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“The presence of a challenge does not make me recoil; I harness it to motivate me,” says Amanda Harrington, principal of Pivotal Law Group (PLG). That instinct has carried her through a career built on defying convention. She launched her own firm while pregnant, then steered it through the arrival of her second child in 16 months.
Harrington also served as an instructing solicitor in Badenoch Integrated Logging Pty Ltd v Bryant [2021] FCAFC 64, a Federal Court case later upheld by the High Court [2023] HCA 2, that reshaped how Australian insolvency law treats preference claims.
“The core plan was never just about climbing a traditional ladder; it was about building the expertise and resilience necessary to eventually create a modern, client-focused firm on my own terms,” Harrington says. She had reached partnership within five years of her admission to the profession, then chose to walk away and build something of her own.
PLG was shaped by that idea from day one, with billable hours treated as “a necessary evil required to keep the doors open” rather than the point of the business. Growth has continued regardless of the demands of early motherhood, with Harrington hiring her first associate and setting her sights on a team of four or five lawyers by early next year.
“Success at Pivotal Law Group is not a zero-sum game,” Harrington says. “One person rising elevates the entire firm.”
Launching PLG at the time, and running the firm solo for a period, took what Harrington calls the faith and loyalty of her clients, referral partners and colleagues, who she credits for the firm’s early success.
Harrington says legal culture has long rewarded presenteeism over substance. That model pushed practitioners to sacrifice their personal lives to prove commitment in male-dominated fields such as commercial litigation and insolvency. She says capability sometimes still has to be proven before it is accepted.
“The default position is one of doubt rather than acceptance, a hurdle that men do not typically face,” she says. “I want practitioners of all levels of experience to see that you do not have to choose between technical excellence, entrepreneurial ambition and advancement, and personal aspirations.”
She feels a responsibility to be visible for those coming up behind her, and points to the appointment of the High Court’s first female Chief Justice as a formative moment early in her career, one that showed her “the gender barriers or limitations that once plagued women were disappearing”. She adds, “Mentorship and advocacy are not side projects; they are core duties if we want to change the face of the profession.”
Asked what sets her apart from her peers, Harrington points to a particular kind of resolve. “If I am faced with a perceived brick wall, I relish the opportunity to find a way around it, or better yet, through it, to come out ahead,” she says. It is the same resolve she is determined to pass on, one brick wall at a time.
Level 4, 54 Wellington St, Collingwood, VIC 3066
03 7302 0358
amanda@pivotallawgroup.com.au
linkedin.com/in/amanda-harrington-b76781121/
pivotallawgroup.com.au/
Amanda Harrington
Principal
Pivotal Law Group
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Bio
Milestones
2015-2020
2021
2022
2023
2025–Present
2015: Admitted to practice in the Supreme Court of Victoria
2020: Obtained partnership
2015-2020
Received Specialist Accreditation in Commercial Law from the Law Institute of Victoria
Instructing solicitor in the landmark Full Federal Court Appeal in Badenoch Integrated Logging Pty Ltd v Bryant (Gunns Limited) FCAFC 64, which abolished the Peak Indebtedness Rule
2021
Winner, Insolvency Partner of the Year, Lawyers Weekly
Finalist, Litigation Partner of the Year, Lawyers Weekly
Finalist, New Partner less than three years, Lawyers Weekly
2022
Instructing solicitor in the High Court appeal for Bryant v Badenoch Integrated Logging Pty Ltd [2023] HCA 2 (8 February 2023), which upheld the abolition of the Peak Indebtedness Rule
Finalist, Litigator of the Year, Australian Law Awards
Finalist, Litigation Partner of the Year, Partner of the Year Awards
Finalist, Insolvency Partner of the Year
2023
Established Pivotal Law Group as Principal
Finalist, Sole Practitioner of the Year, Australian Law Awards
Accredited Specialist in Commercial Law
Ongoing mentor to solicitors of varying levels employed both at Pivotal Law Group and other Melbourne law firms
2025–Present
Milestones
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