The Opportunity

Join a leading organisation in a role that will strengthen your legal career.

- Duration: 6-8 months
- Arrangement: Full time (hybrid)
- Location: Melbourne

About You

You are an experienced commercial lawyer with a minimum of 8 years' experience, bringing a strong track record of working within government entities.

Your Experience & Expertise:

- Significant experience in a senior in-house legal leadership role within a Government department, statutory authority or public sector organisation (government experience is essential)
- Proven experience leading, managing and developing high-performing legal teams, including mentoring senior lawyers, allocating resources and overseeing complex legal workstreams
- Demonstrated ability to act as Head of Legal or equivalent, providing strategic oversight of legal operations, triaging matters and ensuring efficient management of legal risk across the organisation
- Extensive experience advising on public sector legal issues, including Freedom of Information (FOI), privacy, government reporting obligations, governance and administrative law matters
- Experience influencing senior stakeholders and navigating complex government and public sector environments with competing policy, operational and legal considerations
- Demonstrated ability to interpret and advise on complex legal and policy issues, distilling them into concise, authoritative and actionable recommendations
- Experience leading organisational change, maintaining team performance and ensuring continuity of legal services during periods of transition
- Well-developed negotiation and stakeholder management skills, with experience engaging government agencies, regulators,



external advisers and senior executives
- Proven ability to establish priorities, manage competing demands and oversee the delivery of high-quality legal services across a broad corporate function

Attributes:

- Strategic and commercially minded leader with the ability to see both the broader organisational picture and critical legal risks
- Strong people leader with a demonstrated ability to motivate, mentor and develop legal professionals while fostering a positive and high-performing team culture
- Calm, decisive and confident decision-maker who can quickly triage matters and provide clear direction in a complex operating environment
- Highly influential communicator with the ability to engage, advise and challenge senior executives and stakeholders effectively
- Exceptional judgement and political acumen, particularly when navigating sensitive government, governance and reputational matters
- Solutions-focused and pragmatic, with a strong ability to balance legal risk, policy objectives and operational realities
- Collaborative and relationship-driven, with the ability to build credibility and trust across all levels of an organisation
- Excellent analytical and conceptual thinking skills, with the ability to rapidly understand complex issues and formulate strategic responses




- Solid stakeholder management capability, including the ability to negotiate, influence and build consensus among diverse internal and external parties
- Approachable and supportive leadership style, providing clear direction, guidance and coaching to build team capability and performance

Requirements:

- Current Australian practising certificate
- Right to live and work in Australia

About Reach

Reach is the flexible legal resourcing platform of Ashurst Perkins Coie, a global law firm with more than 3,500 legal professionals across 52 offices. Sitting within Advance, the firm's NewLaw division, we place lawyers and professionals where they're needed most - whether our clients need to meet a surge in demand, cover leave, bridge a recruitment gap, or bring in specialist expertise.

Why join Reach?

Reach gives you the flexibility to build a career that fits your life - not the other way around. We work with talented consultants across a broad range of specialties, matching the right people with the right opportunities.

Here's what you can expect as a Reach consultant:

- Flexibility and choice - control over how, when, and where you work, on terms that suit your life.
- A genuine partnership - a dedicated Reach team who will get to know you and actively champion your career goals.
- The backing of a global firm - the resources, reputation, and culture of Ashurst Perkins Coie, including access to clients doing market-leading work and a refreshingly open and inclusive community.

Interested?

Ready to find out more? Apply now or get in touch with Fiona Craig, our Senior Talent Manager, at

📌 Reach Legal Consultant | Senior Government Lawyer | Melbourne
🏢 Ashurst
📍 Melbourne