Manny Conditsis

Manny Conditsis, Conditsis Lawyers

By Phaedra Pym

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 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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finance. “Agents loved me because I was able to arrange finance for the difficult ones they were going to lose,” he said. The conveyancing practice and Manny’s reputation thrived, and some of the Coast’s largest developers retained him as their lawyer. At the same time, he was gaining broader experience in civil litigation, family law and criminal law.

Manny conducted his first jury trial in 1987, a serious assault case in which his client was acquitted at Gosford District Court. Ten years later, his first murder trial, which saw him successfully represent Dean Waters, put him squarely in the media spotlight. “I wasn’t thinking ahead, I was just doing what I believed I was meant to be doing, representing the underdog, which aligned with my passion and enabled me to use my advocacy skills to fight against injustice,” he said. Since then, he has appeared in four further murder trials.

Manny became an Accredited Specialist in Criminal Law in 2001 and the firm has specialists across all areas of practice. He won the NSW Law Society President’s Award for Pro Bono Services in 2012. In terms of pro bono work, Manny says it’s about merit on a case-by-case basis, not an annual target. “I carefully assess all relevant factors and the personal plight of the prospective client. I can relate to an individual being on the backfoot.” As the practice’s founder and senior mentor, Manny has always led by example and maintained an open-door policy. He and Michal encourage all their lawyers, particularly in criminal law, to become Advocates and constantly challenge them Jamie Clements, Emma Sutton, Manny Conditsis, Alexandra Bailey and Justine Dittel

to learn and grow through hands-on experience in and out of the courtroom.

Conditsis Lawyers is a law firm focused on delivering excellent outcomes for regional clients. In line with this focus, a key business strategy for achievement during FY20/21 was to open a new regional office in Newcastle. The firm also has satellite offices in Sydney and Wollongong. Another strategic objective was to invest more time and capital into increasing brand awareness and engagement. Manny and Michal created a new position, General Manager, Marketing and Operations, engaging experienced local marketing professional, Justine Dittel, to the role in November 2020. Justine said, “During the past twelve months, Manny and Michal were committed to growth, and they weren’t going to let the pandemic stop that vision. We have grown the team by 38% and enquiries have increased month-on-month since January.” Manny said, “Justine has been a tremendous contributor to all of that. So, to businesses, I would say, when times are tough, maybe that’s when you need to take a punt, back yourselves and put on staff who will help you get through that period. We’re still in COVID times and we have opened a new office with the intention to grow it over time.” With a new management team in place to drive the firm’s growth targets, including strategic business acquisitions, Manny has no intention of placing limits on the growth of the practice.