Ablethorpe’s consultants have extensive experience in sourcing legally qualified applicants for Contract Manager, Analyst and Commercial Director roles outside of strict legal practice.

Candidates with legal qualifications and experience can bring top shelf influencing and negotiation skills to commercial management roles as well as core contract law knowledge. We can talk to you about how to procure and successfully integrate lawyers into these roles and drive your business forward, ahead of your competitors.

Candidates with legal qualifications and experience can bring employers top shelf influencing and negotiation skills as well as core contract law knowledge.

Our consultants have extensive experience in providing pathways for lawyers into Contract Manager, Analyst and Commercial Director roles outside of strict legal practice.

Roles such as those sourcing and acquiring technology or managing the delivery of infrastructure or professional services can provide the answers for lawyers looking for something else. Although drafting and negotiating contracts can form the majority of work, these roles also require commercial and project management duties and your communication with business units will be critical to integrate solutions, procure goods, win bids and deliver services or projects.

We work with a number of our clients to place fixed term contract lawyers and we have a rich pool of candidates ready to undertake assignments.

Our contract lawyers range from career contract lawyers to lawyers in between roles, returning from overseas, or returning to work after an absence from the workforce.

Contract terms can range from short assignments of 1-3 months through to 6-12 month contracts and beyond.

Working with ASX listed, privately owned and international corporations across all sectors, the experience of Ablethorpe’ consultants in hiring lawyers for in-house roles is unrivalled.

By taking the time to understand your business, goals and culture, we are able to use our specialist skills and extensive network of contacts to ensure only the candidates who represent the best fit are presented.

Our intimate understanding of the in-house legal market also means we are able to provide corporates with legal employment branding as well as salary and benefit information required.

In addition to strict legal roles, we can also assist with non-legal roles such as contract managers, compliance roles, company secretary positions and paralegals.

Businesses across the globe in all industries rely more and more on their talent in order to sustain competitive advantage.

At Ablethorpe Recruitment we are specialised in Executive Research and in delivering recruitment market intelligence through our talent identification and mapping services. We work with executive recruiters and corporate clients providing valuable insight for business critical decisions.

Our experienced consultants will identify hidden talent in your market. We apply a variety of research techniques to uncover quality candidates, offering a solution that is truly tailored, transparent and delivers timely results.

Executive Research is not transactional recruitment. We invest heavily in getting to know people and when the time is mutually suitable we assist in taking the relationship to the next level. Our standard methodology is to map a prescribed market to identify where talent may be located, identify relevant individuals, qualify the calibre of candidate, validate interest/motivators of potential applicants and prepare those deemed suitable for client interaction.

Case Study

Our client is a mid-tier accounting firm who are experiencing continual organic growth and as such is persistently on the look out to recruit top talent. While our client has an internal recruitment function and a senior management group that play an integral role in attracting and retaining new talent, we support their business by providing recurrent talent intelligence and information on hidden jobseekers. Each month, they invest in a pre-determined budget with Ablethorpe Recruitment to look for top talent in and on the market. Working closely with the internal team we create a target list and undertake research, assessing the availability of suitable candidates working for direct competitors or closely related businesses. We then investigate individual motivators, candidate levels of interest in exploring new opportunities and provide our client with contact and/or resume details for a direct approach.

Solutions

• Uncovers qualified hidden talent and passive jobseekers
• Provides market intelligence on competitor businesses
• Improves existing database integrity and scope
• Discrete in approach
• Reputation intelligence from talent prospects
• Improves candidate experience and develops brand awareness
• Form part of ongoing resource planning strategy
• Flexible terms and cost effective

Ablethorpe’s consultants have extensive experience consulting and recruiting on behalf of state and federal government bodies across all levels. This includes sourcing lawyers for legal, policy and legislative roles in government departments, statutory corporations, local councils, universities and regulatory bodies such as ASIC.

We are familiar with state and federal government purchase requirements and merit based appointments.

