What kind of firm would you like to work for? One where your input is valued and your work is rewarded? Where innovation is welcomed? Where it’s understood that life doesn’t begin and end with work? If you answered yes to the above, Swaab could be the place for you. If you are interested in joining our team and feel your expertise, integrity, and experience are aligned with ours, let’s discuss.
We Care About You
We understand our team have busy lives. and responsibilities outside of work. At Swaab we offer flexible work arrangements that promote a healthy work-life integration including remote work, flexible hours, and part-time options. We are active in our holistic support of your physical and mental health through initiatives such as salary continuance insurance, wellness initiatives, and subsidized fitness.
Flexible Work
At Swaab, we recognise that our team have interests, commitments, and responsibilities outside of work. Life happens between 9 – 5 and we look at ways to support our employees to achieve the balance they require to be their best personally and professionally through remote work, flexible hours, and job design.
Holistic Support
We want to make sure individuals are cared for physically, mentally and financially and that’s why we automatically provide salary continuance insurance for everyone. When life gets tough, we want to make sure the last thing you have to worry about is how to pay the bills and we do this by ensuring your financial security.
Wellness @Swaab
Achieving and maintaining positive well-being, results in happy, productive and healthy individuals. With Firm shared lunches, yoga programs, wellness subsidies, corporate sports, stocked kitchens with fresh fruit, wellbeing days, additional leave initiatives, Friday night social events and EAP (employee assistance program) forming part of the employee experience, we strive to ensure wellbeing is ‘alive and well’ at Swaab.
An Exciting Future With Us
As custodians of our firm, we are passionate about creating a future for every member of our team. Our structured career paths for legal and support roles create the opportunity to progress through the firm at your pace. Through access to mentors, leadership and professional development programs and stretch opportunities we create an environment for accelerated growth and professional development.
Our History
The founder of Swaab, Fredrick Swaab was known for his generosity of spirit and innovative ways. His legacy lives on through our current leaders and team. Fred’s vision for the future included an expectation that partners act as custodians of Swaab and continue to provide for future generations of lawyers. We invest in the careers of our lawyers by providing them with genuine opportunities and pathways, with the hope that one day they will take the leadership reins and carry on Fred’s legacy.
Your Future
We have structured career paths that are outlined with clear expectations on what individuals need to achieve to progress in their careers. Working closely with Partners, senior lawyers and supervisors, employees are exposed to multiple avenues of learning and development through mentoring, on the job learning and professional development. We work closely with you to identify what your career goals are and look at ways we can help you achieve these by implementing a structured and well thought out plan. We have seen many careers accelerate under the guidance of our leaders which have resulted in the growth of graduates, lawyers and support staff. Furthermore, our meaningful relationships with clients and firms within the Meritas alliance provide for secondment placements and lawyer exchange programs.
Attractive Earning Potential
We recognise and reward the contribution of our team members with a competitive salary package including the ability to earn above market for high performers. We offer a range of non- financial rewards including access to industry leaders and events, recognition programs, exchange programs and learning opportunities.
Let’s face it, we all have financial responsibility and in a competitive employment market, we understand the need to recognise skills and experience and compensate individuals fairly. Using comprehensive legal market salary data, we regularly undertake reviews of what the market is doing and we compensate over and above market expectations.
Furthermore, we have transparent financial incentive schemes in place to reward individuals going over and above . Unity is important and we are committed to ensuring there is an incentive scheme in place for everyone.
High Impact, Purposeful Work
At Swaab, we are committed to making a positive impact on our clients, the legal profession, and the community at large. We are proud of our long- standing client relationships which enable our team to see the impact of our work. Our team have the opportunity to work on high value, meaningful projects within and beyond the scope of their roles including leveraging our international network, client exchange program and making a difference through charitable initiatives.
Swaab Brand of Service
We don’t just provide legal advice to our clients; we provide business solutions. Our down to earth approach and understanding of our client’s individual needs, means we can provide bespoke advice to get them the best possible results. Swaab is committed to providing quality services, value for money and developing collaborative Partnerships with clients. The firm has developed a set of model client qualities and client service standards as part of the Swaab Brand of Service and has developed methods to monitor the implementation of the client service standards by all its people.
Meritas
Swaab has been a member of Meritas since 2009. Meritas is an established global alliance of independent, full-service law firms. Since it was founded in 1990, Meritas has been distinguished by its quality standards. Over the years, Meritas has carefully vetted and invited select, like-minded firms to join the non-profit alliance for their mutual benefit. Today, there are 182 Meritas law firms worldwide, in over 91 countries. Firms become members through invitation.
Our Community Links
A big part of our fabric is our generosity of spirit. We are big supporters of various charities, and not for profit organisations and aim to make a difference through financial contributions, recognition and awareness. Whether it be baking for the Biggest Morning Tea, or shaving and colouring our hair for the World’s Greatest Shave or sitting on the Minds Count Board to enhance and promote psychological safety within the profession (just to name a few), Swaab is active in the community, intent on providing a positive and meaningful impact on others.
A Place to Thrive
We take pride in our inclusive and people first culture that allows team members to reach their professional potential while balancing regular social and industry engagement opportunities. Our generosity of spirit ensures a personalized experience whereby everyone has a voice, role clarity and the opportunity to grow, develop and contribute in a fun, highly supportive, collaborative environment.
Our Values
Commitment, Integrity, Excellence, Generosity of Spirit, Unity and Innovation Our values are our guiding principles that drive the culture of the firm. Generosity of spirit is at the forefront of everything we do when dealing with our clients and with each other. We think outside the box with our approach to handling the big and not so big issues. We are committed to providing our clients with an excellent service and dedicated to ensuring the employee experience is one of the best yet, meeting the psychological, emotional and physical needs of each and every one of our team. While we all perform different roles and our responsibilities vary, we tend not to be hierarchical in our approach to the delivery of work and within our culture.
Behind the Scenes
Our inclusive and people first culture is cultivated through the day to day opportunities on offer. We look after our people, professionally, psychologically and socially. Everyone has a voice, they know what is required of them and they are encouraged to flourish. We know how to have fun, within our teams and across the firm. We are serious about the important stuff but our down to earth culture means we don’t take ourselves too seriously. We aren’t afraid to seek feedback and act on it, after all, this leads to enhanced experiences for our staff and our clients which is what we want! Staff and client satisfaction levels are high and we will always work hard to keep it this way.
True Stories
Meet the team at Swaab and discover their unique journeys into the legal profession. Learn about their motivations for becoming lawyers and why they chose to be a part of Swaab.
Graduate Interview Series | Olivia Hobill Cole