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Why London firms see Australians as attractive recruitment prospects
The holistic experience that Australian practitioners bring to the table has long been viewed favourably by leading law firms in the UK, says one recruiter.
Jerome Doraisamy
In the competitive London legal market, Australian lawyers have long been highly sought-after recruits for prestigious law firms in Britain’s capital. These firms, including the renowned magic circle practices and leading US firms with UK presences, recognise the unique advantages that Australian legal practitioners bring to the table.
One of the primary reasons Australian lawyers are so attractive to London firms is their level of responsibility and breadth of experience acquired in the Australian market. In a recent episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, Matthews and Carter Associates founder and director Anthony Matthews (pictured) reflected on this, noting that given the way the deals Down Under can be structured, “Australian lawyers do have higher levels of responsibility compared to UK counterparts”.
“What you often find with the top-tier firms in the UK is the practices can be quite siloed. So, if you’re a corporate lawyer at a top firm here, you’ll work across, probably, public and private M&A, as well as private equity, maybe a bit of capital markets. In the UK, you’d be an M&A lawyer, you’d be a private equity lawyer. As such, firms benefit from being able to bring over candidates who have tried their hand in a different number of areas,” he said.
Moreover, Matthews went on, the differences in post-qualification levels benefit Australian practitioners.
“Trainees in the UK sit a two-year training contract before they become newly qualified lawyers. For Australian lawyers, there is a two years’ PQE increase,” he said.
“There is a two years’ PQE cut on their Australian qualification to counteract against that training contract, so when a lawyer from Australia comes in at, say, the two years’ PQE mark in the UK, they are four years’ qualified in Australia.”
As such, he went on, “they are used to working at that more senior level, having more responsibility, more client contact, more, more partner contact, and that’s a benefit”.
Additionally, Matthews noted, London-based partners “find that Australians are very commercial, very good at client facing, and very good at winning business”.
When asked to expand on the impression that Australians are especially good at winning business for their firms, he responded: “I think there is encouragement in Australia for junior associates to really try and get involved in business development and get really used to being client facing and trying to win business.”
“In London, business is more traditional, and it isn’t as competitive as the Australian market. Associates in Australia have to be prepared that winning business is part of the job and being more commercial,” he said.
“I think that is why Australians are sometimes a bit more used to that and can be an asset to a UK firm, especially when trying to win business in untraditional areas or in places like technology, venture capital, which are obviously up-and-coming areas and where firms are trying to win business, especially things like AI at the moment.”
In the same episode, Matthews reflected on the “inflation-busting” salaries that Australian lawyers can earn in the UK capital.
Jerome Doraisamy
Jerome Doraisamy is the editor of Lawyers Weekly and HR Leader. He has worked at Momentum Media as a journalist on Lawyers Weekly since February 2018, and has served as editor since March 2022. In June 2024, he also assumed the editorship of HR Leader. Jerome is also the author of The Wellness Doctrines book series, an admitted solicitor in NSW, and a board director of the Minds Count Foundation.
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