Associate / Senior Associate – Class Actions

Sydney | 4+ Years PAE

About the Firm

Our client is an established national plaintiff law firm with a significant reputation across complex litigation, class actions and personal injury law.

The firm has represented Australians for more than 35 years and has developed a dedicated class actions practice focused on holding major corporations and institutions accountable where their conduct has affected large groups of people.

Its class action work spans areas including consumer claims, defective products and medical devices, financial products, environmental matters and other forms of corporate and institutional wrongdoing.

The practice conducts substantial Federal Court litigation and works alongside leading counsel, experts and specialist advisers on complex and high-profile proceedings.

For lawyers who enjoy sophisticated litigation but also want their work to have a clear plaintiff-side purpose, this represents an opportunity to combine both.

About the Role

The firm is looking to appoint a Class Actions Lawyer at Associate or Senior Associate level to join its Sydney litigation team.

You will work closely with experienced senior class action practitioners and have meaningful involvement in the day-to-day conduct and strategy of one or more substantial class actions.

This is complex litigation rather than volume plaintiff work.

Depending on your experience, your responsibilities will include:

- Taking carriage of significant aspects of Federal Court class action proceedings;

- Investigating potential claims and analysing causes of action, liability and damages;

- Conducting detailed factual and legal analysis across complex and document-heavy matters;

- Drafting pleadings, affidavits, submissions and other court documents;

- Managing discovery and substantial documentary evidence;

- Preparing evidence from lead applicants, group members and other witnesses;

- Identifying and developing common issues across group claims;

- Briefing and working closely with senior and junior counsel;





- Engaging and instructing technical, medical, economic and other expert witnesses;

- Analysing expert evidence and contributing to litigation strategy;

- Conducting legal research across novel and developing areas of law;

- Managing interlocutory and procedural aspects of proceedings;

- Preparing matters for mediation and settlement negotiations;

- Assisting with damages analysis and settlement methodology;

- Communicating with lead applicants and group members;

- Working with litigation funders and other external stakeholders where relevant; and

- Contributing to the investigation and assessment of prospective new class actions.

At Senior Associate level, you will take greater responsibility for major workstreams within proceedings, supervise more junior lawyers and contribute more substantially to case strategy and the overall conduct of complex litigation.

About You

The firm is open to lawyers from both class actions and commercial litigation backgrounds.

Previous class action experience will be highly regarded, but it is not essential.

You may currently be:

- A Class Actions Lawyer looking to join a larger or more active plaintiff litigation practice;

- A Commercial Litigation Associate or Senior Associate looking to transition into class actions;

- A Complex Litigation Lawyer with strong Federal Court or superior court experience; or

- A Plaintiff Litigator with experience in sophisticated, large-scale or strategically complex disputes.

Ideally, you will have at least 4 years' post-admission experience and bring:

- Strong commercial or class action litigation experience;

- Excellent legal research and analytical skills;





- High-level drafting ability;

- Experience working with complex factual and evidentiary material;

- Exposure to Federal Court or superior court proceedings;

- Strong strategic judgement and problem-solving ability;

- Experience working with counsel, experts and other senior stakeholders;

- The ability to manage competing priorities across substantial litigation;

- Strong communication, negotiation and relationship management skills; and

- An interest in class actions, access to justice and plaintiff-side litigation.

For commercial litigators, the key requirement is not prior class action experience but a strong foundation in complex litigation, technical legal analysis, evidence and court procedure, together with a genuine interest in moving into large-scale plaintiff litigation.

Why Consider This Opportunity?

The firm offers:

- Exposure to major Australian class action proceedings;

- The opportunity to work on litigation involving major corporations and institutions;

- Sophisticated Federal Court work and complex legal issues;

- A genuine pathway for commercial litigators to transition into class actions;

- Meaningful involvement in litigation strategy rather than narrowly defined support work;

- Exposure to leading counsel, experts and specialist advisers;

- The opportunity to develop specialist expertise in one of the most technically demanding areas of litigation;

- Significant responsibility at Associate and Senior Associate level;

- Strong mentoring from experienced class action practitioners;

- Opportunities to participate in the investigation and development of new class actions;

- A collaborative national litigation team;

- Hybrid working arrangements and genuine flexibility; and

- Strong longer-term career development opportunities.

This is a rare chance for either an experienced class actions lawyer or a strong commercial litigator looking to move into complex, high-impact plaintiff litigation on a national scale.

📌 Associate & Senior Associate - Class Actions (Sydney)
🏢 Hooker And Heijden
📍 Sydney