If you need a new General Counsel in Perth, plan on five to seven months from the day you brief a search to the day they walk in the door. Around three of those months are the search itself. The rest is usually notice period, and it is the part most organisations forget to budget for.
That gap between expectation and reality causes real problems. Boards approve a hire in March expecting a GC in place for the half-year, then find themselves running a major transaction, a regulatory review or a dispute with no senior legal lead. This article sets out what a realistic GC timeline looks like in the Perth market, where the time actually goes, and how to plan so you are not caught short.
Why Perth is different
Perth has a deep but small pool of senior in-house lawyers. Most have built their careers in resources, energy, infrastructure, mining services or government, and many know each other. That makes the market relationship-driven, and it means the right candidate is often not actively looking.
A few local factors shape the timeline:
- A concentrated candidate pool. For a sector-specific GC role, the genuinely qualified local field may be a few dozen people. Approaching them carefully and confidentially takes time.
- Sector expectations. Resources and energy employers often want experience with project agreements, native title, joint ventures, ASX continuous disclosure or WA-specific regulation. Each requirement narrows the field further.
- Interstate and overseas candidates. When the local pool is thin, searches extend to the east coast, Singapore, the UK or South Africa. Relocation adds decision time, family considerations and sometimes visa or admission steps.
- Time zones and travel. Being two to three hours behind the east coast, and further from most international markets, makes scheduling interviews with remote candidates and interstate board members slower than people expect.
- Counteroffers. Good GCs are hard to replace, so current employers frequently counteroffer. A strong process anticipates this rather than being surprised by it.
The realistic timeline, stage by stage
A well-run GC search in Perth typically reaches a signed offer in 10 to 15 weeks. Here is where that time goes.
| Stage | Typical duration | What happens |
| 1. Brief and approvals | 1–2 weeks | Agree the role, reporting line, remuneration range and who decides. Secure board or CEO sign-off. |
| 2. Market mapping and approach | 3–4 weeks | Identify the realistic field locally, interstate and overseas. Make confidential approaches to passive candidates. |
| 3. Shortlist and first interviews | 2–3 weeks | Present a shortlist, run first-round interviews with the hiring manager. |
| 4. Final interviews and assessment | 2–4 weeks | CEO, board or committee meetings, stakeholder sessions, any case study or psychometric assessment. |
| 5. References, checks and offer | 1–2 weeks | Referencing, practising certificate and background checks, offer negotiation, managing any counteroffer. |
| 6. Notice period | 4–26 weeks | The candidate resigns and works out their notice, often three months for a GC-level role. |
| Total, brief to start date | roughly 5–7 months | Longer for listed companies, relocations or six-month notice periods. |
These are typical ranges, not guarantees. A tight brief and a decisive panel can shave weeks off stages 1 to 5. An unclear brief or a board that meets monthly can add months.
Notice periods: the hidden months
The single biggest variable in a GC timeline is the notice period, and it sits entirely outside your control. Senior in-house lawyers in Australia commonly have three-month notice periods. At ASX-listed companies or in executive roles, six months is not unusual.
Some employers will release a departing GC early once a handover is done. Others hold them to the full term, or place them on gardening leave, particularly during a live transaction or dispute. Restraint clauses can also limit when and where a candidate can start.
The practical result is that your search may finish in April while your new GC starts in August. Ask about notice terms early in the process, and factor them into your shortlist decisions rather than discovering them at offer stage.
What slows a GC search down
Most delays come from inside the hiring organisation, not the market. The common ones we see:
- A brief that keeps moving. If the role shifts from “commercial GC” to “GC and Company Secretary” halfway through, the search effectively restarts.
- Unclear decision-makers. When nobody has agreed whether the CEO, the board or a committee makes the final call, candidates wait while internal alignment happens.
- Calendar gaps between interview rounds. Two-week gaps between rounds are where good candidates lose momentum or accept other offers.
- Remuneration out of step with the market. Perth GC packages in resources and energy are competitive. A range set below market often surfaces only after strong candidates decline.
- Seasonal slowdowns. The Christmas and January period stalls most processes for four to six weeks. School holidays and financial year-end also affect availability.
- Relocation decisions. A candidate moving from Sydney, Melbourne or overseas needs time to weigh schools, housing and a partner’s career. Rushing this tends to produce late withdrawals.
How to plan for it
The best way to shorten a GC search is to do the thinking before it starts. These steps make the biggest difference:
- Start earlier than feels necessary. If your GC has resigned or a new role is approved, begin the search immediately. If you can see a need coming, such as a retirement, an IPO or a major project, start planning six to nine months out.
- Lock the brief before going to market. Agree the scope, reporting line, must-have experience and the remuneration range, and have it signed off by whoever holds the final decision.
- Name the decision-makers and book their time. Put interview windows in the CEO’s and board members’ diaries before the shortlist arrives, so rounds can run within days of each other.
- Benchmark remuneration honestly. Test your range against the current Perth market early, including short- and long-term incentives, so you are not renegotiating at offer stage.
- Ask about notice and restraints upfront. Treat notice period as a selection factor, and explore early-release options as part of the offer conversation.
- Plan for counteroffers. Understand each finalist’s motivations for moving and keep communication warm between offer acceptance and start date.
- Arrange interim cover. An interim or contract GC, a secondee from your external firm, or a structured handover to a senior legal counsel can bridge the gap. Arranging this early protects the business and takes pressure off the search.
Getting it right the first time
Recruiting a General Counsel in Perth takes longer than most organisations expect, but it does not have to be a surprise. Budget five to seven months from brief to start date, settle the brief and the decision-makers before you go to market, and arrange interim cover for the gap. Do those three things and you will be well placed to secure the right person rather than the first available one.
At Counsel Connect, we specialise in in-house legal appointments across Western Australia. If you are planning a General Counsel hire or think you may need one in the next year, get in touch for a confidential conversation about the market, realistic timing and what it will take to attract the right candidate.
