Find your team
Wondering where you'll fit in?
Discover more about our diverse range of legal practice areas and business advisory teams, and find the CGW team that’s the right fit for you.
Career progression is a journey we take together, and it means different things to different people.
Our focus on team culture and technical excellence is displayed through the development opportunities, support and guidance we provide to all workgroups and experience levels.
Key practice areas
Our highly skilled legal team work across industries for a broad range of clients including listed companies, private organisations and individuals, middle market enterprises, governments and government-owned corporations.
A comprehensive list of our expertise areas can be found on our Expertise page.
Cooper Grace Ward offers Brisbane’s leading banking and finance legal service, with extensive expertise in all areas of banking and finance law. Regularly acting on behalf of Australia’s major banks, credit unions, financiers, originators, and sub-originators, as well as borrowers and guarantors, we excel in this complex area of the law.
Our banking and finance team is led by partner Greg Thorne, who is recognised by Best Lawyers Australia as one of Queensland’s leading banking and finance lawyers. Greg and his team of professionals have the skills, knowledge and resources to help clients with an extensive range of their banking and finance needs.
Cooper Grace Ward delivers Brisbane’s premier corporate and commercial legal service, with comprehensive expertise in all areas of corporate and commercial law. We serve a diverse range of clients, such as public and private companies, government entities, not-for-profit organisations, family businesses, start-ups, and investors.
The corporate advisory team is led by partners Charles Sweeney and Andrew Corkhill, who are both recognised by Doyle’s Guide and Best Lawyers Australia as leading corporate lawyers in Queensland. We provide a comprehensive range of legal services, including advice and support on mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance and compliance, competition and consumer law, intellectual property and technology.
Cooper Grace Ward is one of the few major Brisbane-based law firms with a dedicated team of family lawyers. Our team provides expert practical advice on all family law issues, including the associated tax, superannuation, business and property aspects.
We pride ourselves on building meaningful relationships and understanding our clients’ needs, both on a personal and professional level.
Our family law team is led by partner Justine Woods, a Queensland Law Society Accredited Family Law Specialist. She is recognised as one of Australia’s leading family lawyers by major legal directories, such as Doyle’s Guide and Best Lawyers Australia. Justine and her team of dedicated and compassionate professionals have the skills, knowledge, and resources to help clients with their family law needs.
Cooper Grace Ward has a leading Queensland insurance practice. Our team of defendant insurance lawyers have been integral legal providers to the Australian insurance industry for over 30 years. We represent major insurance companies, leading self-insured clients, government bodies and statutory authorities across a wide range of industries and sectors.
Our insurance team is led by partners Tony Park and Brady Cockburn, who are both independently ranked as leading defendant insurance lawyers in Queensland by Doyle’s Guide and Best Lawyers Australia.
Cooper Grace Ward provides Brisbane’s premier litigation legal service, representing a diverse range of clients nationally in litigation and disputes. Our team acts for listed companies, private companies and individuals, and local and state governments.
Our litigators benefit from being part of a large commercial law firm, which allows them to access the specialist expertise of many other leading practice teams. Where necessary, we assemble multi‑disciplinary legal teams to work on cases.
The litigation and dispute resolution team is led by partners Rocco Russo, Graham Roberts and Miranda Klibbe. We have earned considerable recognition as leading litigators in Queensland by Chambers Global and Asia Pacific, The Legal 500 Asia Pacific, Doyle’s Guide and Best Lawyers Australia.
Cooper Grace Ward is one of the leading planning and environment law firms in Brisbane, with an outstanding reputation for providing commercial solutions to planning and environmental issues arising from property acquisition and development.
Our team of professionals work closely with consultants in fields such as engineering, environmental science, planning and cultural heritage to deliver high-quality legal advice and representation to clients in the private and public sectors.
The planning and environment team is led by partners Marcus Ford and Leanne O’Neill, who have been recognised by Doyle’s Guide and Best Lawyers Australia as Queensland’s best planning and environment lawyers.
Cooper Grace Ward delivers Brisbane’s leading property legal service, with comprehensive expertise in all kinds of property transactions, projects and developments. Our team serves a diverse range of clients, such as property developers, owners, investors, landlords, project managers, contractors, consultants and government across various industries, including health and aged care, agriculture, energy and resources, education, and airports and marinas. We offer services to major corporate clients, MMEs and government entities that acquire property as part of their business operations.
Our team benefits from being part of a large commercial law firm, which allows access to specialist expertise across our other practice teams. This includes collaboration with Cooper Grace Ward’s commercial team on revenue issues (especially GST), joint ventures and development agreement structuring, ensuring that we provide our clients with a seamless approach and optimal commercial outcome for their property developments.
