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.

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.

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”.

Tomas Atkins

A recently admitted lawyer, Tomas has firsthand experience of the challenges and opportunities the legal market presents to lawyers. Tomas believes that a rewarding career should not come at the cost of a healthy personal life and that the flexible economy can enhance the quality of work available to lawyers. With a keen interest in technology and a desire to help companies and lawyers come together for mutual benefit, joining Dovetail was a natural career choice for Tomas. The transparency in the way we do business at Dovetail was integral to Tomas choosing to join what he sees as a progressive company aligning well with his values.

Tomas is a proud rugby union fan, from grassroots up. He is also a strong believer that law should be accessible to everyone, regardless of background, and volunteers via pro bono legal. On the weekend if he’s not watching rugby he can be found at his local dog beach with his Rhodesian Ridgeback, Cooper.

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.

Bella Darling

Bella is a Business/Law student at UTS and focuses on working with the Dovetail team to drive efficiencies through process and technology. She’s currently unsure which way her studies will progress as her largest concern about law is the “grey” area that it operates in. While we’ve come to expect heightened tech skills from current university students, it is Bella’s ability to use the technology to find solutions that sets her apart. If you have the chance to speak to Bella she may well ask your advice about what career paths a law degree can open.

Bella loves to spend her time being active and shows her stubborn determination in sport as she does in the work place – having recently completed the Blackmores Half-Marathon in her goal time of 2:15:23. In the winter she can be found at Mt Bulla, and summer running between Bondi to Coogee.

Ruby Poynter

Ruby is a final year law student with a strong desire to improve the world by helping people to access legal services and justice. She sees how new and efficient ways of engaging with lawyers, combined with technologies can lower the barriers and costs associated with the legal industry. Ruby’s role is to support the Dovetail team to work at their best and utilise their skills in the most effective way. Responsible for a myriad of projects from social media to data management, she is proving capable of managing an increasingly complex workload. In addition to her social justice ideals, Ruby hopes that as an intern she can gain an inside look into the legal profession that will help in her decision about what to do “after law”.

Ruby is a passionate Maple Leafs hockey fan, and when she’s not watching hockey videos can be found playing netball, soccer or hiking in the national park near her house.