Commercial Litigation Recruitment

Commercial Litigation Recruitment

The market for commercial litigation and insolvency disputes lawyers across Australia is a varied and complex one. With a number of former litigators in the team here at Burgess Paluch Legal Recruitment, it’s an area we are passionate about, and in which we keep a long and varied vacancy list. While our UK brethren find that almost all of their best litigation work is done in the Sydney marketplace, the reality in Australia is that the other capital city markets can offer lawyers a mix of complex and highly evolved disputes work.

Finding litigation lawyer vacancies

So while we do move litigators from the smaller cities of Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth into markets like Sydney and Melbourne, we also recognise that for many litigators the best options for them will be in their home towns. For example, Adelaide has a strong reputation in insolvency disputes, having hosted a number of corporate collapses and large scale disputes, Perth is known for its corporate and resources disputes, and Brisbane features well in construction litigation. The amount of advocacy work available in each market for solicitors varies widely as well, with South Australian lawyers enjoying high levels of appearance work compared to the independent Bars of the Eastern States.

Another trend in London has been the move away from general litigation with the Magic Circle firms, with those firms focussing on big ticket and project litigation files. Likewise in Australia, in the larger markets of Sydney and Melbourne we have witnessed a similar shift, with the largest firms seeking to maximise profit by focussing on mega disputes. In the meantime, strong litigation firms in the mid-tier have benefitted, offering competitive rates and a high level of partner involvement in matters.

At Burgess Paluch we try to listen to the needs and desired outcomes of our lawyers to determine the best career path and appropriate litigation vacancies for them, taking into account partner styles, work type and volume. While some lawyers will be keen to specialise, or to join partners working on long term and complex disputes, including arbitrations, other lawyers will seek the greater client contact and variety on offer in other litigation vacancies.