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one eagle – waterfront brisbane
level 30, 1 eagle street
brisbane qld 4000
+61 7 3235 0400
grosvenor place
level 11, 225 george st,
sydney nsw 2000
+61 2 8298 9533
Fill in form below, or simply call us on 1800 888 966
We want our graduates to become strong, commercially minded lawyers. That means working closely with clients to understand the challenges they face, identifying opportunities for them and adding value to their businesses. One day you might be in a client’s factory or head office. Another you could be in court or front and centre at a mediation.
Our year-long graduate program will see you rotate every three months through a range of law practice areas. We want to give you the opportunity to see what you enjoy and where you would like to focus your career long term. This is your year so make the most of it!
We don’t expect you to know it all. In fact, your professional development is a key priority for us. You will be able to take part in our Macpherson Kelley Business School, as well as Business Bootcamps which feature practical scenarios and real world case studies. You’ll also receive mentoring and regular feedback from our senior lawyers.
5.30 am
My alarm goes off and after contemplating hitting snooze for the second time, I jump up and into the shower. I put the radio on and listen to the news and finance update. A few weeks ago at our business boot camp, our managing principal – after listening to the news that morning – was firing questions at all the trainees regarding business and trade conditions. When prompted on the Australian dollar, I fired back ‘0.739!’ as quickly as he had churned it out. There is a big commercial focus over ‘black letter lawyering’ at this firm, and its genuinely refreshing.
I meet some friends for our weekly Thursday run. Nice to see a few more faces this week than the last, now that the weather is a little warmer.
8.00 am
I arrive at the office, grab my second breakfast out of the fridge and log in. I always start my day by responding to overnight emails. I have a few emails from principals and clients alike – one in particular from a large manufacturing client regarding a mergers and acquisitions (M&A) deal that all of a sudden isn’t looking so good now that we have our Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR) and Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) searches back. I email the client trying to tee up a time to speak over the phone this morning and seek guidance from my principal.
8.45 am
Next on the agenda is the M&A team meeting. Whilst rotating through our broader Commercial team, which has seen me work on a lot of intellectual property matters, ASIC & Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) compliance and terms of trade, predominantly my matters have been with our M&A team.
Out of this meeting I’m asked to jump into three more matters, all of which are sales of business and sound really interesting, so I am excited to be involved and mentored further by the principal.
11.00 am
I have a conference call with company directors and CFO’s of an Australian Pty Ltd and its American parent. The call relates to advice I was asked to draft early last week. I received great feedback about the advice I had prepared, so I went into the meeting feeling confident. The advice centered on ASIC reporting obligations of small proprietary companies controlled by a foreign company (like that of our client).
12.30 pm
I get back to my desk and I have a missed call from the same large manufacturing client regarding the PPSR and ASIC search from this morning. After running through the searches with the client, they ask what they should do. I’m reluctant to shoot from the hip without discussing this with the principal first. After talking it over, the principal and I decide to call the client back together. It is this level of mentoring that I think has helped me really adapt and develop my technical and interpersonal skills as a graduate.
1.30 pm
My mentor in the Commercial team messages me and says he and some of last year’s graduates are going down to grab Vietnamese for lunch if I wanted to come. I take him up on the offer and we sit out on the cafe having our chilli pork noodle special with extra rice paper rolls. After lunch we spend around ten minutes playing table tennis and as I’m down 19–4 I decide that I actually need to get back and do some work.
2.30 pm
As I’m walking back to my desk, I’m running through my to-do list in my head, noting what I’m going to tick off straight away. I have a number of advice files for our IP team that involve potential trademark infringements, which I said I could send on by the end of the week. As I go back to my computer to finish these off, our office managing principal (who handles most of our M&A work) grabs me and says, ‘Grab your laptop. We’ve got a 2.40 pm with John Blackwell Accountants.’ Client contact has got to be one of my favourite aspects of the job. I’m taking as many notes on the conversation as I can, as I know it’s going to be me writing the first draft.
3.45 pm
As I get back to my desk I pop a ‘do not disturb’ message on my jabber (our internal messaging and phone platform), knowing that I need to finish these two advice pieces by COB.
4.45 pm
As I’m sending the two pieces of advice off to our IP principal, my direct M&A principal asks if I can quickly put together a share transfer for a company that our Litigation team successfully concluded proceedings on today. Around five minutes after I send it on for review, I am copied into the email sending it on to the client with no changes. Again it’s great to feel backed.
6.00 pm
Just as I was jumping back into a letter of demand I had been working on, my M&A principal says, ‘It’s 6.00 pm. I hope you’re packing up soon?’ In following the orders of my principal, I update my to-do list and pack up.