At Ablethorpe Recruitment we specialise in careers, not just single placements. So whether you’re looking for an in-house counsel role, a partnership or even a contract or commercial management role we can help you get to where you want to be.

When you contact us, our first step is always the same: we take the time to understand your long-term ambitions, your skills and what matters to you in a role. By genuinely understanding you, we’re able to match you with roles that are right for you — not just right for the numbers.

We’ll help you craft your CV, provide interview preparation, and once a role is secured, give you up-to-date salary advice and support through offer negotiation and resignation. We place a great deal of value on relationships, so we’ll always give you candid, specialist advice that is big on facts and small on hype.

Our aim is to be with you every step of the way — from your first role through to General Counsel, Partner and beyond. And even if you’re not looking right now, you’re always welcome to call us for salary advice or a market update.

All enquiries will be treated in the strictest confidence.

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Ablethorpe Recruitment specialises in the recruitment of In-House Legal Counsel or General Counsel across a wide range of industries, from ASX listed, privately owned and international corporations to organisations looking to appoint their first In-House Legal or General counsel.

We focus on working with lawyers with two years experience and up, assisting them to secure In-House Legal Counsel, General Counsel, Deputy General Counsel and Company Secretary roles.

We also provide specialist advice on positioning your legal career, including advice on issues such as salaries, market trends, department structure, location, job descriptions, and how to go about moving into your first In-House role or getting a General Counsel position, or simply maximising your review.

All enquiries will be treated in the strictest confidence.

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We help Australian lawyers move into roles overseas and international lawyers relocate to Australia. Our consultants have worked on placements from single roles in Austria to large consulting projects in Ireland, the UK and the Middle East. If you’re thinking about an international move — or a return home — we’re well placed to guide you through what’s available, what you’ll need, and what to expect.

UK

Living and working in the UK has been a rite of passage for antipodean lawyers for many years. And although there is currently much uncertainty across the globe UK firms continue to rate Australian experience and work ethic highly.

We are seeing the main areas of demand in dispute resolution, banking and finance, information technology, and projects. There also continues to be residual demand in the UK magic circle for appropriately experienced M&A lawyers.

Visa Requirements for the UK

Unless you hold a recognised European Union passport you will need a visa to work in the UK. Common types include:

Youth Mobility Scheme Visa (T5) (previously Working Holiday Visa): Available for Australian citizens aged between 18 and 35 years of age; enables a stay of up to two years from the date of issue and now due to the Free Trade Agreement at the end of the two years you can apply for a one year extension. https://www.gov.uk/youth-mobility.
UK Ancestry Visa: You may be eligible if you have a grandparent born in either the UK, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or the Republic of Ireland; enables a stay of up to five years
Highly Skilled Migrant Visa: Works on a points based system.
It is important that you consider the most up to date visa requirements before making a decision to move to the UK. The UK Border Agency website offers up to date information regarding visa options.

Am I qualified to work in the UK?

Firms will generally encourage re-qualification and will usually provide financial support and study leave, however it is not strictly necessary and you should be able to work as a foreign qualified lawyer in any of the big UK firms under supervision of a Senior UK practitioner. Whilst it was hoped that the UK & AUS Free Trade Agreement would result in mutual recognition of existing qualifications – this has not yet occurred. We will continue to update you when/if this changes.

Litigators looking to practise in London though will usually need to be admitted in England and Wales in order to have leave to appear in Court.

Working in-house in the UK

Many Australian lawyers have obtained amazing experience working in-house in the UK. Moving directly from Australia into one of these roles however is rare. It’s much more usual to first take a UK Private Practice role and then use this as a stepping-stone into the in-house area.

The Recruitment Process and Salary

The recruitment process remains unchanged in that it’ not uncommon for UK firms to discount up to two years’ of experience when considering the level of an Australian lawyer.

