About us

What we do

Beacon Legal is a recruitment and career consultancy for the legal industry. We combine legal qualifications and experience with recruitment management to provide expert services to candidates and clients. We have offices in Sydney and London and provide services in key international markets: Australia; Asia; UK; New York; Dubai and the Cayman Islands.

Specialist

We know the legal industry inside out; it's all we do. We understand the requirements of clients and candidates on a local, national and international level.

Candidate Care

We provide a consultative, trustworthy and efficient service to every candidate we partner with. Take a look at our Candidate Charter or better yet, come and meet us for coffee.

Client Service

We pride ourselves on our reliable, credible and transparent approach; this is how we create long term partnerships. We add value through in-depth market knowledge and advisory services.

Our Candidates

What they’re saying

Senior Associate, Magic Circle Firm, London

I made the move from Melbourne to London. I have known Alex for a number of years in a professional capacity in both London and Australia. I have always found him to be straight talking, responsive and easy to get along with. He knows the London market thoroughly having been a lawyer here and was able to advise me on the firms best suited to my requirements. I have worked with a number of recruiters over the years and Alex stands out as the person who I would always contact first and also refer friends if they're looking for a new job.

What they’re saying

Associate, Silver Circle Firm, London

I am looking to move from London to Sydney in late 2018. I recently met with Alex in London to discuss my move to Australia at the end of the year. He has an extremely detailed knowledge of the Australian market and having never worked outside of London myself, I had numerous questions which he answered. I feel much better equipped to make my decision on which firms I will apply to. Alex also gave me great general advice on Sydney to make the most out of my time there, which was appreciated! I will definitely be making my job applications through Alex.

Honesty
We are honest and transparent and pride ourselves on open communication.
Integrity
Our approach is based on trust, respect and confidentiality.
Responsive
We will do what we say we are going to do and will keep you informed in a timely manner.
Trust
Developing long term relationships based on trust is at the core of our personal and business interactions.
Fair
We will never discriminate and believe everyone deserves a fair go.

View all available candidates

The Team

Alex Gotch

Director (Qualified Lawyer)

Alex has numerous years of experience within the legal industry having worked at top US, UK and Australian law firms. Alex qualified and practised as a Finance Lawyer at a Top Tier London firm and has also worked as Legal Counsel at a FTSE 100 Bank. Prior to founding Beacon Legal, Alex headed up a high performing Legal Division at a large recruitment company based in Sydney.

Matthew Edwards

Director

Matthew is an Australian qualified lawyer and practised at a Sydney law firm before commencing his legal recruitment career in 2015. Prior to joining Beacon Legal, Matthew managed the Legal Division at at an international recruitment agency where he was a consistent top performer. Matthew holds a law degree from the University of New South Wales.

Chad Weerasinghe

Director

Chad is a qualified corporate lawyer with five years' experience in top-tier city and offshore firms. He previously practiced as a trauma surgeon (Royal College of Surgeons, London) before making a successful segue into the corporate world. Chad advises private practice law firms and recruits nationally and internationally in a variety of areas of law including banking & finance, commercial, competition, construction, corporate, litigation and dispute resolution, M&A and real estate.

James Andrew

Manager

James is a Legal Recruitment Consultant at Beacon Legal, focusing on the Private Practice legal market. He uses his experience and qualifications to offer candidates and clients a personalised and bespoke career advisory service.

Aimee Salt

Manager

Aimee has over 5 years of legal recruitment experience concentrating on the Brisbane market as well as the national insurance market.

Jake Hayden-Smith

Manager

Jake has over 7 years of legal recruitment experience and covers the national Australian In-House market, where he is a trusted recruiter for a range of commercial businesses.

Dylan Mountford

Director (Risk & Compliance)

Dylan is a Director, leading the Risk & Compliance function within Beacon Legal's specialist Financial Services business; Beacon FS. Dylan has over 7 years of experience recruiting in this market in Sydney and has delivered numerous successful mandates within the Financial Services and commercial sector.

Benedict Roberts

Director

Benedict is a Director in our London office and responsible for Private Practice recruitment and the running of the office. Benedict has over 10 years' experience of legal recruitment in the London market.

