.
• ESG governance, compliance and disclosures: Advising on legal risk and compliance issues in voluntary and mandatory reporting (e.g., climate-related financial disclosures, modern slavery reporting, voluntary sustainability reporting); directors’ duties; governance and risk management frameworks; ESG issues in corporate transactions; evolving due diligence and disclosure obligations .
• Contentious ESG: Advising on greenwashing risks; acting in ESG-related litigation; complex human rights/supply chain investigations.

As a Senior Associate, you will work directly with Dr Phoebe Wynn-Pope (Head of Responsible Business and ESG) and Kate Gill-Herdman (Partner) to deliver client mandates across a range of ESG issues, manage complex workstreams, supervise junior team members, and contribute to the strategic growth of the practice group.

The team advises leading Australian and multinational clients across a wide range of sectors, including financial services, mining and resources, energy, transport and logistics, retail and consumer goods, technology, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, education and government. The practice also works closely with other Corrs teams, including environment & planning, inquiries & investigations, employment & labour, commercial litigation, competition, and corporate advisory.

This role offers the opportunity to:

• Join a market leading Business and Human Rights practice
• Lead and manage client mandates across business and human rights, ESG governance and contentious ESG matters
• Build and deepen key client relationships and contribute to business development and growth of the practice group
• Supervise and mentor junior lawyers, contributing to team capability and culture
• Engage in thought leadership and contribute to the public discourse on human rights, ESG and sustainability
• Collaborate with specialists across the firm on multi-disciplinary mandates

What We’re Looking For

We are seeking an experienced lawyer who combines strong technical expertise with commercial acumen, leadership qualities and a genuine desire to work at the intersection of business and human rights, ESG, sustainability and the law.

Ideally, you will have:

• 4+ years’ post-qualification experience, with some exposure to contentious ESG mandates welcome but not essential
• Experience gained at a leading Australian or international law firm
• Demonstrated understanding of core business and human rights standards and frameworks and ESG and sustainability issues, and how they intersect with hard law and client’s commercial and strategic objectives
• Demonstrated capacity to manage complex matters and client relationships with a high degree of autonomy
• Experience supervising junior team members and a genuine interest in contributing to their professional development
• A desire to keep pace with constantly evolving ESG issues and to shape the firm’s response to emerging developments

About us:

Corrs Chambers Westgarth is Australia’s leading independent law firm. We provide exceptional legal services across the full spectrum of matters, including major transactions, projects and significant disputes, offering strategic advice on our clients’ most challenging issues.

Corrs’ culture is characterised by our values of excellence, commitment, collaboration and respect. Our policies, practices and behaviours foster a supportive and inclusive workplace, and we are focused on creating opportunities for our people and supporting a diverse workforce.

• Flexible working as standard– we have established flexibility as standard business practice and an option for all our people.
• Bonus leave– we provide an additional week of leave each year (5 weeks annual leave in total)
• Parental leave– we offer 26 weeks of gender-neutral paid parental leave and pay superannuation on both paid and unpaid leave (up to 12 months)
• Wellbeing program– we support the wellbeing of our people across areas including resilience, mindfulness, personal development, physical health and self-care.
• Diversity and Inclusion– we set meaningful goals and take action to improve diversity and foster an inclusive culture in which all employees feel supported and valued.
• Responsible business approach– we have an active pro bono and community engagement program and we are a member of the United Nations Global Compact. We are also a member of AusLSA, which works to promote and increase sustainable practices across the legal sector.
• Learning and development opportunities– including our Australian-first international study scholarship, a national training program and mentoring initiative.