The Australian’s partnership survey: Law firm partners stay in the family

Newly-appointed law firm partner Charu Stevenson moved to Sydney from Singapore in year 10 and experienced a culture shock.

Wotton + Kearney partner Charu Stevenson: ‘At this age (of life) it’s all going on for women.’ Picture: Jane Dempster

Newly-appointed law firm partner Charu Stevenson moved to Sydney from Singapore in year 10 and experienced a culture shock — she had been used to rote learning.

“When the teacher asked me what I thought about things, I wondered if it was a trick question,” she said.

Now, the 38-year-old says the move made her more adaptable to change, and gave her the “grit” she needed to reach her firm’s partnership ranks.

Her firm, Wotton + Kearney, has been one of the few standouts in the legal market, growing its partner numbers by 30.3 per cent and its fee earner numbers by 23.8 per cent this year.

Chief executive partner David Kearney said his firm’s singular focus on insurance law meant its lawyers understood their clients’ needs deeply.

The bushfires and fallout from the pandemic have kept their services in hot demand.

“It’s been a challenging year, but a rewarding year, and it’s accelerated where we want to get to as a business in a quicker period of time,” he said.

Ms Stevenson, appointed as a partner in July, is now on maternity leave after giving birth six weeks ago to Ashoka — a little brother to her three-year-old daughter.

She thought the pregnancy might delay her promotion, but it did not.

“At this age it’s all going on for women,” she said. “You’re reaching these important stages of your career but you’re also reaching the age you want to have kids.”

She said she found it helpful to have “clarity of purpose”.

“My priorities are my family and my work; I really enjoy both and get meaning out of both. Obviously you can’t do everything, you can’t watch four million crime TV shows or go for holidays every weekend,” she said. “(But) I’ve made that conscious choice, this is what I’m going to spend my time on.”

Ms Stevenson, a specialist in environmental liability, construction professional indemnity and directors’ and officers’ liability, said when the lockdown ended she began returning to the office.

“I found to have that mentoring and supervision role, it really helped to be there when solicitors wanted to pop into your office to talk about things. That serendipitous chatting, when you’re making a coffee, those sort of things weren’t happening so I certainly wanted to show my face in the office,” she said.

When her maternity leave ends, she intends to continue working part-time from her home in Sydney’s northern beaches. The firm has introduced a “FLEX” policy: all staff can work from home part-time.