Lander & Rogers promotes 7 as partners along with 12 special counsel

Lander & Rogers promotes 7 as partners along with 12 special counsel

Last year, 31 promotions included five new partners and in 2020 the 32 promotions comprised seven new partners

Australian law firm Lander & Rogers (L&R) has added seven partners, including two, who worked part-time, as part of its largest promotions round. Out of a cohort of 49, it also features 12 lawyers who have been made special counsels and 30 newly-minted senior associates.

Founded in 1946, Melbourne-based L&R is one of the few remaining law firms that have continued to be independent.

Genevieve Collins, the chief executive partner at L&R said that the promotions were in response to the firm's strong growth.

She stated, "The promotions speak of our investment in professional development as we scale to meet client demand across construction and infrastructure, real estate, insurance, digital economy, M&A, and equity capital markets, particularly in growth markets in Sydney and Brisbane."

Similar to the last two years, this time also, more women were made partners. Out of seven, five are women. Effective 1 July, the promotions will bring the firm's partnership to more than 80, almost half (48 percent) of who are women, the highest number in any Australian law firm.

The firm's insurance law and litigation practice gained the maximum new partners this time with a quartet of lawyers Allison Haworth, Elizabeth Brookes, Melissa Tan, and Ralph Bankes joining the ranks in Sydney and Brisbane. Scott Traeger was elevated in the commercial disputes practice in Melbourne.

Significantly, the remaining partner promotions went to lawyers who will maintain part-time work.

Caroline Mills, who serves in the compensation law team in Melbourne, works three-and-a-half days per week with no specific set days. Similarly, Sydney-based Monique Robb, who got the nod in the family and relationship law group, works for set four days a week.

Mills commented, "Balancing family and work commitments can be challenging, but working part-time has not been a barrier to career progression. The firm has embraced my decision to give equal energy to work and home."

L&R first promoted part-time lawyers to partners last year, when two of them joined the workplace relations and safety team. Since 2018, they had been using the firm's flexible model to work three days a week.

Collins confirmed that five from this year's wider cohort, four women and one man, are currently on parental or extended leave.

She said, "The promotions are recognition of their exceptional work and evidence that flexible arrangements do work, while still delivering great client service."

Collins added that the firm was seeing an increased appetite for greater work-life integration from lawyers. "We are talking a lot more about permanent flex working. We have introduced policies that enable 100 percent hybrid working, with no mandated days or number of days in the office. Additionally, we have parental leave provisions, including support on return from leave and a focus on personal and professional development."