How does it work?

We carefully select each lawyer for our network, working with only the best.

We seek to understand your needs and workflow, then connect you directly with the right lawyer – in the most effective way. And we take care of the entire process, making it straightforward and hassle-free.

We give you control over both the way you engage with legal service providers and your legal spend. Minimal overheads, lower fees, commercial, pragmatic advice.

We operate a transparent pricing structure so you can see the value of connecting directly. You save significantly and the lawyer receives more… so everyone wins!

With offices across Australia, Dovetail supports clients from the largest organisations and multinationals, through to midsize companies and start-ups.

So, if you’re looking for better lawyers and better value… to do more for less …

Contact Dovetail today.

The benefits of Dovetail

Better business

For too long businesses have had little choice beyond the thinking and methodologies of the traditional legal business model with its inherent inefficiencies and overheads.

At Dovetail, we put you in control over the way you engage legal services. And, in doing so, we give you access to quality, flexible and pragmatic legal advice.

As a business, Dovetail gives you:

Control over who does your work.
Control over the way you engage them to do it.
Control over the way you pay for your legal work to be done.
Control over whether it comes out of your internal or external budget.

Better work

You’re skilful and you’re accustomed to doing the very best legal work. Until now the only thing you haven’t had is choice. That’s because traditionally the top legal work went to law firms.

We tap you into our extensive network of corporate contacts, connecting you with the right clients and work without you having to spend hours of your time and energy on business development and marketing.

As a lawyer, Dovetail gives you:

Choice over who you work for.
Choice over what work you do.
Choice over when and how you work.
Choice over how you get paid.

Our services

Ad Hoc

Top lawyers at exceptional hourly rates work remotely, only as needed to support your business.

Interim/Secondee

Freelance lawyers to work flexibly within your business for the period and price that suits you.

Fixed Term Employee

Directly engage the right lawyers as fixed-term employees on your payroll as part of your business.

Permanent Employee

For your next permanent hire – quality lawyers for your ongoing requirements.

Our team

Andrew Murdoch

A lawyer, legal recruiter and in management in “new law”, Andrew Murdoch has seen first-hand the frustrations faced by in-house teams and individual lawyers. In-house teams need more resources but don’t have the budget and don’t want to sacrifice on quality. Meanwhile, skilled lawyers struggle to access quality work that also fits in with their life. Andrew co-founded Dovetail with the belief that these frustrations could be overcome for the mutual benefit of business and lawyers alike.

Andrew’s dislike of unnecessary internal meetings is equally matched by his love of using technology to avoid them and in his spare time he dreams of an age when his children will be old enough to join him again in backpacking overseas.
andrew.murdoch@dovetaillaw.com.au 0406 240 684
Charlie Smirl

As a senior in-house lawyer who originally started in finance as a business analyst before moving across to corporate law 15 years ago, Charlie has always had a keen interest in how businesses are run. In his role as COO of Dovetail, Charlie brings a deep understanding of the commercial importance to businesses of having practical and timely legal support. Charlie has spent the last decade in senior in-house legal roles, each with its own array of stakeholders across multiple jurisdictions and its own challenges (not the least of which is that no one reads anything), and so he’s well aware that businesses want answers, not essays.

Charlie confesses to being addicted to chilli and, if he had his way, the Dovetail office would have a wood-fired oven installed for regular events involving freshly fired pizzas.
charlie.smirl@dovetaillaw.com.au 0432 811 959
Andrew Bursill

Andrew is a qualified Chartered Accountant and, for the past 18 years, Andrew has worked as a CFO, Company Secretary, and Director for numerous ASX listed, unlisted public and private companies. His particular experience in running and developing successful mid-cap companies has shown to him the importance of quality legal advice at a reasonable price – the key pillars to the success of Dovetail.

Notwithstanding his chosen career of accountancy, Andrew has defied the odds and has maintained a sense of humour, or at least he thinks so, quite often being the only one laughing at his jokes. His favourite: “An accountant is someone who solves a problem you didn’t know you had in a way you don’t understand”.
andrew.bursill@dovetaillaw.com.au 0403 139 152
Sonia Cason

With extensive commercial experience originally gained in finance before entering the legal sector 7 years ago, Sonia has always understood the importance of providing honest, clear and concise information to clients. Since having children, Sonia has been keenly aware of the importance of balance between home and career – and has been naturally drawn to Dovetail’s “practice what you preach” approach. Connecting lawyers and companies on their own terms, offering flexibility and total transparency, while putting clients at the centre of everything we do reflects Sonia’s own values and approach well.

When given the opportunity, you’ll find Sonia doing laps at south beach trying to perfect her technique and improve her times for her next ocean swim.
sonia.cason@dovetaillaw.com.au 0423 302 327

Andrew Murdoch

A lawyer, legal recruiter and in management in “new law”, Andrew Murdoch has seen first-hand the frustrations faced by in-house teams and individual lawyers. In-house teams need more resources but don’t have the budget and don’t want to sacrifice on quality. Meanwhile, skilled lawyers struggle to access quality work that also fits in with their life. Andrew co-founded Dovetail with the belief that these frustrations could be overcome for the mutual benefit of business and lawyers alike.

Andrew’s dislike of unnecessary internal meetings is equally matched by his love of using technology to avoid them and in his spare time he dreams of an age when his children will be old enough to join him again in backpacking overseas.
andrew.murdoch@dovetaillaw.com.au 0406 240 684
Charlie Smirl

As a senior in-house lawyer who originally started in finance as a business analyst before moving across to corporate law 15 years ago, Charlie has always had a keen interest in how businesses are run. In his role as COO of Dovetail, Charlie brings a deep understanding of the commercial importance to businesses of having practical and timely legal support. Charlie has spent the last decade in senior in-house legal roles, each with its own array of stakeholders across multiple jurisdictions and its own challenges (not the least of which is that no one reads anything), and so he’s well aware that businesses want answers, not essays.

Charlie confesses to being addicted to chilli and, if he had his way, the Dovetail office would have a wood-fired oven installed for regular events involving freshly fired pizzas.
charlie.smirl@dovetaillaw.com.au 0432 811 959
Andrew Bursill

Andrew is a qualified Chartered Accountant and, for the past 18 years, Andrew has worked as a CFO, Company Secretary, and Director for numerous ASX listed, unlisted public and private companies. His particular experience in running and developing successful mid-cap companies has shown to him the importance of quality legal advice at a reasonable price – the key pillars to the success of Dovetail.

Notwithstanding his chosen career of accountancy, Andrew has defied the odds and has maintained a sense of humour, or at least he thinks so, quite often being the only one laughing at his jokes. His favourite: “An accountant is someone who solves a problem you didn’t know you had in a way you don’t understand”.
andrew.bursill@dovetaillaw.com.au 0403 139 152
Sonia Cason

With extensive commercial experience originally gained in finance before entering the legal sector 7 years ago, Sonia has always understood the importance of providing honest, clear and concise information to clients. Since having children, Sonia has been keenly aware of the importance of balance between home and career – and has been naturally drawn to Dovetail’s “practice what you preach” approach. Connecting lawyers and companies on their own terms, offering flexibility and total transparency, while putting clients at the centre of everything we do reflects Sonia’s own values and approach well.

When given the opportunity, you’ll find Sonia doing laps at south beach trying to perfect her technique and improve her times for her next ocean swim.
sonia.cason@dovetaillaw.com.au 0423 302 327

Our Community

We believe that all people and all businesses – no matter how small – can contribute to making a big difference to those in need.

Dovetail donates 1% of its net profits to charity and its head office employees donate 1% of their work hours to a charity or community cause of their choice.