At present firms will hire remotely using video conferencing. It’ preferable if you have a visa lined up or ancestral working rights, although sponsorship still continues to be offered to suitable applicants.

The magic circle and major international players have also continued to demonstrate that they will pay top dollar to retain and attract top talent. Performance based bonuses are being used as an additional mechanism to acknowledge high performers at a more senior level.

Another consistent trend from last year is the remuneration disparity between US and UK law firms, with US firms generally offering higher remuneration packages.

Do I have the right experience for UK firms?

Generally speaking firms show a preference for candidates from the top tier in Australia with between 2 to 6 years’ practicing experience, although they will certainly consider appropriately experienced candidates from recognised boutiques. The common denominator is that you must have experience in Australia advising large listed corporates. Quality academics are also a must.

Proposed Fair Trade Agreement (FTA) between Aus and UK

The Australian-UK Free Trade Agreement came into effect on 31 May 2023, and whilst it was hoped that it would provide greater recognition of prior qualifications (reducing the requirements to re-qualify when moving from the UK) this has not yet occurred. It has established a Legal Services Regulatory Dialogue that, amongst other things, will consider enhancing the professional mobility of lawyers between Australia and the UK, but has not introduced mutual recognition arrangements that will immediately allow UK lawyers to be admitted as lawyers in Australia (or vice versa) without their having to undergoing the usual application for admission processes applicable in each Australian jurisdiction.

We will continue to provide you with updates on the above as it transpires – but once implemented we expect this to have huge impacts on both the Australian and UK markets.

Preparation separates good candidates from great ones. This guide draws on decades of experience placing lawyers across private practice, in-house and government — and it covers everything from what to wear to how to structure your answers to behavioural interview questions. Use it before every significant interview, at any level.

Preparation

Interview preparation is essential no matter what your level of experience and greatly enhances your chances of performing well. This guide aims to assist in all aspects of an initial and subsequent interviews with the firm or organisation.

Ensure you have a detailed understanding of the role, the team and the employer. Research annual reports, media releases and blogs to understand the organisation’s reputation, financial situation, products/services, size, locations and expansion opportunities. When in the interview, follow the interviewer’s lead initially, then try to get them to describe the role and duties.

Review your resume and matter list, paying particular attention to items of relevance to the role and position description. Refresh your memory on details of past employers and matters worked on. Walk a fine line between discussing an employer’s positive traits and being drawn into negative gossip — this can be a standard technique to evaluate your discretion.

Confidence is key. Prepare questions to ask during the interview. Never ask about pay, holidays or bonuses at a first interview. Know the exact time and place. Never be late — plan to arrive ten minutes early.

First Impressions

Dress sharp — an interview starts the moment you enter the building. Take the conservative approach e.g wear a business suit/tie to the first interview. Give a firm handshake, solid eye contact and a smile. Stand to greet the interviewer if they come in after you. Never greet whilst seated.

If the interview is conducted online via VC take the time to introduce yourself, ask how the interviewer’s day was etc. Dress for the interview as if it was in person and still maintain the same standard of professionalism. Simulate eye contact and periodically look down the barrel of your camera, often we suggest attaching a sticker to your camera to remind you where to look. Other important things to remember: be mindful of your background, the noise levels, will you have reminders pop up etc, if there is a delay – pause for a second to ensure the interviewer has finished with their question and ensure you sit up straight and have good posture!

In the Interview

Use the MTR technique to structure answers to behavioural questions:

• Matter: Briefly describe the background to the matter or situation.
• Task: Describe your specific responsibility and the actions you took.
• Result: Describe the outcome. Always aim for a positive result.

Prepare answers to standard questions including:
These questions are very straightforward, and there is a lot of repetition.

• What do you know about our team?
• Why are you interested in joining us?
• Where do you see yourself in 5 years/10 years?
• Why do you want to leave your current role?
• What do you enjoy most/dislike most about your current position?
  Be careful with this one – don’t be too insightful or brutal!