6.30 pm
I get home and it’s still pretty warm, so my partner and I decide to take Ted for a walk down to the beach and take dinner with us. We are genuinely lucky to live where we do and I’m pretty happy to work only 30 minutes from home at our Dandenong office. I’m down the beach by 7.00 pm, where perhaps in another life I might have been doing the mad dash from platform one to platform six, to make the sardine-filled express train home.
4.45 am
I am not always an earlier riser, but I am one of those crazy people who has recently decided to try and get back into competitive swimming! My alarm goes off at 4.45 am and I splash into the pool at 5.00 am.
6.45 am
After 4km of what I would call fun (others would say staring at a black line for an hour and a half is NO ONE’S idea of fun, but I digress…) I head home, have a quick shower, eat some breakfast, feed my pooch and drive to my local train station. My commute takes about 50-60 minutes door to door, so I always make sure I have my headphones with me to listen to music or watch comedy videos – Jack Whitehall is a personal fav (if you haven’t heard of him, check him out and thank me later).
8.30 am
My work morning starts by quickly putting my lunch in the fridge, saying hello to my team before chucking my glasses on and checking my emails. This particular morning, I speak to one of the Principals in my team about finalising statutory declarations required before our meeting with our client this afternoon in a large trade mark opposition case, before preparing for Court.
8.50 am
I head off to the Supreme Court of New South Wales to brief Counsel at a direction’s hearing in relation to an ongoing shareholders dispute that I have been working on with one of the Principals in my team for some months now. Helpfully, an evidence timetable is agreed upon by all parties outside Court, and it is simply a matter of handing up consent orders.
10.00 am
Every Monday morning, our commercial team meets at 10.00 am to discuss what matters everyone is working on that week and to manage work flow. It is a great way to keep up to date with the new and exciting projects the team is helping our clients with, as well as identify and allocate work accordingly. It’s also a space where we analyse the latest law updates which may be of relevance or have application to our clients. (Did you hear about the ACCC’s commitment to investigate advertising technology and potential anti-competitive behaviour of digital platforms? Interesting stuff hey! #nerdlife)
10.30 am
By mid-morning, myself and a few of my co-workers require a caffeine hit, so we head out to grab a coffee from our favourite local café. This coffee catch up (which has become a daily ritual) is a great way to get to know the team better, see how each other is tracking and generally just enjoy each other’s company before continuing on with our day!
11.00 am
Late last week, one of the Principals in my team asked me to review a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) and two supply agreements that a franchisor client has been negotiating. In relation to the NDA, our client has requested that we focus on ensuring that their proprietary rights are adequately defined and protected, while a detailed review of the indemnity and liability clauses in the supply agreements is required. I complete a solid two hours of work and send my suggested amendments to the agreements to the Principal for discussion after lunch.
1.00 pm
It’s social club meeting time! MK Sydney has a social club that is in charge of organising monthly drinks, a mid year party, end of year party as well as other exciting events such as Melbourne Cup celebrations. Today, the crew is off to inspect potential venue options for our mid-year and end of year parties (with a bite of sushi on the way to fuel our important expedition).
2.00 pm
Once back at the office, I grab my laptop and head into the Principal’s office to discuss my amendments to our franchisor client’s NDA and supply agreements. We place a phone call through to our client and commence going through the suggested amendments with them.
3.30 pm
Now back at my desk, I pull up the statutory declaration and supporting evidence that I have been preparing in support of a trade mark opposition matter and make final amendments to the statutory declaration. I finalise the large exhibit which consists of multiple pages of website screenshots, pamphlets and promotional content in relation to our client’s industry. These documents will be relied upon to establish our client’s grounds of opposition.
5.00 pm
Our client arrives to discuss the draft statutory declaration and supporting documentation. We discuss further amendments and collating additional evidence in support. Finally, we finish off the meeting by discussing the evidence timetable and the matter generally, as well as the possibility that the applicant may respond to our evidence by filing their own declaration. The client arranges a teleconference for next week to discuss the next draft, which I make a note of in my diary.
6.00 pm
After posting my time for the day and logging off, I walk up to the train station, hop on the train and head back home to have dinner with my family. By the time I walk in the door, it’s about 7.30 pm.
7.30 pm
No night is ever complete without spending some time with my pooch and catching up on the next episode of Suits (yes, I am running very much behind #teamdarvey). By the time I have watched an episode (or two) and had dinner with my family, it’s about 9.30 pm/10.00 pm and I am ready to go to bed and do it all again tomorrow!
An extensive induction and on-boarding program
Mentoring and coaching, including a buddy to help transition you into your new role
Regular feedback
Exposure to clients via meetings, mediation and events
Opportunities to build your career
Fun activities – social, sporting and community focused events
A down to earth and flexible workplace culture
When you consider how different each and every one of our people is, it’s not an easy question to answer but for everything that’s different about our people, there are a few traits you will find in all of them.
