By Annie Dang
Firms in the mining states of Western Australia and Queensland are looking to increase their lawyer headcount ahead of an expected second resources boom.
The two states are experiencing huge demands for talented energy & resources, corporate, banking and construction lawyers, with many firms recruiting in preparation for the next resources boom, said Hays Legal recruitment director Darren Buchanan. In-house roles also increasing noticeably, he added.
"The amount of growth in this sector has led to an abundance of work and a shortage of high-quality resources lawyers, both upstream and downstream,” said David Talalla & Associates director, David Talalla. According to Talalla, strong demand for energy and resources lawyers has led law firms and companies to search outside WA and QLD to fill vacancies.
The demand has contributed to the rise in numbers of energy & resources lawyers heading to these states to take up higher paying roles. In fact, the average salary offered by WA or QLD firms has either matched or surpassed Sydney or Melbourne salaries. This is the price organisations are prepared pay to attract and retain personnel in such positions, said Talalla.
The market is also finding that more lawyers are saying yes to roles in WA and QLD not for higher pay, but because these roles offer the ‘trifecta’ – work which is challenging, rewarding, and includes a higher pay rate. The other appeal is that lawyers with energy & resources practice experience are also marketable to other jurisdictions outside Australia, in an in-house or private role.
“The work in WA and QLD usually involves some of the biggest multinational companies in Australia and overseas, and is therefore of the highest calibre. Lawyers are often made offers to join these multinational companies,” said Talalla.
One firm taking advantage of the rise in legal work is Gilbert + Tobin, which recently formed an alliance with Perth based mining and resources firm Blakiston & Crabb. The formal alliance will see G+T develop its energy & resources practice area with the experience and expertise of the mining firm.
G+T managing partner Danny Gilbert said that the alliance provided opportunities for both firms to develop expertise in the resources sector and also attract Chinese investors. “[It] will provide corporate and competition practice opportunities in acting for resources companies and resources projects where we don’t have our own internal resource capacity,” he said.