• Tell us about your current role
• Talk us through your experience
  This is a hard question to answer succinctly without rambling!

• What are you looking for in a new position?
• Tell us about a time you have presented an innovative solution to a problem?
• Tell us about yourself?
  Again, this is one of the hardest questions to answer succinctly and effectively.

• What questions do you have for us?
  Questions are good and are a way of finding out anything further you might want to know about the role and the firm and whether it will give you the opportunity for growth/development that you are looking for. We recommend asking questions throughout the interview, rather than waiting until the end and trying to remember them all.

In addition, be ready to provide details if the interviewers point to any particular matter on your resume and wants you to expand. At interview you might be asked who you worked with or who was on the other side etc and you might not have the answer on the tip of your tongue (especially if the matter was a few years ago), so it can help to refresh your memory prior to interview.

Your Questions

It is critical to also ask questions during the interview. Not only to assist you in determining whether the company will give you the opportunity for the growth and development you’re looking for, but to demonstrate your interest in the role and your knowledge of the organisation. Having said this, try and leave any ‘harder’ questions for the second interview. Here the interview psychology is a little different and you’re likely to get more detailed responses from the employer. Given you are in a second interview, you have already impressed them in the first interview and they are more likely to receive and respond to your questions candidly.

Here’ some examples of questions you might like to ask:

• What would a normal day in this role look like?
• How would you describe your organisational culture?
• What sorts of people have done well in this team/organisation?
• Why is the role vacant?
• What is the profile of the team in the broader business?
• Who do you see as your competitors?
• How well do you think I match the requirements of the role?
• Are there plans for growth and expansion?

General Tips

• Smile and maintain eye contact.
• Be positive and confident. Don’t fidget. Sit upright. Don’t cross your arms.
• Don’t over-answer or overcomplicate your responses.
• If asked whether you are interviewing elsewhere, be honest — then reconfirm your interest in this role.

After the Interview

Call your consultant as soon as possible after the interview. They will want to speak with you before the interviewer calls them, so they can address any issues, emphasise relevant experience and maintain momentum.

We hope that this interview guide has been of use. If you have any further questions about preparing for an interview, contact us.

The legal candidate market is competitive. The best people have options, and a slow or poorly structured interview process will cost you. This guide sets out how to run a search process that is efficient, rigorous and respectful of candidates’ time — which is ultimately the best advertisement for your organisation.

We recommend that interviews be conducted within a week or two of the candidate’ CV being received.

The first interview should be conducted by the key hiring decision maker, usually a Partner/s or for in-house roles a General Counsel/Legal Manager with attendance by a member of HR is recommended. For initial interviews with legal candidates, best results are achieved through the inclusion of a legally experienced interviewer to assist in formulating questions and understanding the candidates answers and interpreting any legalese. It is also best not to overwhelm the candidate with too many stakeholders/interviewers at first interview. One or two attendees from the employer plus a member of HR should be enough. Sometimes a junior peer level legal team member or Senior Associate will be brought in for first interview, however we recommend that this occur at a second or third meeting/interview stage in an informal setting.

Interviews should run for between 45 – 60 minutes and be used to discuss the role, the candidate’s experience, the employer organisation and opportunities that the role presents both immediately and into the future. The interview should be conducted as a semi-informal, yet professional discussion allowing the parties to build rapport, learn more about each other and assess suitability in terms of cultural, experience and motivational fit. Try and ensure any behavioural style interview questions are formulated with reference or contextualisation to the candidates actual experience. You will get more value from these responses. You should also take the opportunity to ‘sell’ the role and your organisation by listing all the benefits and strengths of the role. The employer market for quality candidates is very competitive and the better the candidate, the more suitors they will have, hence the need not to rest on your laurels.

Normal candidate expectation is that interviews will run for thirty minutes or more, particularly the first or second interview. Any less than this runs the risk of the candidate assuming they were not right for the role, or that you as the employer organisation are not interested in them personally or professionally. If the interview is cut short, or is only for a limited time and you, as the employer remain interested in the candidate as a potential employee, you need to reconfirm your interest to the candidate at the conclusion of the (short) interview, not at a later stage.

