General Counsel of R&F Property, Bradley Dosser, talks about the difference between private practice and in-house, the importance of coffee when working from home, and the rush of being quoted and having your conduct confirmed by a Justice of the Supreme Court.
Why in house?
I’m passionate about being a lawyer and love being a member of the legal profession, but after several years in private practise I began to feel that I was missing out on important parts of the transactions I was advising on. To use an imperfect analogy, I felt like my clients would call on me for advice about an out of control motor vehicle they were driving. I could help them a bit, but I was never in the car with them and certainly never had a hand on the wheel. In-house you are definitely in the vehicle with the rest of the team – for better or for worse. But I wouldn’t have it any other way. The stakes are higher but the ability to influence the outcome is also greater, especially as you develop deeper relationships with stakeholders and become a trusted advisor.
Being an effective in-house legal counsel, especially at the General Counsel level, means being more to the business than a black letter lawyer. It means being a resilient, commercially-sensitive solutions-oriented operative. You need to understand and navigate through the legal risks of the business’ activities as well as be able to synthesise them into commercially astute, risk sensitive solutions.
Ultimately, I have found this branch of the profession more rewarding both personally and professionally.
Tell us about what you’re up to at the moment?
I am currently the General Counsel at R&F Property Australia, the wholly owned subsidiary of one of China’s leading property developers. In addition to China and Australia, the Group operates in Malaysia, the UK, and the US.
My role involves a high degree of communication with our headquarters in Guangzhou and offices in Hong Kong, especially during this pandemic. WeChat is a remarkably effective tool for video conferencing and out of office calls!
When I moved from the Schiavello Group of Companies in October 2018, I anticipated a reduction in my workload as R&F has fewer, but larger projects. I couldn’t have been more wrong!
The business just achieved financial close on a significant finance transaction with an Australian development funder which has kept me busy for the last few months liaising, alongside R&F’s Financial Controller, with the outgoing lenders who are based in Hong Kong.
I’ve also been busy working with the project and commercial teams in preparing and issuing a Tender and associated contractual documents for early Civil Works at one of R&F’s developments in Rochdale, Queensland.
There’s been considerable interest in R&F’s projects around the country from potential bulk purchasers as well. As these are not business-as-usual transactions, I have been heavily involved with the Sales and Marketing Division.
All in all, COVID19 has not yet had a dampening impact on the activities of R&F Property – as far as my role is concerned at least.
Most memorable moments in law?
I’m fortunate enough to have had a thoroughly enjoyable career in the law to date. The job, both in private practice and in house, has been every bit as challenging as I had hoped. I have been surprised by how much fun I’ve managed to have along the way and the genuine human connections I have managed to make throughout the journey.
Being quoted in a case and having your conduct affirmed by a Justice of the Supreme Court in the Building Cases List is certainly exciting and satisfying. As is closing negotiations for a billion dollar property development with a high profile JV partner, and achieving financial close on a USD $250M lending facility for a project.
For me personally though, the most memorable moments have always been those moments when you transcend the client’s expectations or preconceptions of what lawyers are and what they can do. Those fleeting moments between real people when they look at you, see the person behind the job and say something genuinely heartfelt, like complimenting your sense of humour or the potentially double edged ‘you’re not like any lawyer I’ve ever dealt with before’ – where you aren’t just what they expect a lawyer to be, but more.
How has COVID-19 changed the way you work?
Radically. Prior to this, presence in the office was critical in my role. In order to combat the spread of COVID-19, R&F directed its workforce to work from home from 20 March 2020. In the 2 months since then, my role has been performed almost entirely remotely. The only thing I’ve needed to physically attend was the signing of significant contracts and suites of finance documents in order to ensure it goes off without a hitch.
Working from home: yes or no?
Absolutely! More efficiently and productively than from the office, too. Without unnecessarily long meetings and internal clients and stakeholders dropping by, I have been able to achieve my own to do list without interruption in a way I might never have experienced in my entire legal career. Even accounting for the intermittent distraction of children “attending school from home”.
Things that have gotten you through the past couple of months?
The single most valuable thing I’ve found, which has gotten me through over the past couple of months, has been the time and space to think about my work without interruption. It is a rare and valuable thing, and I am not looking forward to it inevitably being taken from me. I suspect over time “business as normal” will gradually erode this luxury from my professional life.
Other than this my new DeLonghi Nespresso Coffee machine, lunchtime walks with my partner Amanda, the spontaneous laughter of the children in the background throughout the day, and the company of my zoo sized troupe of animals including my French bulldog, chihuahua, two cats, rabbit, and bearded dragon have all contributed to me staying relatively sane throughout these interesting times.