Workplace relations lawyer and former Harmers head Joydeep Hor announced this week the launch of his new firm, People & Culture Strategies (PCS).

Half of the firm's work will focus on non-traditional legal work, such training on bullying and harassment, investigations, mediations, general strategy and consulting. "What we're really doing is utilising our skills-set and modifying and consolidating the service offering into areas that lawyers traditionally haven't," Hor told Lawyers Weekly.

PCS will open its doors this Thursday (1 July) with a starting team of nine lawyers, some of whom Hor brought with him from Harmers. The firm will serve clients nationally out of its Sydney office. "A few of my Harmers team members are joining me and we've been able to attract a really great team in terms of the energy and enthusiasm [who want] to get involved at the beginning in what should be an exciting venture," Hor said.

In starting his own firm, Hor said he hopes to exploit what he sees as a large void in the market. "There is a real need for a firm that can connect immediately with the human resources community. I think that's a gap in the market that I have been trying to fill in my own practice and I wanted to build a business around that," he explained.

According to Hor, PCS will focus on advising employers across a spectrum of legal and strategic issues regarding the management of their people with the hope that clients will view the firm as a genuine business partner. "I very clearly want PCS to be the first port of call for employers in this country on any workplace law issue and that's not just when there's a problem [but] also as a sounding board," he said. "We want them to look at us genuinely as someone who works from the inside rather than someone who advises from the outside."

Over the next 12 months, Hor hopes to double the size of his already significant client base and look at recruiting more lawyers to his team, provided they fit within the firm's unique business.

"Definitely interstate expansion and further diversification into HR consulting and even OHS consulting," he said.

"Workplace law continues to be a challenge for businesses. Clients like the knowledge that they have experts on tap without having to worry about it every hour."