INAUGURAL BONDY'S LAW FIRM FLIES

Since opening his own law firm six months ago, inaugural Bond Alumnus Derek Cronin has already shifted office three times and employed four staff to accommodate his rapidly growing business.

Derek’s journey to successful businessman first began at The Southport School on the Gold Coast (TSS). Even at age thirteen, Derek knew he wanted to be a lawyer (which he puts down to his strength in English, love of an argument and penchant for LA Law). He says he focussed his school years on "getting the grades to enable me to do what I wanted" – and he did just that.

Graduating from TSS in 1988 with his heart set on studying law and a preference to remain on the Gold Coast, a new university being built in Robina caught Derek’s eye. Its name was Bond University and it was to become his pathway to a successful Law career.

"It hadn’t even opened at that stage, but when I found out I could finish my degree in two-thirds of the time I could elsewhere, my mind was made up and I became one of Bond’s inaugural students in May of ‘89.

"There was an element of uncertainty with no-one having gone before us, but after a short period of time I saw definite advantages, particularly when I compared myself to friends who went to other universities.

"Our lecturers were top of their field and knew us all by name. My first semester tutor was a former Family Court Judge who once invited the whole class around to her place for a picnic, and our Contract Law lecturer was a former Dean of QUT who was an extremely prominent academic in the area.

With no desire to act in criminal law representing murderers, Derek gravitated to a specialisation in commercial litigation.

With most commercial litigation actions revolving around the Supreme Court in Brisbane, Derek saw an opportunity to pursue his passion by moving north to Brisbane, where he secured a position with Halletts Lawyers.

Four years later and looking for a sea change, he returned to his roots on the Gold Coast, before heading to Townsville, where he continued to build his specialty.

When an opportunity arose at boutique Brisbane law firm Tucker and Cowen (specialists in commercial litigation), Derek grabbed it with both hands. Commencing as an Associate in 2000, he rose through the ranks and became a Partner in 2004.

At the end of 2005, after five years of city-living, Derek decided to return to the Gold Coast.

"I made the decision to come back to the Coast and set up my own firm, specialising in commercial litigation. I wanted to come back to where I considered home. That decision was made easier because I knew there was already a strong demand on the Gold Coast for that specialty."

In January of this year, Derek threw open the doors of Cronin Litigation for business, working from a serviced office in the Bundall Corporate Centre.

"There was a lot of demand from the word ‘go’, and it soon became obvious that I didn’t have enough space.

"I upgraded to a larger office area in the corporate centre then decided on a two-level office space in "The Precinct", Bundall. It’s ideal – central, good atmosphere and there’s a lot of business in the local area."

Derek has also hired two lawyers and two support staff to accommodate his growth. He says he’s now reached a point where he’s "comfortable with the amount of work and not trying to grow too rapidly".

"Saying that, I still expect to experience further growth in the next few months, but it will be controlled growth. The Cronin name has been associated with the legal profession on the Gold Coast for a very long time and I’d like to see that continue well into the future," he said.

Looking back on his success in starting up his own firm, Derek says his only regret was that he didn’t do it sooner.

“In hindsight, I could have,” he said. “My advice to anyone out there who is thinking of doing it [starting their own business] is make a plan, believe in yourself, gather as much help as you can find, and just do it.”

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