“Very few property lawyers have the same level of capability in planning and environment matters,” the firm says
Nexus Law Group has added a leading planning and environment expert to the team.
Grant Long has been appointed as group principal, adding to the NewLaw firm close to 20 years’ experience in planning and environment law, property transactions, licensing and development applications, and in-house experience in local government.
The appointment comes after the firm added a group manager earlier this month and welcomed three group principals in February.
Marcus McCarthy, Nexus founder, said that the senior lawyer’s experience in mining and development of major projects boosts the firm’s capacity to provide specialist expertise across New South Wales.
”Grant is also a highly experienced trial advocate in the Land and Environment Court, improving the value proposition for our clients and ensuring the highest level of service,” McCarthy said. “Coupled with his understanding of the end-to-end process from his years as general counsel of a large council, very few property lawyers have the same level of capability in planning and environment matters, and Grant truly expands our service capability for our clients.”
Long said that joining Nexus allows him to both maintain his own practice and work with a team of leading lawyers in a collaborative group.
“Nexus brings together a group of experts in their field, each bringing their expertise to the table in a flexible working arrangement without the pressure of a big law firm, the demands of billing-hour requirements or the limitations of sole practice,” Long said. “You can be master of your own destiny while still working with a great team in a national practice.”
He said that while client experience doesn’t differ from a traditional law firm, they benefit more in a direct access model like Nexus because they are less likely to be over-serviced.
“They receive the best value for money from a team that is driven only by their client’s objectives and not the commercial objectives of a partner centric firm,” he said.
Nexus said that Long has also developed an interest in family law as colleagues have sought his advice on property law related to separation, divorce, and division of assets. McCarthy said that this is a particular differentiator for Long.
“Most family law matters are quite complex and can include several properties to be divested or considered in a division of assets. Only people with Grant’s broader experience can fully appreciate and advise on alternative options, such as the long-term benefits of jointly maintaining a high-performing property and how this can be effectively achieved,” he said. “Grant’s depth of knowledge and experience is a great asset for Nexus, which now has the potential to help clients with a wide range of legal issues across corporate, construction, commercial, property and private law matters. We are proud of what Nexus has become and its unique position as the only genuine structural revision to the law firm practice model in the market in Australia.”
