NOTE: If you are interested in this opportunity, please apply directly to Kennedys or reach out to Rhiannon Hancock for a confidential conversation. We are not accepting applications from agencies for this position.

We're looking for a Special Counsel to join our Employment & Workplace Relations team in Melbourne and work alongside Partner, Chris Molnar.

You'll advise a diverse client base including insurers, ASX-listed companies, government bodies and SMEs on complex employment, industrial relations, workplace health and safety, discrimination and regulatory issues. As a senior member of the team, you'll lead significant matters, strengthen client relationships and contribute to the continued success of the practice.

The Opportunity

You'll advise and represent clients across:

- Unfair dismissal, general protections, discrimination and sexual harassment claims
- Workplace investigations, misconduct and whistleblower matters
- Work health and safety compliance, incident response and prosecutions
- Industrial relations disputes and enterprise agreement matters
- Employment contracts, workplace policies and strategic workforce issues
- Regulatory investigations, governance and workforce risk matters

You'll regularly work on complex and high-profile workplace disputes, appearing at conciliations, mediations and hearings, and advising clients in matters before the Fair Work Commission, courts, tribunals and regulatory bodies.

You'll enjoy significant client contact, work with a high degree of autonomy, contribute to business development initiatives and play an active role in mentoring and developing junior lawyers.

About You





- Senior lawyer with solid technical expertise across employment, industrial relations and workplace health and safety matters
- Experience managing complex disputes and providing strategic advice to clients
- Proven ability to build and maintain strong client relationships
- Commercial, pragmatic and solutions-focused approach
- Confidence leading matters with minimal supervision
- A genuine interest in mentoring junior lawyers and contributing to the success of the team

Why Kennedys?

Kennedys offers a genuinely collaborative culture where you'll have the autonomy to take ownership of significant matters, develop your profile in the market and make a meaningful contribution to a well-established and expanding team.

As part of a global firm, you'll have access to an international network of colleagues and clients, cross-border opportunities and market-leading learning and development programmes. Combined with a friendly and inclusive team environment, it's a place where ambitious lawyers can continue to grow their profile and make a genuine impact.

If you're looking for a senior role offering high-quality work, genuine autonomy and the opportunity to help shape a growing practice, we'd love to hear from you.

*Where a level of experience is indicated, this is a guideline only and represents the amount of time we would usually expect a candidate to accumulate the requisite level of experience. This does not preclude applications from candidates with more or less experience.

Please let us know if you require any additional support or adjustments to be made in order to submit your application to Kennedys.

📌 Special Counsel, Employment (Melbourne)
🏢 Kennedys Law
📍 Melbourne