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COV ER S TORY
Manny Conditsis, Conditsis Lawyers ESTABLISHED IN 1983 by Manny Conditsis as a one-man general practice in Gosford, Conditsis Lawyers is one of the Central Coast’s leading law firms, employing thirty staff, including twelve lawyers, across the full spectrum of legal practice areas. Just announced as a finalist in the criminal law category of the 2021 Lawyers Weekly Partner of the Year Awards, Manny has been recognised amongst the nation’s top performing partners, or partners equivalent, across individual practice areas within the Australian legal profession. He has a greater than 90% success rate in jury trials and, along with co-director, Michal Mantaj, is among only a handful of Solicitor Advocates who appear in murder and other serious criminal trials in the Supreme Court and in appeals in the Court of Criminal Appeal and the High Court. Manny’s remarkable success rate stems from his ability to build a rapport with jurors and his exceptional cross-examination skills, the result of doing the work and leaving no stone unturned prior to setting foot in the courtroom. This work ethic, together with the practice’s core values of Passion, Logic and Ethics, have been instilled throughout the team, and the results speak for themselves. Last month, Alexandra Bailey, who started at Conditsis Lawyers as a legal secretary just three years ago and was mentored by Manny and Michal while studying, was named Australia’s Top Criminal Lawyer under the age
By Phaedra Pym
of thirty. This story explores how a young Greek immigrant and son of a boilermaker became one of Australia’s most respected criminal lawyers and how he and his leadership team have built a brand that continues to grow and prosper, even during the toughest economic time in Australia’s Post-War era. Manny grew up in Sydney’s western suburbs after immigrating to Australia with his family in the 1950s. He did well at school in the early years, but admits it was a different story in high school. Had it not been for the insistence of his mother and a kind-hearted manager at a large real estate firm, he says he would have dropped out after Year 10 to become a butcher. Switching schools in Year 11, he began to apply himself, scraping in enough marks for the Solicitors and Barristers Admission Board Exams. Through the referral of a friend, he started work as a law clerk, earning $25 a week while his apprentice mates were earning $150. His ‘master solicitor’ was well-known Sydney criminal lawyer, Howard Hilton. “I would follow him around and watch what he did. I loved it so much that, instead of going home, I would sit in the criminal courts and watch trials. I loved seeing those reallife dramas unfold. That’s when I realised I wanted to be a criminal lawyer,” said Manny. Since those early years, his passion for justice evolved into a mission to fight for the underdog, something for which Conditsis Lawyers is renowned.
Resigning from his job as law clerk in the mid 70s, Manny gained experience in finance and with the Public Solicitor’s Office (today’s Legal Aid Commission) while studying part time. By this stage, he was living on the Central Coast and commuting, which eventually took its toll. Accepting a job as Finance Manager at Grawill Motors, he learned invaluable skills over the next four years that would stand him in good stead for running his own business. “It taught me how to read balance sheets and how to understand profit and loss, how to deal with people from all walks of life, as well as bringing me down to earth, all things they don’t teach you at law school,” said Manny. By the time he completed his studies in 1982, Manny had a family of his own to support. Despite earning a solid income in the finance management role, the lure back into law proved too great. Taking a significant wage cut, he accepted a job with a longestablished single-man law firm in Gosford, assuming the older practitioner would mentor him, however things didn’t eventuate as planned. By the end of 1983, Manny had bought the founder out, changing the name to Conditsis Lawyers two years later. With just a receptionist to support him, Manny built the practice by prospecting, literally picking up the phone and talking to local real estate agents. Before long, he began to receive conveyancing referrals and, given his experience, was also referred buyers struggling to obtain
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CENTRAL COAST BUSINESS REVIEW JULY 2021
