A national firm has appointed an experienced barrister as its chief counsel, a move that could potentially make the firm a “one-stop shop” for legal services.
Having worked in commercial law at the Victorian Bar for the last 27 years, Glenn McGowan QC expects that transitioning to a law firm will allow him the freedom to develop different ways of practicing.
Newly appointed McGowan said that his background as a barrister and certified mediator will provide
Gadens with unique expertise.
“I’d like to think that 27 years of running cases makes you pretty sharp about what courts want, what they expect, what’s going to fly and what’s going to sink,” he said. “I think running cases makes you a better lawyer because you always have one eye on what will succeed in court rather than what the parties will agree to.”
McGowan thinks that working in a firm will make a difference to the way he advises, and allow him to provide advice throughout a case.
“One of the aspects I’d like to develop is what I call an early intervention strategy because at the bar, cases come to your desk when the parties are pretty much entrenched in their positions. I’d like to be able to get to them early and give some advice and strategies that might head off some of those entrenched problems before they become something uncontrollable,” he said.
While his peers are all starting to think about retirement, McGowan would rather continue working. He hopes his move to Gadens will provide him with the opportunities to do just that.
“I think this move will force me to take nothing for granted. It is already proving to be a re-energising move for me,” he said.