By way of process, a series of anywhere between one to four interviews are recommended, with two to three being normal industry standard followed by a references and an offer, or conditional offer subject to references. Ensure all stakeholders are involved at some stage. For junior roles, making a peer level team member available for an informal coffee offsite at a final stage is highly recommended and will allow the candidate (and you) the opportunity to assess cultural fit in an informal non-hierarchical environment and give the candidate comfort around any offer and the culture of the team they maybe are about to join. Multiple interviews should be run concurrently as possible over a period of two or three weeks and quicker if necessary to secure candidates where there is competing employer market interest. The better the candidate, the quicker they are likely to be offered other roles and in our experience a quick emphatic decision to offer a role to a candidate is more likely to be accepted rather than a long drawn out process where candidates can infer employer uncertainty and draw negative conclusions from this.

Once we have met and key service standards for the hiring process have been established, we will use the selection criteria and our knowledge of your business to shortlist candidates and advise on the optimal team structure. This ensures that only those who represent the best fit for long-term performance are put forward.

Throughout the hiring process you can expect:

• Advice on, and assistance in drafting position specification
• Advice on media and advertising strategy
• Advice on remuneration
• Receiving and evaluating responses
• Extensive market search
• Assessment of candidates by interview and reference checks
• Compiling a shortlist and long-lists of candidates
• Presentation of shortlist and summary of the recruitment
• Assistance in salary negotiation
• Guarantee on all our placements
• Ongoing follow up to ensure our placements are adding value and have integrated into the organisation

Our Salary Guide covers the full range of legal roles in Australia, from graduates through to Senior Associates, Special Counsel, In-House Counsel and General Counsel. It is put together by our consultants with direct input from clients and candidates across the market — not a generic industry survey.  If you want to talk through the numbers, benchmark your team’s salaries, or understand how your package compares to the market, any of our consultants are happy to have that conversation. Call us on +61 3 9923 7454.

Are you an overseas lawyer contemplating a move to Australia?

Our team is well connected across the Australian legal market and experienced in helping international lawyers find their footing here.  While visa changes have tightened the market in recent years, there is consistent demand for high-calibre international lawyers with major firm experience — particularly from UK magic and silver circle firms and large Canadian and US practices. Australian lawyers returning home are always in high demand, as are New Zealand-admitted lawyers, who have automatic work rights and immediate admission eligibility under mutual recognition legislation.

Australian Legal Landscape

There are a relatively small number of law firms – perhaps nine or ten -which dominate the legal market in Australia. These firms are effectively the equivalent of the UK’ magic circle and silver circle, and include some of the international UK firms, that have recently merged with existing local players (Norton Rose Fulbright, Ashurst, Herbert Smith Freehills, Allens-Linklaters, DLA Piper). Most have offices in each of the Australian capital cities, excluding Hobart, Darwin and Adelaide. Unlike the London-centric UK market, quality corporate work is available outside Melbourne and Sydney, particularly in the Perth and Brisbane markets.

Outside of these strong local players, there are a smaller number of international firms that have bases in either Sydney or Melbourne. It is only these larger Australian and foreign firms and a select number of mid-tier firms that will hire foreign lawyers and can potentially provide the necessary visa sponsorship.

When considering foreign applicants, lawyers historically needed to have one years’ post qualification/admission experience at a highly regarded local or international firm to be eligible for consideration. This has recently moved to at least two years plus, due to new visa considerations. However, we are seeing employers in high demand areas being more flexible and firms are sometimes even prepared to consider newly qualified candidates, depending upon level of training and demand for their area of experience. Irish and UK lawyers with their two to three-year training contract programs are a good example of this.

Do I need a Visa?

