9+ years PAE in complex Wills & Estates, including estate planning and business succession for high-net-worth families and organisations.

- Be the succession plan for equity in a national firm.
- Leadership and file ownership are the focus – rainmaking not required short term.
- Autonomous role with full file and team ownership; partner as sounding board only.

Let’s talk about bottlenecks.

In most firms, the Partner becomes one. Not because they want to be, but because everything – files, supervision, sign-offs, "just a quick question" emails – ends up on their desk. It slows the team, slows the work, and eventually slows the business.

That’s exactly the problem this role is designed to fix.

We’re working with a national firm with a strong Melbourne footprint and a Wills & Estates practice that is at a genuine transition point. They have a Partner stepping down from equity, and moving to a reduced 4-day week. They’re still active, still respected, still bringing in work, but they are at a point where it is necessary to put a succession plan into place.

So the firm is bringing in a Special Counsel who can actually run the show and lead the team.

Not “support the show.” Run it.

You’ll take responsibility for a team of three, and your first job is simple: take supervision off the Partner’s desk. Keep matters moving. Keep files tight. Keep clients calm. Make decisions.



Own outcomes. Be the person the team can rely on without having to escape everything.

You’ll need to be properly senior. Not just in years, but in judgment. Someone who can run matters from start to finish without needing hand-holding, but who still knows when to use a Partner as a sounding board – not a bottleneck.

You’ll also need to display some experience in Business Development with at least $100K of your fees in the past 12 months coming through your own referrals. They want to see that you’re not just technically solid, but someone who can lead the practice commercially in the future.

But this isn’t just about what you bring in.

It’s about what you can take over.

There is a clear pathway here to become Head of Wills & Estates in Melbourne. As the this Partner steps back, this role steps up. You’ll inherit leadership responsibility for a functioning team, ongoing work, and a practice that already has gravity inside a large Melbourne office.

If you want a role where you gradually take over a practice, remove friction from a Partner who is ready to step back, and position yourself as the natural successor to a strong Wills & Estates business inside a major firm – this is exactly it.

Build it. Run it. Then take it over properly.

#J-18808-Ljbffr

📌 Special Counsel – Wills & Estates (Future Head of Practice) (Melbourne)
🏢 ALRA | Australia’s Leading Recruitment Agency
📍 Melbourne