They are commercial, energetic, ambitious, entrepreneurial and confident. They talk straight, are pragmatic and get involved. Getting involved is important at our firm, there are no ringside seats available. It’s these things that make each one of us a good fit for Macpherson Kelley.
Ever so slightly, though our graduate program is truly national.
Victoria
The Victorian Graduate Program is a 12 month rotation across a range of practice areas exposing you to a variety of different law experiences. We will have graduates based in both our Dandenong and Melbourne offices. Our Victorian graduates complete Supervised Legal Training, allowing for practical on-the-job training.
New South Wales
Much the same as Victoria and Queensland, our New South Wales based graduates will complete 4 rotations over a 12 month period and will be enrolled in the College of Law PLT course.
Queensland
Aligning with the other states and completing a 12 month program in line with the QLS guidelines, our Brisbane graduates will experience the full suite of legal practice areas we offer.
We are interested in who you are and the individual strengths you can bring to Macpherson Kelley. We do not look to fill a particular mould.
We recruit employees from a diverse range of backgrounds who we think exemplify our core values: talk straight, play as a team and better each day.
When reviewing applications, we focus on:
To apply you will be required to answer a few screening questions and upload the below documents:
Just be yourself and relax. We want you to meet our people and find out more about us! That way, you make a decision on whether we are the right firm for you.
Be ready and willing to try anything! Think of our values and how you could display them during this process.
How to prepare for your interview:
If you are a graduate in Victoria, Sydney or Brisbane, we want to hear from you! From next month, we will be accepting applications for our Graduate Program🎓💡
We know there are a lot of dates to remember, so we’ve summarised everything you need to know here.
For more information, visit: https://lnkd.in/gx3dtrPG
#lawgrads #thinkingaboutyourfuture #lawgraduates2025 #bettereachday
Just under a week ago, our team headed off to the @brisbanejuniorchamber EOFY After Hours Social event! 🎉
We always love to see our lawyers out and about and building connections - both old and new. Why is staying connected so important to us at MK? Our clients and referrers motivate us to gain a more intimate understanding of the industries we work with—so we can continuously walk the talk of our MK values.
In the same breath…we’re also delighted to share that Macpherson Kelley`s Brisbane office has joined the Brisbane Junior Chamber of Commerce as an official corporate member.
Watch our lawyer’s networks grow in leaps and bounds in the coming year!
#BJCC #Brisbane #mklawyers #macphersonkelley #weareconnected
Last week, Macpherson Kelley and the MIA’s VIC/TAS Committee had the pleasure of hosting the @migrationinstituteofaustralia for their VIC/TAS BIRO meeting.
Members gathered to hear from guest speaker Natalie Walsh of the Department of Home Affairs, who shared her expertise on: submissions, discussion papers, temporary graduate visa and condition reforms, TSMIT, myVEVO, migrant worker, and protection visa reforms.
It`s always a privilege for our team to connect face-to-face with the Department and discuss the pressing issues that matter most 🤝
A special shout-out to MK Principal lawyer, Kian Bone, the Migration Institute of Australia and everyone who attended and contributed to such an engaging and informative session!
#macphersonkelley #stayingconnected #bettereachday #migrationinstituteaustralia #mkevents
Gearing up for the AADA Convention 2024 🚘
MK Principal Lawyers, Luke Gattuso and Kian Bone (employment, safety and migration) are set to present at the AADA Convention 2024 – a hallmark event for the Australian Automotive industry of which we are proud to support through our ongoing sponsorship.
Their workshop, "Shifting Gears: Migration and Employment Law Reforms in 2024," goes under the hood of substantial reforms transforming our skilled visa programme and the Closing Loopholes legislation.
With the motor industry weathering severe skills shortages, this session will cover off visa sponsorship, expected programme reforms, and of course – key employment changes pertinent to the sector. We want you to walk away with practical tips to navigate Australia’s visa system and how to best support your business.
Don’t miss the chance to get in the driver`s seat on these critical reforms and see how they can benefit your dealership. We look forward to connecting with you all next week!
Click here for further info: https://lnkd.in/gy-DzmyQ?
#AADA2024 #migrationlaw #employmentlaw #macphersonkelley #bettereachday
🎓 MK Grad Spotlight ✨
Meet Jordan Woolley, a standout from the MK Graduate Program. From his initial placement to becoming an Associate, Intellectual Property & Commercial Law, Jordan’s journey highlights just how formative our program is.
