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

NSW Build­ing (Approvals and Prac­ti­tion­ers) Bill 2026 Pass­es Parliament

The Build­ing (Approvals and Prac­ti­tion­ers) Bill 2026 (the Bill) passed through Par­lia­ment on Tues­day after­noon 4 August 2026. The Bill is…

AI Slop v Fair Work Com­mis­sion: The Scourge Continues

For all the talk of how extra­or­di­nary and trans­for­ma­tive arti­fi­cial intel­li­gence (AI) can sup­pos­ed­ly be, it con­tin­ues to be a scourge…

Nichol­son v Stra­ta Plan No 104042 –The Valid­i­ty of Debt Recov­ery Claus­es in By-laws

The recent NSW Civ­il and Admin­is­tra­tive Tri­bunal deci­sion in Nichol­son v The Own­ers – Stra­ta Plan No 104042 [2025] NSW­CATCD 20…

In the News

Michael Byrnes is quot­ed in the arti­cle, Is the News Bar­gain­ing Incen­tive and Office of AI the media’s last hope?”, pub­lished in HR Leader on 31 July 2026

Michael Byrnes is quot­ed in the arti­cle, ​“Is the News Bar­gain­ing Incen­tive and Office of AI the media’s last hope?”…

Michael Byrnes appeared on Mon­ey News with James Willis on 2GB, 3AW, 4BC and 6PR on 30 July 2026 to dis­cuss a recent Fair Work Com­mis­sion case deal­ing with an appli­ca­tion for a flex­i­ble work­ing arrange­ment to work from home (from 23:30 to 32:20)

Michael Byrnes appeared on Mon­ey News with James Willis on 2GB, 3AW, 4BC and 6PR on 30 July 2026 to…

Michael Byrnes appeared on McK­night Tonight with Robert McK­night on 28 July 2026 to dis­cuss the lat­est devel­op­ments in the pro­ceed­ings brought by Jack­ie O’ Hen­der­son against ARN (from 9:30 to 30:25)

Michael Byrnes appeared on McK­night Tonight with Robert McK­night on 28 July 2026 to dis­cuss the lat­est devel­op­ments in the…

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