Bracken Reeves

Manager

Bracken has a law degree from the University of Canterbury and has previously worked at top tier New Zealand law firm, Russell McVeagh. He focuses on the Private Practice legal market in London and uses experience and qualifications to offer candidates and clients a personalised career advisory service.

Nick Varvounis

Manager

Nick is a qualified lawyer and experienced legal recruiter, with vast experience helping lawyers find new roles in Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide.

Pippa Mccaw

Senior Consultant

Pippa is an experienced Legal Recruiter who is a Senior Consultant at Beacon Legal, focusing on the Private Practice market.

Charlotte Turnbull

Senior Consultant

Charlotte is a qualified lawyer and experienced legal recruiter, she focused on legal placements in both Private Practice and In-House in Brisbane.

Craig Low

Senior Consultant

Craig is an experienced Senior Legal Recruitment Consultant and a valuable part of our Brisbane Private Practice team.

Aisha Lawal

Consultant

Aisha is a talented Legal Recruitment Consultant in our London office. Aisha focuses on supporting clients to recruit lawyers from NQ up to Partner level, working with major law firms across London, as well as other major legal hubs such as New York, Dubai, Bermuda, Brussels, the Cayman Islands.

Anum Fatima

Consultant

Anum is an experienced Legal Recruitment Consultant, and is a valuable part of Beacon Legal's Private Practice team.

Misha McKenzie

Consultant

Misha is a talented Legal search and recruitment consultant, focusing on the Private Practice market. Misha is also a UK qualified lawyer, and completed her studies at the University of Manchester and the University of Law.

Toby Orr

Consultant

Toby holds a Law Degree from the University of Sheffield and recruits in the London Private Practice and Australian In-House markets, based out of Sydney.

Chelsea O’Gorman

Candidate Manager

Chelsea is a Candidate Manager and her role is to develop and maintain excellent relationships with our candidates.

Jasmine Eyles

Senior Candidate Manager

Jasmine is an experienced Candidate Manager working in the Brisbane market, assisting our clients with legal recruitment mandates.

Saskia Heyen

Candidate Manager

Saskia is a law student and a Candidate Manager at Beacon Legal, supporting the Private Practice team to identify quality candidates for our clients.

Emilie Hughes

Candidate Manager

Emilie is a law student and Candidate Manager within our In House Legal Recruitment team. Emilie is responsible for identifying and sourcing quality candidates for our clients, as well as developing and maintaining positive relationships with our candidates.

Daniel McLaren-Kennedy

Candidate Manager

Daniel is a Candidate Manager in our Sydney office and is responsible for identifying and sourcing candidates for our clients. Dan is also responsible for developing and maintaining positive relationships with our candidates.

Matthew Mountford

Candidate Manager

Matthew is a Candidate Manager within our Private Practice team in Sydney, and is responsible for identifying and sourcing candidates for our clients. Matthew is also responsible for developing and maintaining positive relationships with our candidates.

Jonathan Berry

Director

Jonathan is a Director and leads our UAE office. He is a highly experienced and accomplished recruiter across the region's In-House and Private Practice markets.

Latest News

By Alex Gotch / 1 week ago

About us

What we do

Specialist

Candidate Care

Client Service

Our Candidates

What they’re saying

What they’re saying

The Team

Alex Gotch

Matthew Edwards

Chad Weerasinghe

James Andrew

Aimee Salt

Jake Hayden-Smith

Dylan Mountford

Benedict Roberts

Bracken Reeves

Nick Varvounis

Pippa Mccaw

Charlotte Turnbull

Craig Low

Aisha Lawal

Anum Fatima

Misha McKenzie

Toby Orr

Chelsea O’Gorman

Jasmine Eyles

Saskia Heyen

Emilie Hughes

Daniel McLaren-Kennedy

Matthew Mountford

Jonathan Berry

Latest News

How transferable is my skillset? – U.S. Monthly Update

Moving to the Cayman Islands | NZ Monthly Update

In-House Capability Statement – 2024

Inside the Elite U.S. Law Firms – U.S. Monthly Update

Middle East Partner Moves Q3 2024

Relocating to the UAE | NZ Monthly Update