Our Team // Sarah Ward
Get to know the team behind the brand. We’re sitting down with members of our team to learn more about their role at Law Squared, their personal pursuits, and what makes them a Law Squared-ite!
This week, you get to meet Sarah Ward, our newest Commercial team member.
Tell us a little bit about yourself
Hi, I’m Sarah and I’m the newest member of the Commercial team!
I have recently moved back to Queensland after living and working in Melbourne for a long time. I loved living and working in Melbourne, but over the last 2 years I was unable to travel to visit my family in Brisbane. This separation prompted me to pack up and return home, bringing my husband, toddler son, two dogs and soon to arrive second child. There have been some big changes for my family with a new home, new job and new school for my son, but we are excited to be here and looking forward to establishing ourselves in Brisbane.
Tell us about your career journey so far and what led you to Law Squared
I studied at Griffith University and then practised as a solicitor on the Gold Coast for about 3 years. I then grabbed an opportunity to work at a large firm in Melbourne where I ended up working for 10 years. During this time, my career progressed from a junior lawyer to Partner, and I obtained my Accreditation from the Law Institute of Victoria in Commercial Tenancy Law. I have worked most of my career in the commercial law and property law spaces (with some litigation thrown in). I have been a trusted legal advisor for businesses of all stages of life, from small to medium businesses to ASX listed companies, including those with National and International brands and presence.
I found myself at Law Squared after meeting some of Law Squared’s people and just felt like it was a place that I wanted to work. These people are happy! I personally wanted, to be valued not only for my work but as a person, a role that challenges me and to be involved in a business where its leader will have my back and support me through all stages of my career and life. I have found that at Law Squared.
Sarah joined Law Squared’s Commercial team in January, 2022.
Tell us about some of the clients you work with and the type of work you do at Law Squared
I am in the commercial team and whilst I have just started, I have had the opportunity to work with some exciting businesses in both Australia and in the UK. The type of work that the commercial team does is the work that sets a business up for success now and in the future. One of the objectives of this type of work is to avoid misunderstandings and disputes between people. Some examples include negotiating and drafting a wide range of agreements and providing businesses and individuals with advice on all things business related.
Tell us about the Law Squared difference. What makes Law Squared standout from the traditional law firms around the country and the world?
There are a lot of reasons why Law Squared is different. One of the interesting ones is that there is no hierarchy of its lawyers, everyone has an equal voice, from a lawyer who is just starting their career to someone who has been practising for many years. This cuts out the competition between team members and any arrogance in more senior lawyers. The positive impact this has on the workplace is evident in how all employees interact and work together.
There is also a different take on outsourced legal services. This is a great option for businesses that have on-going legal work and want to be clear what it will be spending each month on lawyers without any nasty cost surprises. For example, Landlord’s of shopping centres or businesses who have large property portfolios that lease a large number of properties each month and get charged on an hourly or individual lease basis. You can think of it as an in-house legal counsel alternative where you have one of our lawyers working closely with you at a fixed monthly cost and you won’t have any concerns about the time is takes to complete the work equating to how much you are charged. Everyone who has used lawyers in the past would be familiar with being billed at a cost per hour, which encourages inefficiency.
Outside of work, what do you love to do, and where would we find you?
One of my favourite things to do is going on family adventures. I am really enjoying getting to know Brisbane and the surrounding areas on these trips. We have packed up the car and dogs and explored the Gold Coast, Mt. Tamborine, and the Sunshine Coast so far. I also love going out for dinner with family friends or hosting a casual Dinner/BBQ at our house.