How Cameron Found Law, Balance, and Life Beyond Work with LOD

After joining LOD, Cameron seconded to Rio Tinto as a Warden’s Court Specialist, balancing contracts, negotiations, and litigation. What he values most is LOD’s flexibility—offering career growth, balance, and the freedom to enjoy life beyond law.

Can you please introduce yourself and tell us about your current secondment? 

I am a lawyer with private practice experience in banking and finance and defendant insurance litigation. I was born and raised in Perth, and studied pharmacology, finance, and law at the University of Western Australia.

I have been working with LOD for close to 18 months during which I have been seconded to Rio Tinto as a Warden’s Court Specialist. It is not a traditional “legal counsel” role – my day-to-day focusses on the legal aspects of protecting Rio Tinto’s various assets and infrastructure, principally in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

This involves negotiating Access Agreements with third parties, and sometimes, preparation of particulars and evidence to resolve disputes – all of which require engaging with diverse internal stakeholders and subject matter experts, our internal legal team, and external lawyers. I get exposure to a mixture of contracts and litigation, which is a nice balance. ‍

What attracted you to the Lawyers On Demand model? 

I was referred to LOD by a close friend and colleague who I know through university and a prior workplace.

Compared to private practice the LOD model offers a better work-life balance, flexibility of contracting – particularly between secondments, the ability to bill for overtime if necessary, and a range of work and clients.‍

How has Lawyers On Demand supported you in your career and your life? 

LOD has allowed me to prioritise my personal life and take time off work to pursue travel opportunities, often related to my hobbies. Recently, LOD made a generous donation to my fundraising campaign for the MACA 200 – a 200 km bike ride I am doing in October this year to raise money for cancer research‍

What additional benefits has the Lawyers On Demand model provided you with in your career that you may not have obtained elsewhere? 

As a relatively junior lawyer at the time I started my first contract, LOD was able to introduce me to in-house roles with large clients who do not hire through traditional methods. Being a contractor allows a bit more flexibility in my life with leave requests and work life balance, compared to traditional private practice firms. Although I technically need to report to “two bosses” (the client, and my manager at LOD), it doesn’t feel like that in practice! Being a contractor with LOD, I also have access to legal research tools that I may not have if I was working as an in-house lawyer at a small company.

What advice would you give to new Lawyers On Demand lawyers starting out or someone who may want to change their career trajectory? 

I have particularly enjoyed meeting other LOD lawyers and staff at our biannual social events, like our EoFY and Christmas party. It is not often that you get to meet other lawyers with such colourful backgrounds and depth of expertise. By engaging with your LoD colleagues, you can learn about their different career paths, and current and previous secondments, which may help provide some perspective or different ways of solving problems in your own role. You are able to network with a variety of colleagues at different stages of their careers who are all onside – opportunities that do not come that easily in private practice or at smaller firms. I encourage new LOD lawyers to make the most out of internal social events to expand their network, and learn how they use the LOD model to their advantage.

How do you spend your time when you are not on secondment? 

Since starting with LOD, I have had more time to enjoy my personal life and work on some existing or new hobbies. This year, I have started making sourdough again, taken up singing lessons, and joined a social choir that sings mostly musical theatre songs. I have been getting back into classical music, practising a lot more piano, and attending a lot of live gigs!

I play ultimate frisbee up to four times a week at the moment, and have been to a few notable international tournaments recently including the 2024 World Beach Ultimate Club Championships in Portugal, a social beach tournament in the Philippines in March this year, and I am eyeing another one in Thailand in November!  

In March/April this year, I bike-packed around the entirety of Taiwan with my brother and a friend! We did over 1,100 km in 10 days (+ some rest days in the middle), averaging 80-120 km and 600-1500 m altitude each day, carrying all of our gear!

I worked as a barista for about ten years in a past life, so I am always making good coffee and sometimes go to coffee tastings and industry events, and often host friends for meals, board games, and chess!