A couple of decades ago, the construction partner viewed the role as a thankless job
If you asked Paul Woods a couple of decades ago whether he would ever lead Maddocks as CEO, he’d tell you “no way”.
At the time, Woods viewed being CEO as a “thankless task”, he told Australasian Lawyer. However, becoming partnership chair exposed him to the governance and administration aspects of running a law firm, and the two-year run in the role became a turning point for him. Once his partnership chair term ended on June 2025, Woods decided he was going for the CEO position following the announcement that David Newman would be stepping down.
The bid was a success, and Woods officially took the mantle on 1 July. As he prepared for his ascension, he spent much time shadowing his predecessor and learning key leadership lessons.
“Dave is an incredibly disarming, approachable, relaxed human being — easy to speak to and confide in. That lends itself to being CEO of a large law firm, because partners so often have issues they need to talk to someone about — a difficult client, pursuing important new work, or a people issue”, Woods told Australasian Lawyer. “You need someone you can confidently confide in, and that was him”.
While Newman showed Woods the importance of being an approachable leader, he also displayed the necessity of being a manager, especially when one is in the position of leading longtime friends.
“There are times you have to make tough decisions, take that friend hat off and put on the CEO hat and do right by the firm. Having the ability to make that distinction — to take yourself out of friend mode and into manager mode — is important, and he got that right”, Woods said.
The new CEO has been tasked with growing the firm further following its big 140th anniversary celebration last year; in his pitch to the firm’s 100 partners prior to his election to the leadership role, Woods spotlighted two significant reasons why this goal was important.
“One, it motivates your people — it's exciting to find new emerging areas of law or bring new partners to the firm. Two, the cost of doing business is going up all the time”, he told Australasian Lawyer.
AI investment is one of those cost drivers as the firm looks to bring in the best tools out there. Nonetheless, Woods sees people investment as just as big a deal, especially with the talent market as competitive as it is now.
“One thing I've learned as a partner here for almost 20 years is that when clients make a decision to come to a law firm, it's not just about the brand and reputation — it has a lot to do with the human being they're picking up the phone to speak to, the partner. If a partner instills confidence, good leadership, sound commercial judgment, excellent legal advice — that's the person we want, and attracting more of those people helps deliver growth”, he told Australasian Lawyer.
He explained that Maddocks was targeting both organic and lateral growth, with several programs in place facilitating internal development. The Elevate program caters to senior lawyers on the cusp of nomination to partnership; the program focuses on partnership operation, budget strategy, team management, business development, and Maddocks’ culture and values. The Accelerate program caters to those at senior associate level and concentrates on personal brand and profile building.
“Delivering new lateral growth is going to be a bit harder — we've got to go out and find the right people. Usually, when we open the door and explain what the firm is like and the opportunities available, we can get who we want. This is probably what motivates me most — I'm super keen to go out and find new growth, whether from within or outside. My door is going to be open”, Woods told Australasian Lawyer.
At the end of his CEO term, Woods hopes he will be seen as someone who spearheaded a time of growth not just in the Maddocks’ client base, but also in his people, its brand and its reputation in the legal profession.
“I want it to be energising, motivating and exciting for our lawyers — a period of change and innovation. But if [the partners] look back and say he presided over a period of meaningful, substantial growth, I'll be thrilled”, he said.
