Darrell Jardine has stepped in at HopgoodGanim where his mentor Joe Ganim stepped out. As he tells Angela Priestley, like Ganim, he's not afraid to stand up to national law firms

When Joe Ganim retired and left HopgoodGanim Lawyers, his reputation was such that he was seen out by some of Queensland's best legal names.

Ganim's contacts were extensive, his personality was colourful and his attention-to-detail an element that made him so successful. As such, Ganim, who joined Paul HopGood 37 years ago to start the Brisbane law firm, also left behind a firm that bore his name and a staffing and client base that would no doubt miss his presence.

But while personalities across the firm may have changed, the pursuit of good quality legal work has not and a new breed of talent - the same talent Ganim nurtured and supported through his long history with the firm - has stepped up to take on new challenges.

One such individual is partner Darrell Jardine. Following Ganim's departure, Jardine has stepped in to head up the litigation and dispute resolution team. He recently marked his 24th year with the firm, but found little time to celebrate. "I just worked," he says. "Next year, I might go out for lunch that day."

There's little time for rest in the litigation and dispute resolution practice of HopgoodGanim. Jardine has been busy picking up where Ganim left off and developing his own strategic and collaborative approach to litigation and moving to build some new working relationships.

But while Jardine readily admits that he carries a very different personality to his mentor, he's adamant that Ganim's meticulous attention to detail in every aspect of litigation can be seen in his work.

As such, Jardine says he takes pride in how he prepares his cases for litigation and gets a kick out of barristers commenting on just how well prepared his briefs actually are.

He also seeks out complete ownership of his work. "Rather than being a leader and giving out orders, that means doing it yourself and knowing what the case is all about. Being on top of the detail, there's no substitute for that," he says.

With a litigation team of 25 lawyers, Jardine also looks to encourage his team and regularly meets with lawyers to continuously assure their legal development.

But Jardine also admits that no amount of training can make up for the energy and instincts a good litigation lawyer must naturally possess.

"You have to be up for the challenge, the adrenalin flows, clients don't want to see you take a backwards step," he says. "You do need to have the necessary aggression. But it's not a game of rugby league, you need to be very measured in how you deal with people.

"That's the way the firm has always operated. That was drummed into me from an early stage and that's never really changed."

Also drummed into Ganim was the need to service local clients and retain strong ties with the Brisbane area. As such, HopgoodGanim has never been tempted to expand nationally. It joins a list of one-city only law firms like Henry Davis York that dominate one region and dominate it well. These firms can also refer clients and work between themselves.

Retaining a strong Brisbane base also means HopgoodGanim has grown in line with its clients, keeping pace with the demographic changes and increased sophistication of the Brisbane region.

"Some of the clients they had then, are the clients we have today," says Jardine.

It's those ties and that sense of locality that has allowed the firm to prosper. "The beauty of our firm is that we're independent. We compete with national firms every day of the week, we're not afraid of the national firms. We respect them ... We're more than confident of being able to hold our own against those firms."

This has been a deliberate strategy for HopgoodGanim and is being continued by the firm as a means to keep control of its own destiny. "We don't see the need to get into bed with another firm - be it via a national affiliation or a merger," says Jardine. "We don't want to be told by a Sydney bean counter that you have to work harder."

As for his mentor, Jardine says he's in no position to imitate what Ganim offered. "He was a bit like Shane Warne," says Jardine. "There's only ever going to be one Shane Warne, and there will only ever be one Joe Ganim. But at the end of the day we all have our strengths."

For Jardine, that strength is litigation and he's clearly found himself in the right job. "I love litigation. I think it's exciting. It's what law is all about."