“The big thing is obviously for us in Sydney, where we commute for long periods of time, and we were leaving the house sometimes in winter when it was dark, and coming home, it was dark, and with a young family that was always difficult. We did see that just geographically, there was something unique about Newcastle where the furthest point west was only about 14 kilometres west of the city. And we thought that can’t be so bad,” he said.

“We did end up living very close to work, which meant I could walk to the office. So, it was a real game changer for us in terms of having that balance between your family life and your interests outside of the law, and also being able to focus on your career and really advance yourself.”

The move also led to Mr Marhaba practising in more regional areas, like the Hunter Valley, which he said was a “great area to work in”.

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“In the area that I work in, there’s a huge presence of our clients up this way. So, there’s a lot of support for local businesses in the Hunter region. And it’s a region that I view that really punches above its weight,” he said.

“So, there are a lot of organisations up this way that fly under the radar for want of a better expression in terms of their success. And it’s in various different fields. If you look at the Hunter Valley, whether it’s a coal mining industry or the service industry close to town, it’s a really unique place.”

Regions like these have become more popular post-pandemic, as more people move away from larger cities.

“I think the unique aspect of the Hunter is we’ve got some of the best beaches in the world, and you’ve got the Hunter Valley, which is, in terms of a lifestyle, some of the best wine regions in the world. And I think it’s very special to this region. It’s very unique,” Mr Marhaba explained.

“But it also has still got a bit of a big-city feel where you can get all the services that you would get in a big city, but it’s a bit of a slower pace. You can get to the shops quicker. You can get where you need to a lot quicker than moving around Sydney. And I think it’s a big attraction. It is really a big attraction.”

Hicksons has also experienced “double-digit growth” over the last few years within the region — which Mr Marhaba said was due to a number of different things.

“We had a deliberate strategy to ensure that we focused on our strengths in this space. So, we did a lot of the insurance work where we made sure that was our big strength and what that does is, your reputation in the marketplace becomes known, and really, it’s about the people. So, we attracted a lot of graduates from the University of Newcastle to come and work with us and work on our particular strengths,” he added.

“And as you grow, and you meet people around the place, and you look for opportunities to service our clients in new areas or in new lines of business, you start off in a position where people are comfortable talking to Hicksons because they know the reputation is good and they know that people are happy working here. So, it’s a real people-focused strategy. But also, with that, having that ability to start from a solid grounding, which is working strongly with clients that we’ve had for a very long time.”

However, whilst there have been plenty of benefits to regional practices and emerging firms like Hicksons, there are also a number of different challenges Mr Marhaba has faced as a partner in charge.

“We’ve got a bit of a pain point with resourcing in terms of attracting already experienced practitioners to the firm. And I think that’s not unique to the regions, but it’s probably harder to get somebody to leave another regional town or even the big city at the moment, to come to Newcastle,” he said.

“So, it means you just have to pivot your strategy and look at things a little bit differently. So that’s a challenge for some firms, and I think having a regional presence can be forgotten. So, it’s very important to have a very connected culture with the main office for want of a better expression. So that’s, I think, a big challenge for regional firms.”

When asked what other challenges lay on the horizon for regional firms like Hicksons, Mr Marhaba said that despite a potential recession, Newcastle and the Hunter are both very strong regions.

“I think Newcastle as a region is in a very strong place. I think there are a lot of exciting opportunities in the development and the technology, engineering and construction space. And also, you’ve heard the politicians now announce on a number of occasions, it being the hydrogen hub for Australia. So, it’s going to be exciting,” he added.

“The Hunter is [also] quite a resilient area. I mean, we’ve been through a downturn in coal. We’ve been through the reformation from being the steel city to this modern cosmopolitan place. So, I think there is some resilience in the marketplace, and I think there will be a place for regional lawyers to continue to thrive.”

The transcript of this podcast episode was slightly edited for publishing purposes. To listen to the full conversation with Najeh Marhaba, click below: