Employees not ready to jump ship - yet

Lawyers Weekly — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 00:52:00 GMT

Employees might be feeling a greater sense of security in their roles given the conditions caused by the financial crisis are improving, but according to the Hunting the (hidden) Hunters Report, released by CareerOne.com.au last week, they are still not entirely confident that the market is awash with opportunity.

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Bartier Perry prove sporting supremacy

Lawyers Weekly — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 06:39:00 GMT

Bartier Perry has proven their lawyers are the fastest swimmers in Sydney after winning the held at the Andrew Boy Charlton Pool, for the second consecutive year.

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Allens partner becomes Supreme Court judge

Lawyers Weekly — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 02:48:00 GMT

Allens Arthur Robinson partner Michael Ball has been appointed as a judge on the NSW Supreme Court, announced this week by NSW Attorney-General John Hatzistergos.

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McCullough Robertson announces new structure

Lawyers Weekly — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 02:13:00 GMT

Queensland firm McCullough Robertson has established the role of managing partner as part of its new governance structure.

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Disaster for graduate recruitment under new award

Lawyers Weekly — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 02:04:00 GMT

Graduate recruitment is headed for disaster under the new national Legal Services Award 2010, according to Kriss Wills, director and consultant at Kriss Wills Consulting, Management & Training.

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Secondment drive set to dwindle

Lawyers Weekly — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 01:06:00 GMT

The rapid rise in secondment arrangements between firms and their clients that has flourished during the market downturn will dwindle as the economy improves, as less lawyers are left sitting around "underutilised".

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A life before law

Lawyers Weekly — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 23:53:00 GMT

More lawyers are crossing over from alternate careers and taking the option of studying a Juris Doctor to get there, writes Briana Everett, and they're bringing the advantage of experience with them.

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Corrs services via collaboration

Lawyers Weekly — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 22:26:00 GMT

A sound collaboration between partners and their marketing and HR teams could be the key to understanding client needs, Corrs Chambers Westgarth HR and marketing director, Cindy Carpenter, said Wednesday.

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Melbourne not bitter on Sydney's new centre

Lawyers Weekly — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 03:45:00 GMT

Melbourne will continue to be at the forefront of the alternative dispute resolution (ADR) movement despite the fact Sydney will host the new Australian International Disputes Centre (AIDC), claims the Law Institute of Victoria (LIV).

Speaking to Lawyers Weekly today, LIV president Steven Stevens said Melbourne's legal community is not disappointed the AIDC will be in Sydney, regardless of the fact Victoria has been leading the push towards greater use of ADR mechanisms.

"[Victoria has] been very active in this area and we will clearly continue to be active. We believe we're at the forefront of Australia in the ADR mechanisms," he said.

Stevens also said the AIDC will only deal with a small sector of ADR as a whole, and the Australian legal profession needs to continue to get behind ADR initiatives.

"The Sydney centre will focus on arbitration and that is good, but arbitration is only one form of a whole range of ADR mechanisms," he said.

"The legal profession needs to support and promote ADR and we've been doing that actively in Victoria. We hope other states will follow suit."

Stevens added that although the AIDC could equally have been established in Melbourne, the fact it is going to Sydney will not detract from Victoria's continued campaign to promote ADR, adding that if an opportunity arose to establish a second international arbitration centre in Australia, Melbourne would be a prime contender.

"We'll have to wait and see how the centre goes in Sydney ... If there is a need for a second arbitration venue in Australia, then we'll be putting our hands up for it, and Melbourne will certainly be a very appropriate place to have it," he said.

- Claire Chaffey

Young lawyers disheartened by career promises

Lawyers Weekly — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 01:10:00 GMT

Young lawyers are entering the workforce with unrealistic and misguided expectations, writes Claire Chaffey, leading to dissatisfaction and poor retention rates.

An investigation undertaken by Lawyers Weekly revealed that while post-GFC statistics are hard to come by on the rate of young lawyers leaving the profession, anecdotal evidence suggests that many firms continue to struggle to retain them.

"This is an issue that really is plaguing various parts of the junior lawyer ranks, for different reasons," said Pouyan
Afshar, president of the New South Wales Law Society Young Lawyers Association.

According to sources contacted by Lawyers Weekly, a common theme as to just what is behind the trend of young lawyers leaving the profession early in their career appears to come down to a great divide between expectations and actuality.

"Retention rates are an issue because ... people have high expectations or wrong expectations. They don't appreciate the type of work they will do and they get disheartened," said Afshar.

Former lawyer turned recruiter, Jason Elias, of Elias Recruitment, believes he knows one reason for why many young lawyers have skewed expectations.

"I call it the Ally McBeal theory," he said.

"People who don't know what law is like in practice rely on popular media. They have certain expectations, and when they get into the legal environment - particularly private practice - if it doesn't match those expectations, they leave."

To read the full article in relation to this issue, get your hands on a hardcopy of this week's edition of Lawyers Weekly, or check out the full report online next week.

Race for talent is on

Lawyers Weekly — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 04:37:00 GMT

Manpower's Employment Outlook Survey released this week indicates that employer hiring intentions will continue to grow over the next three months, with opportunities for job seekers likely to return to pre-downturn levels.

The survey of over 2,200 Australian employers found that the proportion of employers planning to hire has increased, with a decrease in the number planning to reduce their headcount.

