Why I left and why I came back to Tax and Legal at PwC
Blog | 3 minute read | May, 2026
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Careers in Tax & Legal aren’t one-size-fits-all. At PwC Australia, they’re designed to evolve with you. For Adam, that’s meant moving between Tax and Legal, rotating through different teams, stepping into private practice – and then choosing to come back stronger.
Now a Senior Associate in Workplace Law, Adam’s career is powered by mobility, trust and work that keeps changing.
“What kept pulling me back to PwC was simple: You work with people who are good at their jobs and a delight to be around, on work that’s interesting and intellectually stimulating, with room to move if you want to.”
Adam Nguyen Mahoney
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From Trainee to Senior Associate: Adam’s career journey at PwC
Adam joined PwC Australia in 2020 as a student, starting his career as a Trainee in tax. Early exposure to complex, real-world work affirmed his interest in professional services – but it didn’t lock him into one path.
In 2022, Adam completed a legal clerkship and made the decision to move across into our legal side of the business. The following year, he joined our Graduate program, rotating through Workplace Law and Corporate Advisory. Each rotation helped him build a broader view of how tax, legal, and workforce disciplines intersect.
In 2024, Adam took a deliberate step outside PwC to experience private practice at a law firm. “That was a really valuable move,” he says.
In 2025, Adam returned to PwC Australia as a Senior Associate in Workplace Law, bringing new perspective – and a clearer sense of where he wanted to take his career next.
Today, Adam is on secondment at a large Australian bank, embedded directly in the client’s team. “I’m sitting inside the business as an industrial relations SME on large-scale people projects,” he explains. “Instead of advising from the outside, I’m part of the team implementing the advice I’d usually give.”
To Adam, what sets PwC’s Tax & Legal business apart isn’t just the work – it’s the people. “The people I work with really know their area – whether that’s Tax, Workforce or Legal – inside out,” he says. “And they’re the kind of people you actually want to spend your day with.” That depth of expertise, paired with a collaborative culture, means learning happens quickly and constantly. “You learn a lot, fast,” Adam adds.
Career mobility that actually changes how you think
Adam’s experience reflects the kind of career mobility PwC Australia encourages within Tax & Legal. He’s moved from Tax to Legal, rotated across legal practice areas, and now works on secondment with a major client. Each move has expanded his skill set – and reshaped his perspective. “Every move changed how I think about the work and what I want to do next,” he says.
For experienced lawyers and tax professionals considering their next move, that flexibility can be just as important as technical progression.
Coming back to PwC after time away was, in Adam’s words, “pretty seamless.” “I came back with more experience and a clearer idea of what I wanted,” he says. “And the things that brought me back – the people and the work – were still there.”
For Adam, leaving PwC wasn’t a detour. It was part of building confidence in his long-term career choice.
Why Tax & Legal is a great place to build a long-term career
Adam sums it up simply: “You work with people who are good at their jobs and a delight to be around, on work that’s interesting and intellectually stimulating, with room to move if you want to.” For professionals considering careers in Tax & Legal at PwC Australia, that combination of capability, culture and choice is what makes the difference.
What excites Adam most about the future of Tax & Legal is how quickly the profession is changing. “AI,” he says. “The legal profession runs on precedent and process – and both are being rewritten right now.”
As technology reshapes how legal work is delivered, client expectations are shifting, and traditional models are evolving.
“No one really knows what legal practice will look like in five years,” Adam says. “And that’s what makes this moment exciting.”
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