Senior Associate / Special Counsel - Workplace Relations & Safety - Melbourne

Melbourne, VIC, Australia; Melbourne; On-site; AUD 150,000 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working arrangements

Generous leave including paid parental

Clear career progression

Job summary

HWLE's Workplace Relations & Safety team seeks a Senior Associate or Special Counsel in Melbourne to work on a diverse range of employment matters for government and corporate clients, including investigations, safety, and enterprise bargaining.

You'll contribute to high-quality advisory work, lead on contentious and non-contentious matters, and mentor junior lawyers as part of a clear career pathway within a meritocratic, flexible firm.

Qualifications

• 5+ years PAE in employment law or related field.
• Experience running contentious and/or non-contentious employment matters (safety, EBA, unfair dismissal, investigations, advisory).
• Strong understanding of workplace and industrial relations and safety law with experience advising across transactions.
• Excellent problem-solving skills and eye for detail.
• Senior candidates should mentor junior colleagues.

Responsibilities

• Advise on industrial relations, health and safety, investigations, and employment law matters across diverse clients.
• Contribute to high quality advisory and transaction work for corporate and government clients.
• Lead or support complex hearings and negotiations as needed.

Skills

Employment law

Workplace relations

Mentoring

Detail orientation

Problem solving

Job description

Senior Associate / Special Counsel - Workplace Relations & Safety - Melbourne

• Highly regarded Employment practice with a strong reputation and exposure to a diverse range of matters and clients.
• Flexible working arrangements and generous leave benefits, including paid parental leave.
• Clear, transparent, and well supported pathway for career progression.

About Us

HWLE is not your typical law firm. Our rapid rise to become the largest legal partnership in Australia shows that in our case, the differences are real. We deliver first class legal advice to our government and commercial clients in every State and Territory across Australia. Nationally the firm features over 270 Partners and more than 1,900 people.

The opportunity

We have an opportunity for a Senior Associate or Special Counsel to join our Workplace Relations & Safety team, working closely with Partners Chris Egan, Karli Evans, and Tony Lawrence. Their team advises a diverse range of large and medium-sized corporate clients, insurers, government bodies, and statutory authorities, and continues to experience strong growth. You'll be exposed to high quality and complex work across industrial relations, workplace health and safety, investigations, and employment law matters.

Ideally, you might have

• 5+ years PAE
• demonstrated experience or appetite to step into running contentious and/or non-contentious employment matters, e.g. safety, enterprise bargaining, unfair dismissal, investigations and general advisory work.
• sound understanding of workplace relations, industrial relations and safety law as well as experience providing advice on employment matters across a range of commercial transactions.
• excellent problem-solving skills, and an eye for detail.
• for senior candidates, appetite for mentoring our junior cohort.

What we offer

• Unrivalled career pathways: Our unique meritocracy model proudly offers our staff career development, promoting talent based solely on merit. Our size, range of experience and competitive pricing model will provide you with everything you need to succeed. Unlike our competitors, our Solicitor to Partner ratio enables greater mentoring and client engagement. Our 180 day career forecasting sessions provide the platform to fast-track your progression.
• Work-Life Balance: We offer flexible work arrangements to support your work-life balance
• Location: Our cutting-edge office is conveniently located in the heart of the Melbourne CBD amidst a fast-pace, high-networking legal community. Enjoy working in an office environment with access to modern end of trip facilities.
• Great culture and a huge networking platform: Be part of a firm renowned for its friendly and down-to-earth culture. We also have sports clubs, social club and monthly firmwide drinks.
• Impact: Join a firm consistently ranked at the forefront of the Australian legal market, where your work is recognised nationally.