Yes, you need a Visa with work rights, Permanent Residency, or Citizenship to work in Australia.

There are various visa options available for overseas applicants, depending on your circumstances. If you are seeking employer sponsorship, the
Temporary Work (Skilled) visa (subclass 457) has now been replaced with the Temporary Skill Shortage visa (subclass 482) (https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-listing/temporary-skill-shortage-482) – we are happy to discuss our understanding around eligibility for this visa and the current appetite from the firms/employers to offer it.

There have been recent changes to eligibility requirements and we are finding interpretations of eligibility are differing between firms/employers which is affecting appetite.

Typically, as a rule of thumb, you need at least 2 years’ experience in law to qualify, although there are differences in opinion at present as to whether this needs to be pre- or post- admission experience and we see more appetite for sponsorship at two years plus post admission, right up to the plus 10 year experience level.

If you are a partner of an Australian or New Zealand Citizen, or in some cases a partner of a foreign national who has been granted a work Visa, you have other options available to you as well by way of the various partnership visas.

Link to Department of Immigration

We are always happy to discuss the market but can’t give you immigration advice. Start here to explore your options: https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/ and then seek further advice through a lawyer or registered Migration Agent as to your exact rights and entitlements.

Am I qualified to work in Australia?

Firms will generally encourage re-qualification and will usually provide financial support and study leave. However, it is not strictly necessary and you should be able to work as a foreign qualified lawyer in any of the Australian law firms under supervision of an Australian practitioner. Having said this, firms generally do like you to take steps to admission once in Australia or even pre-application, as it demonstrates to them a long-term commitment to a legal career in Australia. It will also assist you if you have a desire to move in-house long term, where it is virtually a pre-requisite for more senior roles.

In addition, to qualify for extension of a 482 visa, our understanding is that you will need to re-qualify in Australia before expiry of the initial visa term.

Litigators looking to practice in Australia will also usually need to be admitted in Australia in order to have leave to appear in Court.

With regard to lawyers from the UK – The Australian-UK Free Trade Agreement came into effect on 31 May 2023, and whilst it was hoped that it would provide greater recognition of prior qualifications (reducing the requirements to re-qualify when moving from the UK) this has not yet occurred. It has established a Legal Services Regulatory Dialogue that, amongst other things, will consider enhancing the professional mobility of lawyers between Australia and the UK, but has not introduced mutual recognition arrangements that will immediately allow UK lawyers to be admitted as lawyers in Australia (or vice versa) without their having to undergoing the usual application for admission processes applicable in each Australian jurisdiction.

Melbourne and Sydney

Melbourne and Sydney are popular destinations for overseas and interstate lawyers with all major international and most independent law firms having offices here.
The presence of multinational organisations ensures that high-quality work is briefed to firms and offers excellent opportunities for lawyers looking to move both in-house and into private practice.

Sydney and Melbourne firms are interested in overseas and interstate lawyers who bring quality experience from major firms and offer strong academic backgrounds.

Sydney tends to have more financial services roles; however quality work is available in both cities.

Salaries in Sydney are typically slightly higher, reflecting a higher cost of living.

See our Survey for further information about current market salaries.

Perth and Brisbane

Boasting the lion’ share of Australia’ booming resources industry, experienced corporate, commercial and resources lawyers are in high demand in both Perth and Brisbane.

Lawyers here have access to high quality work and training and can be offered greater responsibility at an earlier level, with strong prospects of progressing to senior associate and partnership level.

Perth and Brisbane firms are always interested in lawyers with strong experience gained overseas or interstate, particularly lawyers with energy and resources experience.

Salaries in Perth are typically slightly higher than the rest of the country, reflecting a high cost of living and its relative isolation from the rest of Australia.
Brisbane salaries tend to be more comparable to Sydney and Melbourne.

See our Survey for further information about current market salaries.

Ablethorpe’s consultants have extensive experience in recruiting partners and teams within Australia. We also have the capability to assist in establishing new offices in the Asia region.

