Senior Property Lawyer

Law Squared; Brisbane; On-site; AUD 180,000 - 280,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Fixed-fee model

No billable hours

Job summary

Law Squared is seeking a Senior Property Lawyer to lead high‑stakes compulsory acquisition work across Victoria, NSW and Queensland from mobilisation to settlement.

You'll own matters end-to-end, briefing valuers and legal teams, negotiating with landholders, and guiding projects through VCAT or the Supreme Court when necessary. A strong independent work style and leadership are essential.

Qualifications

• 8+ years' PQE in property law with substantial compulsory acquisition experience.
• Experience with land access, energy or infrastructure projects (VIC/NSW/QLD) is highly regarded.

Responsibilities

• Lead major compulsory acquisition programs end-to-end, including notices and applications.
• Own matters from start to finish, brief experts, and manage settlements where needed.
• Lead meetings, negotiations and conferences with clients and landholders.
• Draft and negotiate contracts, leases, deeds and other land interests documents (non-residential).
• Manage a large portfolio with stage tracking and client reporting.

Skills

Ownership

Independent matter owner

Negotiation

Client liaison

Team leadership

Commercial mindset

BD-focused

Mentoring juniors

Tech & AI adoption

Collaborative culture

Job description

Senior Property Lawyer –Compulsory Acquisition (8+ PQE) | Brisbane, Sydney or Melbourne

You know when the work is meaningful, but the model gets in the way?

You’re running nationally significant acquisition matters, but your week disappears into timesheets, layers of review and chasing individual targets.

At Law Squared, there are no billable hours, no individual financial metrics and no hierarchy to work through. We have experienced lawyers, smart technology and a fixed-fee model that keeps everyone focused on outcomes.

So you can spend your time where it counts: delivering for clients, working well with landholders, and building a practice you’re proud of.

The opportunity

Our Property + Projects (Energy + Infrastructure) team is growing. We’re taking on large-scale, nationally significant transmission and infrastructure projects across Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland. These projects are helping power Australia’s energy transition, and we need a senior lawyer to lead their legal delivery from mobilisation through to settlement.

This is a key role in the team’s next stage of growth, with real ownership, real impact and a team behind you.

What you’ll be doing

• Leading major compulsory acquisition programs end-to-end: preparing and managing statutory notices and applications (Victoria now, with growth into NSW and Queensland)
• Owning your matters: briefing valuers, planners and quantity surveyors, negotiating compensation with landholders, and preparing matters for VCAT or the Supreme Court when agreement isn’t reached
• Being the person clients trust: leading meetings, negotiations and conferences with confidence
• Working with landholders and their lawyers with tact, professionalism and care
• Drafting and negotiating contracts, leases, deeds and other documents recording interests in land (no residential conveyancing)
• Running legal project management across a large portfolio, including stage tracking and client reporting
• Growing the practice: scoping new work, drafting fee proposals and working with our Brand + Engagement team on events and campaigns
• Building the team around you: supervising, mentoring and settling the work of junior lawyers and paralegals

What you’ll bring

We hire for mindset as much as skillset, and we’re direct about what we expect: ownership, initiative and high standards. You’ll be:

• Experienced: 8+ years’ PQE in property law, including substantial compulsory acquisition work and a strong grasp of the acquisition and compensation legislation. Experience in land access, energy or infrastructure projects (especially in VIC, NSW or QLD) is highly regarded.
• An independent matter owner: You run matters from start to finish, brief experts with little review, and hold yourself to a high standard of technical accuracy.
• A confident negotiator and trusted adviser: You lead meetings, negotiations and conferences with ease, and deal with landholders and their lawyers with tact and empathy.
• Organised and delivery-focused: You manage a large portfolio at different stages, keep work moving and keep clients informed.
• Commercially minded: You know great legal advice is practical, strategic and focused on real outcomes.
• BD-focused and client-centred: You enjoy building relationships, you’re confident drafting proposals, and you see growing the practice as part of the job.
• A team leader and generous mentor: You enjoy supervising, delegating to and developing junior lawyers and paralegals, and you settle their work with confidence.
• Tech and AI proficient: You’re enthusiastic about new tools that improve how we deliver legal work in a modern, paperless environment.
• Collaborative: You’re a generous team player who contributes to team culture and supports those around you.

Here, you’re trusted to have a first go, with your team always behind you. We’ve removed hierarchical titles and the leverage model, so if making partner is your main goal, we’re probably not the right fit. If team success matters more to you than individual accolades, we should talk.

Our values

• Different on Purpose: You challenge the status quo and look for better ways of doing things.
• Keep It Real: You communicate openly, honestly and authentically.
• Own the Outcome: You take accountability and follow through.
• Find the 1%: You believe small improvements add up to extraordinary results.
• Show Up: You bring energy, commitment and care to your team, clients and colleagues.

Why Law Squared?

Law Squared is the firm built for business. Since 2016, we’ve been building something different, on purpose:

• Driven by outcomes, not time. No billable hours, no individual financial metrics
• Team goals over individual targets. Our model rewards collaboration, so the right people work on every matter
• Trust and autonomy, matched to your experience. No one-size-fits-all career pathway
• Redesigning legal work, not just digitising it. We use technology to change how legal work is done, not just to speed up old habits
• A career that works with your life, not against it
• Offices across Australia, New Zealand and the UK

There are no passengers here. Everyone contributes, and we succeed as a team.