Last week Perry commenced duties as head of Gadens IP department in Sydney, the career-development lure of overseeing its division being enough to shift him from Acuiti after nine years service.

“At this point the opportunity to head up a practice rather than work under a group of partners was good,” the former senior associate said. “I felt it was time to take the next step.”

Pursuant to his new role as special counsel, Perry will marshal a team of three lawyers — far fewer than the 6,000 or so he represents as incumbent YL president.

“I think the leadership skills I’ve developed as head of Young Lawyers were recognised by Gadens,” he said.

Gadens’ Sydney IP group has been established for “some time”, Perry said, but had “perhaps not received the attention” it was now beginning to demand.

Despite having only been in the job for less than a week, Perry has already noted the differences between heading up a practice group and a committee.

“On one hand people do things voluntarily, and on the other they are paid. With Young Lawyers, people are not paid for their time, and that can bring challenges to members fitting in their commitments around work,” he said.

Besides the chance to go up a rung on the professional ladder, working for a national firm also attracted Perry, whose IP work concentrates heavily on telecommunications.

“Telecommunications is regulated nationally, so yes, it is preferable to be with a national organisation.”

Leveraging Gadens’ strong property and banking focus, Perry expects his work to concentrate more on IP matters for financial services clients.