"This time last year, job seekers faced a pretty cheerless job market, with national hiring optimism at its weakest point of the downturn, sitting at minus one per cent," said Lincoln Crawley, managing director of Manpower.

Crawley explained that while the overall outlook is positive, some industry sectors are yet to find solid ground. After a surge in employment optimism across every sector, Crawley said some sectors may see a correction this quarter.

"It is going to be a balancing act for many of these industry sectors - they don't want to peak too early and hire before the demand is there but they don't want to be left behind in the renewed race for talent," Crawley warned.

A flexible workplace is the key to finding that balance, according to Crawley, which means providing capacity but reducing the risks of permanent hiring. Crawley suggests road-testing candidates to give both the company and the individual a chance to see if they fit with each other.

With the talent shortage set to return Crawley warns employers that they can't afford to wait too long before making a decision about talent growth plans.

"Those who act decisively will reap the benefits and snatch up the best talent in the market," Crawley said.

ACLA aspires to new heights

Lawyers Weekly — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 00:44:00 GMT

The GFC was kinder to in-house lawyers than their private practice cousins, but the Australian Corporate Lawyers Association is not ready to declare a win just yet.

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UNSW welcomes first JD students

Lawyers Weekly — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 00:29:00 GMT

The first students of the new Juris Doctor (JD) program at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) have begun classes this week, adding to the growing number of students entering legal studies via alternate means.

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Norton Rose pockets four partners

Lawyers Weekly — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 07:19:00 GMT

Norton Rose has appointed four new partners to its team, taking one from Mallesons, another from Dibbs Barker and pulling a previous employee out of retirement.

The new partners are Brisbane lawyer Robert Milbourne, banking and finance lawyer Petar Kuessner, Sydney's Gerard Breen from insolvency and restructuring and Derek La Ferla from corporate finance in Perth.

Milbourne is currently general counsel and company secretary at Vale Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Brazilian-based multinational Vale - the second largest mining company in the world. He specialises in project finance, cross-border mergers and acquisitions, energy and natural resources, as well as general corporate transactions.

Sydney lawyer, Kuessner, joins Norton Rose from Mallesons Stephen Jaques, having previously spent four years at Freshfields in London.

Kuessner specialises in securitisation, derivatives, structured products and debt capital markets and also has experience in aircraft finance, acquisition and project finance plus general corporate finance transactions.

Norton Rose managing partner, Don Boyd, said in a statement: "Petar is one of the few senior lawyers in Sydney who possess a balance of securitisation and derivatives experience ... and [he will] give us a point of differentiation in the strategically important area of carbon trading."

Breen, a former partner at Dibbs Barker Gosling, is an experienced insolvency and restructuring lawyer with a track record on high profile matters.

La Ferla is a corporate lawyer and rejoins the firm after retiring in 2007. He has strong business relationships in Western Australia. Boyd said WA has a "significant strategic value to Norton Rose Group that extends beyond its booming resources industry".

Animal law on world agenda

Lawyers Weekly — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 07:06:00 GMT

Animal protection and animal law represent the world's next social justice movement, a leading animal lawyer has told Lawyers Weekly.

Katrina Sharman, corporate counsel of animal protection institute Voiceless, said today that although the defeat of a recent referendum in Switzerland - which aimed to make compulsory legal representation for animals - is disappointing, it did not affect the momentum being gained by the movement worldwide.

"I don't think it detracts from the fact that there has been a tremendous shift in the mindset of the community, both in Australia and internationally, in terms of how animals should be treated," she said.

"It is a social justice movement, so change doesn't necessarily come overnight."

While Sharman applauded the burgeoning shift in attitudes, she criticised Australia for lagging behind its US and European counterparts on animal welfare, and highlighted the plight of animals on the production line as being prime examples of Australia's failure to move its policy in line with the rest of the world.

"Australia still remains shamelessly behind the European Union when it comes to the protection of farm animals ... In Australia, battery cages and sow stalls are perfectly legal, [while these] are being phased out in the EU ... This is disappointing for Australia, a country which calls itself a leader in animal welfare," she said.

"In some US states, there have been referendums put to the people on the issue of sow stalls. In California, Florida and Arizona the ballots have been successful. That is a really important lesson because it shows that the public will take a stand on this issue."

But despite a conspicuous absence of meaningful legislative changes in Australia thus far, Sharman is confident that animal welfare is firmly on the agenda of both the general and legal communities, and sees animal law as a fast emerging area of legal practice.

"There is growing awareness about the suffering of animals, and recognition that animals are totally at our mercy ... and that in turn has affected the quality of their lives, which until recently, the public didn't understand," she said.

"There are also a growing number of barristers and other legal professionals devoting their time, on a pro bono or reduced fee basis, to practice in this area. It is definitely on the rise."

In the meantime, Voiceless will continue to push for greater public awareness about issues concerning the ill-treatment of animals and uphold its campaign for legislative change.

To find out more about animal law, visit www.voiceless.org.au

- Claire Chaffey

Top Stories

Employees not ready to jump ship - yet

Bartier Perry prove sporting supremacy

Allens partner becomes Supreme Court judge

McCullough Robertson announces new structure

Disaster for graduate recruitment under new award

Secondment drive set to dwindle

A life before law

Corrs services via collaboration

Melbourne not bitter on Sydney's new centre

Young lawyers disheartened by career promises

Race for talent is on

ACLA aspires to new heights

UNSW welcomes first JD students

Norton Rose pockets four partners

Animal law on world agenda