We’re very excited to have Harry Croft join the business as a co-director and equity principal of Studio Legal, as of the 1 July 2024.

We thought this was the perfect opportunity to get to know Harry better and learn more about his journey with Studio Legal so far, as well as his plans for the future!

What is your legal background and how did you stumble into the world of Studio Legal?

I first started working as a lawyer with Hall & Wilcox, it was a great place to start and I worked in a great team. Before this I was a paralegal at various plaintiff law firms and did work experience at a few other commercial and entertainment practices.

I also ran a small cold-pressed juice business during university with my brother and a couple of friends for a few years. We didn’t have much financial success, but I learnt a lot about what I’d do better next time, and you could say the whole experience was a practical legal learning of sorts.

I’d been aware of the firm for a few years and stumbled into the world of Studio Legal after putting my details forward for an expression of interest I saw online, then hassling Jennifer with a number of cold emails and DM’s via LinkedIn.

I lost hope there for a bit but the words of another lawyer I used to ask for advice kept ringing in my ear – to end up where you want, back yourself in, don’t be afraid to politely hassle, then with a bit of luck and timing you might get there.

Eventually Jennifer agreed to meet for a coffee, we got along well, met a few more times and she gave me an opportunity as a commercial lawyer.

What is your area of legal expertise and which industries are your favourite to work with? 

My main area of practice is commercial law, which involves drafting and negotiating various commercial agreements, acting for buyers and sellers in small to mid-market transactions, restructures, corporate governance and employment advice, general dispute work and working with entrepreneurs and start-ups in everything from setting up initial structures and key foundational documents to raises.

I love working with brands, agencies, SME’s, creators, entrepreneurs and start ups.

Difficult to say which is my favourite industry, although I enjoy the world of marketing, advertising, PR, entertainment and also anything in the creator economy – this is a fascinating world and given it is relatively new, from a legal perspective there are always new intricacies to navigate and deal with.

What drew you to Studio Legal as a firm, and what has kept you around for all of these years?

I was drawn to the personal feel of the brand initially, and the opportunity to practice commercial law with clients I was drawn to.

It seemed like a place where you could carve your own path as a lawyer and it hasn’t disappointed in this respect.

Each day there are always new challenges and opportunities to get to know and learn from clients, which keeps work fun and interesting.

What has kept me around is the inspiring clients, and the work – in a typical week you could be spending time on a call with a CEO to discuss strategy for how to approach negotiations in a key contract worth a significant amount of money to their business, racing the clock to get a transaction settled for a founder exit, helping a popular influencer deal with a management issue or be providing advice to an agency on how work health and safety laws might apply to pets.

And of course the recent opportunity to become a Director of the firm with Jennifer and be heavily involved in the next stage of growth for Studio Legal!

Now that you’re stepping into this exciting new position of Associate Principal, what are your plans for the growth of the commercial law side of the practice? 

I plan to continue the steady growth trajectory of the commercial practice over the past few years by continuing to deliver quality work to our clients, and by ensuring Studio Legal is more recognised for the great commercial work we do.

We can do this by doubling down on what we do well – investing time to get to know our clients, develop an understanding of the commercial drivers of their business and industry, building good relationships, and delivering pragmatic advice.

I want to continue to find motivated lawyers that want to come along for the journey, and who share a similar a passion for creating a work environment that is fun and interesting for them, our clients, suppliers and partners.

If you would like to get in contact with Harry you can email him at harry@studiolegal.com.au.