Adrian Barwick

Adrian Barwick is an employment lawyer who advises and represents employers and senior executives across Australia. He is the Solicitor Director of WilliamsonBarwick, a Sydney boutique firm acting exclusively for the employer side, and a Law Society of NSW Accredited Specialist in Employment & Industrial Law. He has practised almost exclusively in this field since 2001 and is peer-recognised in Doyle's Guide as a leading NSW employment lawyer.

Adrian advises on the full spectrum of workplace law: unfair dismissal and general protections claims, award compliance and underpayment claims, workplace investigations, restructuring and redundancy, discrimination and harassment, restraint of trade, performance management, and the management of injured workers. He also drafts employment and contractor agreements and workplace policies. As an advocate, he appears in the Fair Work Commission, state tribunals, and the Federal Circuit and Family Court and Federal Court of Australia, known for a strategic approach that delivers commercially sound outcomes.

Adrian is Solicitor Director and equity owner of this specialist firm, which acts only for employers and senior executives. WilliamsonLegal was renamed WilliamsonBarwick on 1 July 2016 when he joined founder Brian Williamson in equity, having come in as Special Counsel in 2015. The firm is itself recognised in Doyle's Guide (2024–2026).

Accredited as a Specialist in October 2005, Adrian has served since 2014 as an Assessor on the Law Society's Specialist Accreditation Committee. He has earned repeated Doyle's Guide listings as a leading NSW employment lawyer. He represented financial advisers against Macquarie Bank in landmark underpayment proceedings, where the bank was found in October 2020 to have breached the Fair Work Act over roughly $1.3 million in entitlements, later pursuing more than $15 million in further claims.