Hon­our­ing our founder, our peo­ple, and our clients

This year, Swaab proud­ly marks 45 years since our found­ing by the late Fredrick (Fred) Swaab an entre­pre­neur, men­tor, and leader remem­bered for his inno­va­tion and gen­eros­i­ty of spir­it. Fred estab­lished Swaab in 1981, led the firm for decades, and set a stan­dard of care for peo­ple and clients that con­tin­ues to define us today.

Man­ag­ing Part­ner, Mary Digiglio, said: Fred believed the firm’s part­ners were cus­to­di­ans, respon­si­ble for build­ing a firm that would serve future gen­er­a­tions of lawyers and clients. That con­vic­tion con­tin­ues to guide our lead­er­ship today. Fred’s goal was not mere­ly the pur­suit of com­mer­cial suc­cess; it was also to sup­port those in need of care­ful guid­ance through legal quag­mires and con­flicts. He built our firm on the expec­ta­tion that our peo­ple deliv­ered hon­est, con­sid­ered, and pro­fes­sion­al advice backed by deep skill, exper­tise, and excel­lent service.

Our aim has always been to cre­ate a work­place that is not only enjoyed, but one that inspires great work, per­son­al growth, and pro­fes­sion­al devel­op­ment. Togeth­er, these val­ues enhance our abil­i­ty to deliv­er unri­valled val­ue for mon­ey and excep­tion­al ser­vice, hall­marked by our Gen­eros­i­ty of Spir­it and com­mit­ment to liv­ing the Swaab Brand of Ser­vice. This means a down‑to‑earth approach ground­ed in deep legal exper­tise and a gen­uine under­stand­ing of our clients’ needs, enabling us to offer bespoke advice and prac­ti­cal outcomes.

As I reflect on this mile­stone, I’m remind­ed that our 45‑year jour­ney belongs just as much to our clients and friends as it does to us. Your trust, your feed­back, and your advo­ca­cy have shaped who we are as a firm. You have helped define Swaab’s jour­ney and encour­aged us to keep rais­ing the bar.”

From Fred’s vision in 1981 to today’s multi‑award‑winning full‑service firm, we are proud of how far we’ve come and even more excit­ed for what lies ahead. With our peo­ple, clients, and Swaab Brand of Ser­vice at the cen­tre of every­thing we do, the future looks bright.

If you would like to repub­lish this arti­cle, it is gen­er­al­ly approved, but pri­or to doing so please con­tact the Mar­ket­ing team at marketing@​swaab.​com.​au. This arti­cle is not legal advice and the views and com­ments are of a gen­er­al nature only. This arti­cle is not to be relied upon in sub­sti­tu­tion for detailed legal advice.

Publications

10 year long stop on build­ing defect claims rein­forced for con­tri­bu­tion claims

The recent deci­sion in For­tius Broad­way No 1 Pty Ltd V ACN 103 211 141 Pty Ltd (for­mer­ly known as Wat­pac Con­struc­tion…

A High­er Evi­den­tiary Bur­den for Work Orders: The Prac­ti­cal Impli­ca­tions of The Own­ers – Stra­ta Plan No 102171 v Ceerose Pty Ltd [2025] NSW­CATCD 137

The deci­sion in The Own­ers – Stra­ta Plan No 102171 v Ceerose Pty Ltd; Zone Q Mil­sons Point Devel­op­ment Pty Ltd v Ceerose…

Impor­tant Work­place Rela­tions Changes Effec­tive 1 July 2026

Employ­ers and employ­ees alike should be aware of impor­tant changes in the work­place rela­tions are­na, effec­tive 1 July 2026. From that date:the…

In the News

Roger Corn­forth Retires Fol­low­ing 45 Years of Dis­tin­guished Legal Practice

Roger’s career has been defined by trust­ed rela­tion­ships, prac­ti­cal advice and an unwa­ver­ing com­mit­ment to his clients. Begin­ning his legal…

Protest group los­es appeal to obtain gov­ern­ment documents

The cas­es — Mudgee Region Health Alliance v Min­is­ter for Finance, Domes­tic Man­u­fac­tur­ing and Gov­ern­ment Pro­cure­ment and Nat­ur­al Resources [2026] NSW­CATAD…

Michael Byrnes is quot­ed in the arti­cle, The PM v work­place stan­dards”, pub­lished in HR Leader on 8 July 2026

Michael Byrnes is quot­ed in the arti­cle, ​“The PM v work­place stan­dards”, pub­lished in HR Leader on 8 July 2026To read the…

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