Meet our team: Matt Wichlinski

Matt Wichlinski

Associate - Employment & labour

Brisbane

 
We recently interviewed Matt Wichlinski to find out what it's like to work as an associate in our employment & labour team in Brisbane. Matt joined our team just under a year ago and here's what he had to say about how things are going.

How are you finding working in the employment & labour team at Norton Rose Fulbright?
 
It’s been an incredible journey so far. Professionally, socially and personally my expectations have been exceeded. The extraordinary legal resources, unique work, strong guidance and fun team environment has certainly made me feel like I made the right move.   
 
I walk into work every day knowing that I will probably either learn something new or learn how to improve on something I already knew. That’s not to say there is an aggressive red pen approach. Rather, Norton Rose Fulbright fosters transparent professional relationships between employees to ensure young professionals are given the tools required to progress their career.

Is there anything you do at Norton Rose Fulbright that you wouldn’t get the opportunity to do elsewhere?
 
Besides from regularly providing me with the opportunity to eat an unreasonable amount of party pies at client functions, Norton Rose Fulbright is a firm that encourages professional development and offers a variety of exciting domestic and international work.

As an international firm, Norton Rose Fulbright Australia works collaboratively with overseas Norton Rose Fulbright offices to ensure client expectations are satisfied. There is a fantastic team culture here and you are often given the chance to work with international clients as a result.

Norton Rose Fulbright also looks after its employees. Since joining, I have participated in a charity table tennis tournament, enjoyed some unbelievable social events and even signed up to swim, cycle and briskly walk (albeit extremely slowly) in a corporate triathlon.

You report to partner, Martin Osborne. How would you describe Martin’s leadership style? 
 
Martin is straight-talking, values quality and really cares about his team. He has a wickedly dry sense of humour, but he is honestly one of the best career mentors I could ask for. He motivates me to improve, provides me with ongoing support and is always there to chat through any questions I have. Martin makes each of us in the employment & labour Team feel valued and respected. As a legal professional, that ticks some huge boxes for me. 
 
I also have regular opportunities to learn from other senior members in the employment team in Brisbane and other interstate offices. For example, I recently had a matter involving an advice that we provided to an international client regarding each state’s workers’ compensation legislation. As part of that work, I spoke with my counterparts in Sydney and Melbourne and was given some quick guidance on how it all worked.

The Brisbane office has an unreal group of senior members, but it is also nice knowing that I can call other offices to get their assistance on difficult matters.

I understand you’ve been nominated in the Best 30 Under 30, congratulations! Has working at Norton Rose Fulbright helped you to achieve that and if so, how?

Thank you. 
 
Absolutely! I am provided with regular client exposure and some very interesting employment matters. I was nominated by a client for my work and was given all the support I could handle (for example, references, guidance on what to include in my submissions, etc.) from Martin Osborne, Peta Willoughby and the rest of the Norton Rose Fulbright team. I am super appreciative to the Norton Rose Fulbright team for their help.
 
Best of luck with your nomination, we look forward to hearing how it goes!

If you would like to find out about opportunities in Norton Rose Fulbright’s employment & labour team, contact Kerry Brown or search our current vacancies here.