What does a typical workday look like? How did you pick your specialisation? And what’s the best bit about your job? Jordan answers all of your burning questions (and more) by sharing his story here: https://lnkd.in/gJFPb-jF
Ready to start your legal career with a firm that values your growth? Applications for Macpherson Kelley’s Graduate Program open soon! Pre-register now to receive updates, tips and info on all things MK.
Visit our grad page for more info💡
#lawgrads #thinkingaboutyourfuture #lawgraduates2025 #bettereachday #macphersonkelley
With the new financial year upon us, we`re thrilled to announce our national promotions for July 2024 ✨
Congratulations to all our lawyers —including Nicole Brown, promoted to Special Counsel in Migration, Alanna Richmond to Senior Associate, and to our new Associates: Colin Hanns, Deborah Pac, Jordan Woolley, Stephanie Lloyd, Natalie Montalto, Zack Thomson, Declan High, Jacquie Blazey, and Oxana Churilina.
Majority of our promoted cohort began their careers at the firm as law graduates—a nod to the continued success of our national graduate program.
National Managing Principal Lawyer Grant Guenther said: “Each promotion honours the exemplary performance and contribution to Macpherson Kelley. We’re immensely proud of our team and look forward to seeing them thrive in their new roles,”
Please join us in congratulating our team! 👏
#nationalpromotions #bettereachday #mklawyers #macphersonkelley
As Pride Month draws to a close, we reflect on the month that’s been and how we came together to celebrate all the things we love about our LGBTQIA+ community🌈✨
Our teams had a blast; whether it was adding a splash of colour to our monthly morning tea, chatting about the origins and significance of Pride Month, or even hosting a cheeky drag bingo night…it’s safe to say we painted the town red (and every colour of the rainbow, of course!)
While supporting our LGBTQIA+ community at Macpherson Kelley is part of our every day, Pride Month gives us another opportunity to put these important conversations front and centre.
#pride2024 #macphersonkelley #pride #dei #inclusion
It`s been little over a month since our Sydney team settled into our stunning new office at @grosvenorplacesydney
Even with our feet firmly under the desk, we still pinch ourselves daily over those Harbour views! 🌊
A heady combination of modern design, innovative features and sustainable practices has transformed our workspace into something truly exceptional.
And one that reflects our commitment to our people and clients? Now that’s pretty special.
We’ll let the pictures speak for themselves 📸
Photo credit: The Pixel Collective and Cachet Group
#sydney #macphersonkelley #mklawyers #sustainability #newoffice
This year`s Doyle`s Guide rankings are live — and it’s a pleasure to see Nathanael Kitingan earn a place in the Leading Commercial Litigation & Dispute Resolution Lawyer Rankings - Victoria, 2024. This tremendous achievement recognises Nathanael’s standout work in commercial litigation and dispute resolution 🏆
If you’ve ever worked with Nathanael, you’ll know that his sharp eye for strategy and compassionate client approach sets him apart from the rest. We`re thrilled to have him acknowledged by both clients and peers on the national stage.
We can’t wait to see what he does next! 💫
#doylesguide #celebratingexcellence #mklawyers #litigation #macphersonkelley
✨ Last week, our Sydney team had the pleasure of hosting our annual Women in Business lunch at the stunning Hinchcliff House. 🎉
A big thank you to all who attended, to our MK hosts Principal Lawyer, Brigid Clark and Special Counsel, Christina Cavallaro - and a very special thanks to guest speaker, Angela Priestley, co-founder of @womensagenda for sharing her wisdom and fascinating insights on `the state of women`s leadership in Australia.`
We can’t wait to see you at the next one!
#womeninbusiness #womeninleadership #mkevents #networkinglunch #womenempowerment #womensagenda
Graduates, a reminder that pre-registrations for Meet MK close soon. Numbers are limited, so sign up quick!
💡Queensland: Wednesday, 12 June 2024 (12-2.30pm) Pre-register here: https://lnkd.in/gpDytqZX
💡Victoria: Thursday, 20 June 2024 (5-7.30pm) Pre-register here: https://lnkd.in/gGsY_B8M
💡 New South Wales: Thursday, 4 July 2024 (12-2.30pm) Pre-register here: https://lnkd.in/gdb8HYFj
#lawgraduates2025 #lawgrads #graduateprogram #thinkingaboutyourfuture
June is Workplace Giving Month, and we’re excited to introduce our 2024 Community Partners! 💫🤝
This year, we raised $65,000 through the MK Foundation’s Workplace Giving Program, all thanks to contributions from Macpherson Kelley and our firm matching initiative. Since 2016, MKF’s WPG Program has raised over $464,000 — and we couldn’t be prouder.
#mkfoundation #workplacegiving #communityimpact #juneisworkplacegivingmonth #2024communitypartners