Diversity & Inclusion is at the heart of Maddock’s culture. In the past five years, under the leadership of CEO Michelle Dixon, Maddocks has implemented a range of initiatives that has led to a rising number of women in leadership roles.
Its Maddocks Pride network encourages and supports its LGBTI colleagues and allies, and drives engagement across the firm with its LGBTI programs and initiatives. Maddocks Pride hosts a number of events each year, including Wear it Purple Day and IDAHOBIT. In 2018, the firm was awarded a bronze citation for LGBTI inclusion by the Australian Workplace Equality Index.
This year saw the launch of the Maddocks Excellence Awards, an event designed to recognise and reward employees who provided outstanding client service, both for clients of the firm and for their colleagues. Nominations came from two sources. The first was from clients, who were asked to nominate employees who had provided excellent service during the previous 12 months. Maddocks partners and staff were then asked to nominate colleagues or teams in up to eight categories.
The firm’s graduate recruitment program is its most significant talent attraction strategy. In 2019, it rebranded it around the theme of ‘Day One’ and promoted the campaign at university law career fairs and supported it with a strong social media presence which included interviews and video content of previous summer clerks and current employees.