“Now, younger lawyers desperately want to move away from billables, thinking that in-house will be their solution. But my big message to them is: Don’t do it.”
After 8+ years as a lawyer, Rachael Musgrave made the jump to legal recruitment.
From the insurance disputes team at Clayton Utz and in-house at Suncorp to working in recruitment both in agency and for a top-tier law firm, she’s cultivated decades of experience on both sides of the industry.
Today, Rachael works at Empire Group, where she connects lawyers at all levels with their future careers.
We sat down with Rachael to discuss salary expectations, how to spot a rogue recruiter, and when the right time is to move in-house.
How did you make the jump from law to recruitment?
I worked as a lawyer for around 8+ years, both in top-tier firms and in-house.
My career started at Clayton Utz while I was still studying. My original plan was to go to the bar, but I ended up joining Suncorp in-house, just as they were privatising.
I stayed at Suncorp for about seven and a half years, which I really enjoyed. But I had two children and was having a third, while my husband was at the private bar. I thought one of us doing unusual hours was enough. So I took a step back from work.
When I was ready to return to work, the question became: “Do I go back into law or not?”
I ran into a friend who owned an accounting recruitment agency, and they asked whether I wanted to join. Being a Brisbane girl, Brisbane born, I happened to have a strong network of partners here, so that gave me a head start.
Then my now boss at Empire Group, Michelle Sneesby, approached me and asked whether I wanted to join a team that specialises in legal recruitment.
That’s how I fell into recruiting.
What mistakes do lawyers make when considering a job change?
There’s a really big thing at the moment.