Our confidential and consultative service is designed to assist you to successfully develop your firm with strategic senior recruits.

We have an intimate knowledge of the Australian legal landscape and strong relationships with Partner and Senior Associate level candidates from a range of boutique, mid-tier and top-tier firms. This means that our experienced team is able to identify key partners and teams that will fit into your firm’ culture and provide business synergies with your existing offerings.

Our consultants have strong relationships with Managing Partners and Partnership Groups at a range of boutique, mid-tier and top-tier firms.

So whether you are an equity or salaried partner, or a senior lawyer looking to step up, we can introduce you to confidential partnership opportunities and provide you with up-to-date specialist market intelligence.

We can also assist you in calculating your transferable practice, preparing a personalised business proposal and negotiating the most favourable remuneration packages for you and your team.

All enquiries will be treated in the strictest confidence.

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A legal CV is a practical document, not a personal statement. What gets you the interview is a clear, well-structured matter list that lets the reader see exactly what you’ve worked on, at what level, and in which areas of law. Here’s how to get it right.

Content

• Focus needs to be on demonstrating the experience you have gained working as a lawyer, rather than stating subjective skill-sets and abilities.
• It is your experience set out in a detailed matter list (see below) which will be the fundamental factor in determining whether you get an interview.
• There is no need to include photos or information such as marital status and date of birth.

Format

• The CV should be presented on a plain background without borders, photos, or other embellishments.
• The layout should be simple with use of bold subheadings, paragraphs and dot points.
• Ensure your drafting is in plain English; do not use legalese or refer to yourself in the third person.
• Pay attention to grammar and content must be concise and to the point.
• Use standard formats consistently throughout the CV. Do not use background colour in headings.
• We recommend about three to four pages maximum. Any more is unnecessary. Do not follow the American standard of one page for Australian roles.
• Remember that your drafting ability will be judged from your CV
• It’s a good idea to have a master copy that you can then customise for each role depending on particular skill requirements that the employer is looking for.

Structure

In terms of structure, we recommend legal industry CV’s should generally follow the following recognisable format and structure which many applicants utilise. Feel free to vary, but this is what we most commonly see:

1. Contact Details
   • Name
   • Phone Number
   • Email Address
2. Education and Admission
   • Include your admission date (month as well as year is important for applicants under Senior Associate level) and the institutions where you did your degrees together with completion date. If you achieved honours or the equivalent, list it.
3. Legal Experience
   • Employers should be listed chronologically from your most recent to your first. Any summer clerkships or the like should be given minimal attention and left out if you are a more senior practitioner. Do not exclude any legal employers after admission, no matter how short the tenure.
   • List the employer, your title, practice group you worked in and the months you were there, not just the years, particularly if you are a junior lawyer.
   • It is also sometimes helpful to put a URL link to the employer’ website, rankings on websites such as the Legal500 or Chambers & Partners, and/or a very brief description of the firm, particularly if you are applying from interstate or internationally, to give the reader some further understanding of who your past employers are, as well as experience and professional training you have obtained.
   • After each employer, list some example matters you worked on during your tenure to illustrate your skill-set and aggregate these where necessary into particular sub areas of speciality e.g insolvency and general commercial litigation, property development and leasing, M&A and procurement etc. This should be in order that you either want to emphasise for the role you are applying to or by default where the focus of your experience has been.
   • Alternatively, if you are senior and looking to minimise CV size, you can aggregate your employers into one list/chronological table and then aggregate all your experience together in an extended matter list with clearly set out areas of sub speciality. This will help you cut down your CV size to the recommended 4 pages by avoiding duplication of types of matters or areas of experience.
   • Your matter list should be a clearly set out series of short descriptions of the matters you have worked on within an area of speciality. Each description should explain the area of law (e.g property/litigation) , the type of matter (e.g acquisition/misrepresentation), the value of the deal/claim where that is in the public domain (e.g 10m+), the level of autonomy you had (e.g. carriage v’s supervision v’s part of a team), the actual tasks you performed in the matter and the end result.
   • Where possible the matter list should state client name, particularly if they are well known, however keep in mind confidentiality; where needed you can describe your client generically i.e. Acted for listed Australian FMCG company/International Infrastructure Company etc.
4. Other Work Experience
   • If you are a lawyer at the junior end of the scale, without many other employers, set out any other pre-law work experience you may have had in brief, but there is no need to go into much detail; one or two lines should be enough.
   • Once you have been working professionally for 3 years or so, this becomes irrelevant unless it adds something to your ability to do the role e.g. if you were a IT analyst pre-law and you are going for a IT Lawyer role, put it in.
5. Academic Achievements/Awards – e.g golden key, won the Moot
6. Memberships
   • Any professional associations e.g ACLA, LIV etc.
7. Interests
   • Include this as a list but keep it brief, mention any sports, social interests and other pursuits
   • Although lawyers often ask us whether they need to put this section, it also can give interviewers a topic of conversation in the interview that allows you to get your personality across outside of the law and build rapport with a potential employer.

