Career Prospects at Gilbert + Tobin

Move from grad to lawyer after 18 months then pretty flat hierarchy so it's probably more a monetary promotion until you get to partner

True meritocracy with no hierarchical limitations

Flat structure so no lock-step promotion; promotion of pay is entirely merit based

Promotions are made on merit, and everyone is given the opportunity to advance their career.

No strict hierarchy, but offered a lot of opportunities and play a big role in a deal early on - although formal title changes are not given (apart from Graduate, Lawyer, Special Counsel and Partner).

There are very few titles at G+T (graduate, lawyer, senior counsel and partner). Therefore, a junior can operate at a Senior Associate level of responsibility without having the title, which is good. On the flipside some senior lawyers are probably find the lack of "Senior Associate" position difficult as it leaves them unsure as to where they are in terms of career progression. Making partner is very difficult to achieve. I believe you need a very sound business case.

Have not looked into this much, but I imagine it is not easy to progress, particularly at senior levels. That said we are not locked into a step-by-step promotion model and Gilbert + Tobin, compared to other law firms, is far less bureaucratic and so progression would be easier.

Difficult to say because the company doesn't formally promote anyone beyond the role of Lawyer until they're a Special Counsel or Partner. This makes it difficult to tell sometimes how senior people are and provides poor signaling to the outside market.

It's hard to properly gauge this as a graduate, however I feel like hard work and perseverance can be rewarded from a relatively junior stage (at least compared to other firms)

The progression is constant, because everyone is either a lawyer / consultant or partner / special council the rigid progression is bypassed, with anyone able to take on a challenge and tasks that would be seen to be beyond their station in a traditional system.

Easy to move up until Partner level and then it is hard to make partner given we have a pretty flat structure.

G+T is very good at recognising and supporting high-achievers, and matches the ambition of its workforce.

There is a set progression from graduate to lawyer to senior associate to partner. It is a standard progression to lawyer generally, more challenging to make it to senior associate (usually have to have a large number of years under your belt, probably around 6-8) and very difficult and rare to make the step to partner. No-on in the Perth office has been internally promoted to partner since 2010 or earlier but lateral hires have occurred.

We don't have a strict hierarchy in terms of promotion. But pay rises are possible, but arguably difficult to gauge how to be obtained