GOLD COAST LAW FIRM NAMED BEST IN NATION
Being ‘borderline obsessional about industrial relations’ has led to the Gold Coast’s O’Reilly Workplace Law winning Best Employment and Industrial Law Firm in the 2018 NAB Professional Service Awards, announced today (30 October 2018).
The Burleigh Heads-based firm, founded by Principal Lawyer Denise O’Reilly, was also named Best Law Firm in Queensland by independent comparison company FirmChecker.
“I’m borderline obsessional about industrial relations,” said Ms O’Reilly, who has been in the industry for 16 years.
“I devour articles relating to developments in the law and use that to constantly keep my clients up-to-speed with what’s happening out there.”
Although headquartered on the Gold Coast, the boutique employer-focused workplace relations services clients both locally and nationwide.
“The team and I are just so delighted and humbled to have won these awards. They are so important to us because the awards are made based on client feedback, not through a business being good at filling in award application forms,” she said.
Client feedback included praise for the highly effective way the firm communicates with its clients, including its focus on concise, plain-English advice.
Ms O’Reilly said she believed her experience working as a lawyer at both a large international law firm as well as a small local Queensland practice before establishing O’Reilly Workplace Law in 2011 has helped her and her colleagues hone their communication skills irrespective of whether they are speaking with large established business clients or new start-ups.
“Our focus is on providing workable, practical and easy to understand solutions. Clients don’t want to hear about the history of a particular section of the Fair Work Act, they want to know what to do,” she said.
“We’re relatable people who work hard to understand our clients, their businesses, and their drivers. And, once you establish that relationship, you can then speak really directly and comfortably with them about their options.”
“Our work with our clients is very much relationship-driven, not transactional, and there is also a strong focus on educating our clients as we go through the process of working together. This means that as they learn through the process they need us less and become more confident and comfortable dealing with employment issues because of that increased knowledge.”
The firm provides the full suite of industrial relations legal services for its clients, who range from small to medium sized businesses right through to listed companies.
With expertise across all workplace law areas including industrial relations, equal opportunity law, workplace health and safety and general employment law, O’Reilly Workplace Law also provides additional services including inhouse staff training on areas such as anti-discrimination and harassment and bullying.
In response to increasing demand, the firm has plans to open a Brisbane office soon, meaning that even more businesses will have the opportunity to work with this multi-award- winning law firm.
