Senior Associate - Workplace Relations & Safety - Sydney

HWL Ebsworth Lawyers Pty Ltd.; Sydney; Hybrid; AUD 180,000 - 300,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Unrivalled career pathways

Sydney CBD location

Strong culture & networking platform

Impact on leading Australian practice

Job summary

HWL Ebsworth Lawyers is seeking a Senior Associate or Special Counsel to join our Workplace Relations and Safety team in Sydney. The role involves advising a broad client base across government, corporates and statutory authorities on employment and safety matters.

We operate a true meritocracy with rapid progression based on performance, impact and contribution. The successful candidate will build client relationships, lead matters and contribute to growth within a supportive, high‑calibre

Qualifications

• Demonstrated experience across both contentious and non-contentious employment matters.
• Broad experience advising on employment and safety matters.
• Excellent communication, analytical and interpersonal skills.
• Proven ability to build client relationships, lead matters and mentor juniors.
• Genuine appetite to contribute to practice growth.

Responsibilities

• Counsel and represent clients across a broad range of workplace relations issues.
• Lead matters, collaborate with team members, and mentor juniors.
• Partner with clients to deliver practical and commercially sound outcomes.

Skills

Contentious & non-contentious advice

Employment & safety expertise

Client relationship management

Leadership & mentoring

Business development

Job description

• Highly regarded, reputable Employment Safety & Investigation Practice
• A true meritocracy, enabling individuals to progress based on performance, impact and contribution
• Flexible 3:2 work arrangements

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. Firm wide, we have over 270 Partners and 1900 people.

The opportunity

We have an exciting opportunity for a Senior Associate or Special Counsel to join our Workplace Relations and Safety team. The team advises a broad range of clients, including small and large corporates, as well as government and statutory authorities.

This is a well‑established employer practice acting for public and private sector organisations across diverse industries. The team works closely with clients, partnering with them to deliver practical and commercially sound outcomes that genuinely enhance the working lives of their employees.

To succeed in this role, ideally you'll have

• demonstrated experience working across both contentious and non-contentious employment matters
• broad experience providing advice on employment and safety matters
• excellent communication, analytical and interpersonal skills
• a proven record of building relationships with clients, taking the lead on matters and working cooperatively with team members including juniors
• a genuine appetite to assist in growing the practice

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 compared to our competitors. Our 180 day career forecasting sessions provide the platform to fast‑track your progression.
• Location: Our cutting‑edge office is conveniently located in the heart of the Sydney CBD amidst a fast‑pace, high‑networking legal community. Enjoy working in a state‑of‑the‑art 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.

HWLE strives to create an inclusive environment where our people want and feel comfortable to bring their entire selves to work. Varied perspectives contribute to our collective success so whatever your background, we’d love to hear from you and encourage you to apply. If you have reasonable accessibility requirements that will enable you to participate equitably in our recruitment process, please reach out to Laura Harrison for a confidential discussion.