Associate - Health Law

Avant Law is a National specialist law firm looking for an Associate to join our team in Melbourne, working closely with specialist Head of Practice, Caroline Tuohey and joining a team of purpose-driven lawyers (including senior lawyers Madhavi Ligam and Fraser Oakley) who are passionate about defending medical practitioners.  If you are looking for a law firm without daily billable targets and instead focussed upon collaboration, advocacy and making a difference for doctors we want to hear from you.

This  is an opportunity for an experienced lawyer to develop their career working for Australia’s largest specialist medical defence law firm that has been recognised for its wide range of expertise. This is a permanent full-time role with a hybrid work arrangement.

The key responsibilities include:

• This role will see you deliver high quality, timely legal advice and services in respect of Professional Conduct matters to Avant Insurance claims managers and Avant’s members concerning professional conduct matters including Medical Board investigations, Coronial inquests, Medicare reviews/Committees, HCCC claims and preparing hearings for VCAT.
• Providing general medico-legal advice to Avant members and Claims Managers.
• Appear on behalf of medical practitioners before the Medical Board of Australia, VCAT,  Coroners Court, Medicare and HCC.

To be successful in this role you will have: 

• Relevant tertiary legal qualifications. 
• Eligible to hold an unsupervised practising certificate as a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Victoria and the High Court of Australia.
• Demonstrated post admission experience (ideally over 4 years) in medical negligence, professional conduct related litigation and criminal law experience is preferred.
• Previous experience in conducting all phases of professional conduct cases.
• The ability to express ideas effectively with proven excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• High level of prioritisation, time management and self-management skills.
• The ability to mentor and support junior team members.
• Good computer literacy and competency to work in an electronic document management environment. 

 
Why work for Avant Law? 

• You would be working for Australia’s largest specialist medico-legal law firm.
• You are guaranteed a pipeline of work from your instructing client, Avant Insurance, who are co-located.
• You will work with event-based billing (goodbye 6 minute units and daily billable targets!)
• You will get to work on a great variety and breadth of cases but with a focus on medical indemnity claims.
• Avant Law offers a defined career progression and promotion pathway.
• You will be working in an open and collaborative environment with access to the top specialist medico-legal solicitors in the country.
• Flexible working practices offering hybrid working.
• Avant is Australia’s leading medical defence organisation with a proud heritage of protecting Australian medical professionals for over 130 years.

Avant now represents 90,000 health practitioners and medical students across every state and territory, delivering market leading products and services to meet their professional, personal and practice needs. Building on this heritage, our vision is to be the most trusted professional partner in supporting doctors throughout their lives and careers.

As a mutual organisation, owned by members and run purely for their benefit, our members are at the centre of all we do. As well as providing products and services to our member, we play a broader community role by advocating for improvements in the healthcare system and in quality, safety and professionalism in medicine, through delivering education and research activities.

To learn more about this role, please reach out to Lisa Craddock, Talent Acquisition Business Partner on lisa.craddock@avant.org.au.