Senior Associate 4-5+ PQE

Kennedys is seeking a highly talented Senior Associate 4-5+ PQE to join our well-established employment team based in our vibrant Melbourne office.

TEAM
Kennedys is a leading global insurance law firm and has had a presence in Australia since 2006. In 2017, Kennedys Melbourne opened to reinforce the firm's commitment to the Australian market and, in addition, Kennedys has fast-growing offices in Sydney, Perth and Brisbane.

This is a very exciting time to join the team - our Melbourne office has grown exponentially over the last 12 months thanks to our talented people and reputation in the global insurance and commercial markets, and is now sitting at almost 80 people

Our Melbourne employment partner, Chris Molnar, has over 25 years' practising experience, has won a number of industry awards and is one of only a few practitioners to be accredited by the Law Institute of Victoria as a specialist in workplace relations.

KEY RESPONSIBILITES
Working closely with Chris Molnar & an experienced Special Counsel, the successful candidate will be exposed to a broad mix of workplace relations, industrial relations, work health and safety, discrimination, harassment and general employment law matters, across both litigation and advisory services.

We are looking for a motivated Senior Associate level candidate with a
minimum of 4-5+ PAE
, preferably with strong existing experience in employment law. The successful candidate will have the opportunity to develop and maintain excellent client relationships, working as part of a close-knit, friendly team. They will also be encouraged to participate in marketing/business development and client training activities on behalf of the firm.

Strong technical skills are important, as well as the ability to lead and inspire more junior members of the team.

TYPES OF CASES
The successful candidate will be exposed to the full spectrum of employment law issues representing both private & public sector clients ranging from large companies and SME's, global/national insurers and underwriters, to government bodies and individuals, typically senior management. The team currently acts for several domestic and international insurers servicing large commercial, SME and health sector clients to name a few.

Acting for the respondent/employer or for the applicant/employee, a number of unfair dismissal and general protection claims will be litigated in the Fair Work Commission and Federal/Federal Circuit Courts. The successful candidate will also provide ad hoc advice to client HR teams on statute/award interpretation, contract drafting and amendments and policy drafting.

Who We Are Looking For

• Ideally 4-5 years' post-admission experience, preferably with strong prior workplace relations or industrial relations experience
• Knowledge and understanding of Australian employment law is essential
• Prior experience and knowledge of the Fair Work Commission and Federal (Circuit) Court processes and procedures, together with a willingness to appear at conciliations in the Fair Work Commission when required.
• A friendly, engaging manner with clients and a commercial approach to file management
• Advisory/front-end contracts experience would be advantageous
• Ability to autonomously run a caseload of litigated & unlitigated files with minimal supervision
• The ability to lead by example and inspire more junior members of the team

Please let us know if you require any additional support or adjustments to be made in order to submit your application to Kennedys.

*
where a level of experience is indicated, this is a guideline only and represents the amount of time we would usually expect a candidate to accumulate the requisite level of experience. This does not preclude applications from candidates with more or less experience.