AddressAbout the firm
Croftbridge was brought into existence by Tim Lethbridge and Elise Croft in 2016. We have since expanded to a team of 8 fee earners and a practice manager.
The firm values are made clear from the outset, and we strive to uphold them. They are as follows:
- Be good to ourselves
- Be good to our staff
- Be good to our clients
We are a close-knit team that place great emphasis on a work-life balance, flexibility in the workplace, and producing high quality work.
We have listed a few highlights that we think make our firm a great place to work –
- We invest in our staff. This means that we are honest with them, spend time training them and support them to progress in their careers.
- We like to have fun. Whenever possible we engage in team bonding experiences like 4PM drinks on a Friday, networking events and team lunches.
- We have fun policies – we get our birthdays off each year!
- We do not have a dress code – staff can wear casual clothes if they do not expect to interact with clients, fellow practitioners or attend Court.
- We invest in tech! If you ever have any suggestions as to how to improve our processes, we are all-ears.
- We work flexibly and from home where appropriate. Elise works all days from home (except for Court appearances). Dianna works both from home and in the office.
- We have a paid parental leave policy and support flexibility for return-to-work transitions.
- We have an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) with Clear Health Psychology, which we are all encouraged to use for self-care, rather than for damage control.
- We try our best to be paperless. We have very limited hard-copy files, with the exception of original Court documents and our front-end Estates documents (wills, EPAs, EPGs).
- We really don’t like red tape and complicated processes. It won’t take you a week to get a letter settled or a month to get reimbursed for an expense!
- We are unpretentious. We all bring our authentic selves to work, and encourage you to do the same! We genuinely support diversity in the workplace.
- We do not have titles and levels. We all sign off emails and correspondence as “Lawyer” irrespective of if you are 1-year PQE or 20-years PQE.
- We involve our staff in the vision and strategy of the firm. We organise a full-day “strategy meeting” with all staff in attendance once a year to ensure everyone is heard and on the same page!
About the job
We have a new opportunity for a litigation lawyer to join our team. We are looking for a candidate that is presently either a Law Graduate or has up to 1 year post admission experience.
You will be working closely with Elise Croft and Dianna Bordi. Elise and Dianna specialise in contentious trust and estate matters. This includes but is certainly not limited to Family Provision Act claims, proof of will proceedings, and construction/rectification applications. You can read more about us on our website at www.croftbridge.com.au.
Whilst you will be working exclusively in estates litigation for the first 18 months, you will have the opportunity to move through the wider team thereafter if that is of interest to you. Our firm also specialises in general litigation, employment law and front-end wills/estates work.
Depending on your level of experience, the role would involve completing day-to-day tasks such as preparing/drafting court documents, drafting letters, research, managing clients, assisting to prepare advice, attending meetings with clients and counsel, attending court with other practitioners and barristers, communicating with the court staff, eFiling court documents, attending networking events, keeping an eye on cost estimates/billing and assisting other practitioners as required.
We pride ourselves on being relatively self-sufficient with administrative tasks. We do not have assistants or an abundance of admin staff – and this is reflected in our billable targets. Our practice manager is always on site to assist when able, and we are happy to outsource mundane non-billable tasks such as scanning to third party contractors. However, this still means that your role will necessarily include some non-billable tasks such as costing, document management and invoicing.
Whilst we support working-from-home arrangements and flexibility, this is a full-time role.
We have a dynamic remuneration policy for staff that exceed targets and expectations. However, the starting point is usually the median point on the ALPMA Legal Industry Salary Report which presents salary data from law firms across the country, reflected in relevant cross-sections (eg state, firm size etc).
The 2024 guide reflects a salary of about $75,000 for a Law Graduate and $80,000 for up to 1 year PQE.
The ideal candidate
The ideal candidate would have:
- experience in litigation (favourable but not necessary);
- an interest in estates litigation;
- a keen eye for detail;
- up to 1 year post admission experience; and
- a willingness to learn and develop their skills.
Applications
Applications can be submitted by providing a CV and cover letter to Dianna Bordi at *****@croftbridge.com.au. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions about the role.
