Senior Associate/Special Counsel, Private Clients

JLegal; Sydney; On-site; AUD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

JLegal is expanding its Sydney and Melbourne private clients practice, seeking Senior Associate/Special Counsel with 5+ years PAE to work across advisory and transactional matters for private individuals, families and family offices.

The role offers significant client exposure and development of long‑term advisory relationships, collaborating with lawyers across complementary practices to deliver sophisticated wealth planning, governance and investment structuring.

Qualifications

• Approximately 5+ years of post-admission experience gained within private practice.
• Strong technical legal capability and commercial judgement.
• Experience managing complex or high-value matters with an appropriate level of independence.
• The ability to consider legal issues within the context of broader commercial and personal objectives.
• Strong drafting, analytical and communication skills.
• Confidence dealing directly with clients and external professional advisers.
• A high degree of discretion when handling confidential and sensitive matters.
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to develop trusted, long-term client relationships.

Responsibilities

• Establishing, reviewing and restructuring family office arrangements.
• Advising on governance frameworks for families, private investment structures and family-owned enterprises.
• Assisting with the acquisition and disposal of privately held businesses and other significant assets.
• Advising on private M&A, investments and capital transactions.
• Structuring trusts and other vehicles used for holding and protecting family wealth.
• Advising on succession arrangements and the transition of ownership and control between generations.
• Preparing and advising on agreements governing family, business and investment relationships.
• Assisting with estate and broader wealth planning matters.
• Establishing and advising on charitable, philanthropic and social investment structures.
• Coordinating legal and commercial advice where clients have multiple interconnected business, investment and personal interests.

Skills

Private wealth

Family office

M&A experience

Tax

Trusts

Succession planning

Drafting

Client relationship management

Commercial judgement

Discretion

Interpersonal skills

Job description

Senior Associate/Special Counsel, Private Clients

A growing private wealth and family advisory practice is looking to expand both its Sydney and Melbourne teams, with opportunities available for experienced lawyers from approximately 5+ years PAE through to Senior Associate and Special Counsel level.

This is a broad advisory and transactional position working with private individuals, family groups, privately owned businesses and family office structures on sophisticated legal and commercial matters.

Rather than focusing on one narrow area of private client work, the practice advises across the wider affairs of its clients, including ownership structures, investments, business interests, succession, governance, wealth planning and philanthropic activities.

The role offers significant client exposure and the opportunity to develop long-term advisory relationships while working closely with experienced lawyers across complementary areas of practice.

The Role

The nature of the work will vary depending on your existing experience and areas of interest.

Matters may include:

• Establishing, reviewing and restructuring family office arrangements.
  
• Advising on governance frameworks for families, private investment structures and family-owned enterprises.
  
• Assisting with the acquisition and disposal of privately held businesses and other significant assets.
  
• Advising on private M&A, investments and capital transactions.
  
• Structuring trusts and other vehicles used for holding and protecting family wealth.
  
• Advising on succession arrangements and the transition of ownership and control between generations.
  
• Preparing and advising on agreements governing family, business and investment relationships.
  
• Assisting with estate and broader wealth planning matters.
  
• Establishing and advising on charitable, philanthropic and social investment structures.
  
• Working alongside tax and other specialist lawyers on complex structuring and transactional matters.
  
• Coordinating legal and commercial advice where clients have multiple interconnected business, investment and personal interests.
  

As your experience develops, you will have scope to take greater ownership of matters, manage direct client relationships and play an active role in the continued development of the practice.

About You

There is flexibility around the background of the successful candidate, and lawyers do not necessarily need to come from a traditional private client practice.

You may currently specialise in private wealth, family office advisory, corporate/M&A, tax, trusts, succession or another complementary commercial practice area and be interested in applying that experience within a broader private client environment.

Experience involving privately owned businesses, sophisticated private clients, investment structures or family groups will be particularly relevant.

Ideally, you will have:

• Approximately 5+ years of post-admission experience gained within private practice.
  
• Strong technical legal capability and commercial judgement.
  
• Experience managing complex or high-value matters with an appropriate level of independence.
  
• The ability to consider legal issues within the context of broader commercial and personal objectives.
  
• Strong drafting, analytical and communication skills.
  
• Confidence dealing directly with clients and external professional advisers.
  
• A high degree of discretion when handling confidential and sensitive matters.
  
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to develop trusted, long-term client relationships.
  

The Offering

This is an opportunity to join a sophisticated private client practice during a period of continued growth, with scope for experienced lawyers to build their careers within an expanding team.

The work extends beyond traditional private client matters and provides exposure to the intersection of private capital, business ownership, investment, governance, succession and wealth structuring.

You will have the opportunity to take meaningful responsibility for matters, work directly with clients and collaborate with specialists across different areas of law.