Don’t worry about listing referees – simply note that they will be provided at a later date.

We have unrivalled access to HR Departments, Partnership Groups and Managing Partners in leading boutique, mid-tier, top-tier and international firms. That’ why from 1 PQE to partner level we can help you find the best private practice opportunities across both Australia and the world.

All enquiries will be treated in the strictest confidence.

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Our consultants have a long and successful history of placing lawyers at all levels, in firms of all sizes both here and overseas.

Our no-nonsense approach, unparalleled market knowledge and extensive network of contacts will maximise your reach and ensure you have access to the best lawyers, wherever they are. We take the time to understand your culture and goals and because of this you can be assured that the only candidates we present are the right candidates.

We aim to give maximum value with minimum intrusion and leave the hard sell to others.

Our in-depth knowledge of the legal market also means we’re able to provide firms assistance with not only recruitment services but also salary and benefit information as well as employment branding advice.

At Ablethorpe Recruitment we understand that commercial conditions can be unpredictable and at times you may require assistance in the delivery of recruitment related activities.

While we are experienced in managing the end-to-end recruitment processes, we are also well positioned to deliver unbundled recruitment services.

Our tailored solutions are designed to truly partner with our clients; giving you the flexibility in determining the components of the process you need delivered. We aim to integrate our solutions into your existing recruitment function in order to fully adapt to your business needs and provide a platform for future internal success.

Case Study

Our client, a growing private SME within the Commercial Property sector required a specialist partner to assist in enhancing the recruitment processes and experience for both external and internal stakeholders. The assignment was to manage the response to a bulk advertising campaign and undertake the first level assessment of prospects in application as well as manage the candidate referencing process upon request. By transferring this part of the process, the business was able to focus their existing resources on internal stakeholder engagement, key decision-making and closing vacancies. Our work assisted in reducing time to hire rates and also provided significant savings compared to standard outsourced recruitment. Our referencing service provided thorough, consistent and non-bias information. The solution integrated with existing systems and we provided candidate data that could also assist in future campaigns.

Solutions

• Flexible engagement terms and cost effective
• Manage part or the entire recruitment process
• Compliments existing internal recruitment resource(s)
• Assist in managing large volumes of recruitment
• Assist in improved candidate and internal stakeholder experience
• Reduce time to hire/ average cost per placement / talent acquisition overheads
• Be onsite or use our offices
• Benefit overall talent acquisition strategy

Ablethorpe’ consultants have worked extensively across a wide range of federal, state and local government authorities, as well as statutory bodies, government corporations and non-profit organisations.

When transitioning from private practice to public sector legal roles our consultants can help draft a public sector CV and prepare responses for key selection criteria. We give you interview coaching, help you negotiate and choose between offers and offer real time public sector salary benchmarking advice.