Cooper Grace Ward Lawyers’ property team is led by partners Marcus Ford, Laura Gahan and Clive Nichol, who have earned considerable recognition from Doyle’s Guide and Best Lawyers Australia as being among Queensland’s best property lawyers. Marcus, Laura and Clive, and their team of professionals, have the expertise, knowledge and resources to help clients with all their property needs.
Cooper Grace Ward offers Queensland’s premier superannuation, trusts and estates practice. We help a diverse range of clients, such as individuals, families, business owners and trustees, working hand in hand with their accountants, financial planners and other advisers. Our team provides comprehensive legal services for self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF) trustees and their advisers, as well as advice on estate planning, administration, and disputes. We also advise on business succession strategies and trust structures.
Our team includes two accredited SMSF Specialist Advisors, who work closely with our other teams, such as tax and revenue, property, and banking and finance. This ensures we deliver practical and integrated solutions for our clients.
The practice is led by partners Scott Hay-Bartlem, Clinton Jackson, Hayley Mitchell and Linda Tapiolas, who are recognised by Doyle’s Guide and Best Lawyers Australia as being among Queensland’s leading superannuation, trust and estate lawyers.
Find out more about:
Cooper Grace Ward is recognised as having Queensland’s market-leading tax practice, with comprehensive expertise in all areas of tax and revenue law. Our team works closely with accountants and financial advisers to provide practical solutions for clients, as well as collaborating with other practice teams within our firm.
Clients choose to work with our tax lawyers because understand their commercial goals thoroughly, have a deep knowledge of legislation and keep track of its changes, and solve problems in a way that adds value to the business overall.
Our tax advisory and tax disputes team is led by partners Fletch Heinemann and Sarah Lancaster, who have been recognised by Doyle’s Guide and Best Lawyers Australia as being among Queensland’s top tax lawyers.
Find out more about:
Cooper Grace Ward provides Brisbane’s top workplace relations and safety legal service, with extensive expertise in all areas of workplace relations and safety law. Our team represents a wide variety of clients and industries, including construction, energy and resources, transport, labour hire/recruitment, manufacturing, retail, security, education and training, motor vehicle dealerships, community care and health.
The team is led by partners Belinda Winter and Annie Smeaton, who between them have gained considerable recognition by Doyle’s Guide and Best Lawyers Australia as leading workplace relations and safety lawyers in Queensland. Belinda and Annie, and their team of professionals, have the experience, knowledge and resources to assist clients with all their workplace relations and safety needs.
Business advisory and corporate services professionals
Our valued business advisory and corporate services teams are paramount to the success of our business. Many of our firm awards reflect the industry leading work that they do, including the HRD 5 Star Employer of Choice Award and the Diversity Council of Australia’s Inclusive Employer award.
Our Corporate Services team is responsible for managing our office facilities, front-of-house meeting and conference rooms, reception desk, catering, mailroom and logistics.
Our Administration team members support each of our legal teams in delivering services efficiently and provide administrative assistance on a wide range of tasks.
Cooper Grace Ward’s Finance team combines financial management, data and business strategy to guide business decisions and support the firm’s long term growth.
The team manages all financial aspects of the firm, including budgeting, financial reporting, cash flow and expenditure, while also ensuring the firm is compliant with relevant financial regulations.
Our IT team ensures the functionality, security and effectiveness of our technology systems. This includes managing hardware, software and networks, while ensuring the highest standards of data security.
They also provide support to our team through a dedicated Service Desk, and work alongside our legal teams to develop and implement technological solutions and upgrades that improve outcomes for our clients and our team.
In addition, this team oversees the quality and risk management systems for the firm which are certified to international standard AS/NZS ISO 9001.
Knowledge management is a key element in the success of our firm and we have invested in systems, precedents and processes that set us apart from many of our competitors.
Our Knowledge and Precedents team brings together the firm’s collective intellectual assets to ensure that the right information is available to the right people at the right time. This includes overseeing our systems for managing legal knowledge, including legal precedents, research databases and document templates, as well as supporting team members to make best use of these resources.
Our Marketing and Business Development team works closely with the legal and business advisory teams to enhance client relationships and drive profitable revenue growth.
The team also plays a key role in firmwide strategic planning and is responsible for all marketing communications.
The firm’s People and Culture team plays a pivotal role in nurturing an inclusive and engaging work environment for our team.
They manage a range of functions including recruitment, retention, payroll, benefits, workplace policies, learning and development, recognition, and diversity and inclusion initiatives.
This team works to ensure the firm attracts, develops and retains the best talent, while fostering a positive culture that aligns with the firm’s values and business strategy.
