MALLESONS: FIRM SPOTLIGHT
- 7 days ago
- 4 min read
Established: 1832
Size (personnel): 1,200+ lawyers and 200 Partners
Office Locations (Australia): Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra, Perth
Practice Areas:
Banking & Finance
Competition
Dispute Resolution
Employee Relations & Safety
Energy, Resources & Infrastructure
Environment, Planning, & Native Title
Intellectual Property
Mergers & Acquisitions
Real Estate
Restructuring & Insolvency
Technology
ABOUT MALLESONS
We are Mallesons - the top tier independent firm from Australia, a full-service firm trusted on the most complex and consequential matters across our region and around the world.
Our independence gives us the flexibility to combine our top tier full-service capability with the best advisers in every market.
We have 200 partners and over 1,500 lawyers who are locally qualified and globally experienced.
We’re here to be the firm clients and communities trust most with their future in a world that never stands still. To have an outsized impact. To lead the market. To make a difference to be proud of. To create careers that can go everywhere.
Mallesons embodies its vision by consistently delivering on complex, high‑stakes matters, bringing together deep expertise and strong global relationships to achieve the best outcomes. We also live this through our culture - supporting its people to learn, master and lead, while building trusted, long‑term connections with clients and peers.
HISTORY OF MALLESONS
Mallesons Stephen Jaques originated in 1832 in Western Australia. In 1987 we established the first truly national, integrated law firm in Australia when Stephen Jaques Stone James merged with Mallesons. We were one of the first Australian firms to internationalise with the establishment of our first London office and the first Australian firm to enter the China market.
We have always been at the forefront of the biggest developments shaping our economy and society – and we've never lost our pioneering spirit. For almost 200 years we’ve played a key role in developing new market infrastructure, policies and products and we've helped our clients to transform industries.
In 2012, we combined with China’s leading law firm King & Wood to create King & Wood Mallesons – a top tier regional powerhouse firm – a bold and innovative decision for the time. In response to changing client needs, the KWM network was concluded in 2026. The firms now operate separately under independent brands.
We have started a new era as Mallesons. And we’re not standing still. We’re always ready. Ready to reinvent. Ready to reimagine.
RECENT AWARDS
Most Innovative Law Firm in Asia-Pacific - 2026 Financial Times Innovative Lawyers
AwardsProsple Australia’s Top 100 Graduate Employers 2026
Prosple Australia’s Top 100 Graduate Employers 2025
AAGE Top Graduate Employers 2026
AAGE Top Graduate Employers 2025
AAGE Top Intern Programs 2025
Seek GradConnection Macquarie University Most Popular Clerkship Employer 2025
Seek GradConnection Macquarie University Most Popular Law Employer 2025
OUR CLIENTS AND MATTERS
We work for public and private companies, including super funds, and we want to be the firm that lifts our clients' experience. We also undertake exciting cross-border work with colleagues globally—30% of our Top 100 clients are ASX 200 companies—and work with various government departments and statutory authorities. While most of our clients are headquartered in Australia, we are proud to support international companies across all sectors of the economy.
We have recently advised:
Aula Energy on the ~$900 million Financial Close of Carmody's Hill Wind Farm
InCommodities on landmark and innovative capacity swap agreement with Ampyr Australia
QIC and Future Fund on the $750 million acquisition of AGL's stake in Tilt Renewables
Brisbane Airport on its €500 million secured bond issuance
CBH Group on $215 million Interflour Group divestment
Pepper and its consortium partners on landmark $21.4 billion RAMS portfolio acquisition
Led sell-side on Kinetic sale to TPG
Carma on $100 million ASX Listing
Flight Centre on issue of $450 million convertible notes and concurrent repurchase of existing convertible notes
AirTrunk on groundbreaking $16 billion financing package
CAREER OPPORTUNITIES AT MALLESONS
CLERKSHIP EXPERIENCE PROGRAM
What clerks experience:
Master essential legal skills like client meetings, drafting legal documents, and building professional relationships.
Gain insight into the firm’s core practice teams and their role within them.
Explore our market leading technology tools.
Immerse themselves in our vibrant culture through various team social activities and events.
Be guided by supportive and knowledgeable people from all areas across the business.
Be allocated a mentoring partner, development coach, and buddy who will share invaluable insights from their own careers, guiding clerks through the early stages of their careers.
Engage with leaders and industry experts in dynamic learning sessions designed to enhance their personal and professional growth.
CLERKSHIP ELIGIBILITY
We welcome applications from students in their penultimate or final year of an Australian or New Zealand law degree who hold Australian or New Zealand citizenship or Australian permanent residency.
Due to the potential long-term opportunity available, we don’t accept applications for clerkship or graduate programs from candidates on temporary visas (including the Graduate 485 visa).
Applications open from 6th July 2026 to 9th August 2026. You can find more information about our Clerkship Experience Program on our website.
GRADUATE EXPERIENCE PROGRAM
Our graduates are recruited from our clerkship cohort. Our graduate program consists of three six-month rotations. Our 18-month Graduate Experience Program comprises several learning and development elements.
Practical Legal Training: a mandatory pre-admission training and work experience program.
Graduate Induction: a week-long program aimed at familiarising graduates with the firm's operations and equipping them for a successful start to their career. It’s a 2-day immersive for connection with the national cohort, followed by 3 days of on-the-job skills in their home centre.
Practice Team Induction: a series of induction sessions tailored specifically to each legal team's specialisation.
Additional Learning: continuous development opportunities to assist graduates in gaining a comprehensive understanding of our business, legal technologies, and practical legal fundamentals.
WHAT GRADS RECEIVE:
Meaningful work covering a wide range of practice areas
Client contact and an in-depth understanding of how they operate in a commercial and regulatory environment
The opportunity to work as part of a team with a range of partners, senior associates and solicitors
A practical understanding of areas of our legal practice
Training in the latest legal technology
Building a fundamental understanding of the business through one week of professional skill development sessions and a further week undertaking practice team induction developing legal skills.
You can find more information about our Graduate Experience Program on our website.
