ALISON Robertson grew up with a passion for horses and a strong desire to become a jockey – but she aimed too high; or to put it more accurately, she grew too tall.
Instead she turned her attention to law and, fast forward a couple of decades, is now a partner at Lavan Legal where she heads up the banking and finance litigation team.
Ms Robertson started her career at a small suburban firm, where she gained experience in doing ‘anything and everything’, before moving to Hely & Edgar in 1998, which merged with Lavan Legal’s predecessor Phillips Fox.
The traditional path in law firms was a driver for Ms Robertson, who was senior associate at a young age and has been partner of the firm for nine years.
“When I was a senior associate, I was singularly focused on becoming a partner. It was all I could really think about, I really wanted it so much,” she said.
“When I was a senior associate I thought hours spent in the office was going to be a factor in promotion, so I did spend quite a lot of time here.
“When you are doing exciting work, different work with different people on different matters, it is a pleasure and it is interesting and exciting to be here.
“I think it is really sad that people get into the law for a short period of time and then take off. I think in some firms the ultimate goal of partnership seems unattainable. On the other hand in the last couple of generations of graduate recruits, partnership isn’t the ultimate goal anymore.”
Ms Robertson said the excitement of her work, as well as the fluidity of business development, had kept her in the field.
“Even though I have worked for the same firm for 12 years … it does feel as though the firm has changed so much over that time,” Ms Robertson told WA Business News.
“Because there has been that constant state of change it never gets old or stale and there is always the next challenge, the next goal, the next growth phase,” she said, pointing to the churn that often follows mergers and acquisitions in legal circles.
Along with Lavan deputy managing partner Dean Hely, Ms Robertson has worked for the past five years to develop the firm’s lender-based banking and finance recovery work, which now accounts for 90 per cent of her team’s workload.
Traditionally the firm had worked in liquidator and administrator-based practice, but the refocus on lender-based banking and finance has meant more consistent, reliable workflow that is better remunerated, has higher volumes and is less dependent on market cycles.
“It is a huge shift in the type of work my team and I are doing,” Ms Robertson said.
“We are currently on the panel for two of the big four banks, and going forward we aim to be on the panel for all four.”
Ms Robertson has seven staff in her team, and has worked to develop what she believes are fundamental character traits required for her work, in order to run healthy operations.
Engendering trust and respect in her team and creating open and honest communications with clients are fundamental, and Ms Robertson said having the courage to go beyond sound technical legal advice had helped to develop her career.
“Early on I was told the clients are paying for your opinion, you must give them the answer and your opinion … it is something I have learned over time, had to really work on and then in turn teach our team of less experienced people to learn that trade,” she said.
