Australasian Lawyer issue 2.05

EMPLOYER OF CHOICE Find out which firms came out on top australasianlawyer.com.au Issue 2.5

TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS With M2 Group general counsel Ashe-lee Jegathesan AUSSIES IN ASIA Firms and lawyers making their mark

RIGHT PLACE, RIGHT TIME Sydney’s legal market is more competitive than ever, but for client-focused firms it can still feel like being in the right place at the right time FIND OUT HOW EMPLOYEES RATED THEIR FIRMS IN THIS YEAR’S EMPLOYER OF CHOICE SURVEY

CONNECT WITH US Got a story, suggestion or just want to find out some more information? twitter.com/Aus_Lawyer plus.google.com/+AustralasianlawyerAu facebook.com/AustralasianLawyer

CONTENTS UPFRONT 04 Legal insight

Landmark year for class action settlement

22 FEATURES

EMPLOYER OF CHOICE AWARDS

18 COVER STORY

TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS

Find out which firms came out on top in this year’s Employer of Choice awards

32

PEOPLE

MASTERS OF INNOVATION

54

14 News analysis

Why it’s more important than ever for Australian and international legal practices to have a Singapore base

PEOPLE 40 Partnering with purpose

50 Solo in Seoul

FEATURES

Former Wallabies winger and recently appointed Herbert Smith Freehills partner Ian Williams talks rugby and M&A

12 Appointments

Salvos Legal’s managing partner Luke Geary talks about how he made a new model work – and why other legal businesses should care

M2 Group’s general counsel and company secretary Ashe-lee Jegathesan talks about what it takes to be a successful business lawyer

TACKLING THE BIG DEALS

06 Deals round-up

A creative evolution is taking place at law schools across the country as students seek out cutting-edge learning. Australasian Lawyer speaks to three of the best

44

Herbert Smith Freehills’ Seoul managing partner Lewis McDonald talks about being the sole Aussie lawyer operating in the South Korean metropolis

FEATURES 52 Putting the ‘human’ back into leadership

How a human-centred approach to leadership does not need to be ‘fluffy’ or risk averse

AUSTRALASIANLAWYER.COM.AU

FEATURES

SYDNEY REPORT

CHECK IT OUT ONLINE

The latest from Sydney’s legal market

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UPFRONT

EDITORIAL

www.australasianlawyer.com.au

On a global scale

G

lobal economic integration is a trend that’s clearly here to stay, and as businesses go global, so must their legal advisers.

Hannah Norton For many major law firms, this is a key part of their overall growth strategy.

Global law firms in the Australia market include heavy-hitters such as Herbert Smith Freehills, Allens and Ashurst, to name just a few.

But Australian firms have also set their sights on a global scale – some expanding in the business hub that is Asia.

Despite recent concerns around China’s economy, Asia is still considered a world economic – and growing legal – powerhouse.

Singapore, as an example, set its sights on becoming a Southeast Asian legal hub, with the opening of the Singapore International Commercial Court earlier this year.

The world is an oyster for Australian lawyers and law firms, and while many may perceive globalisation as a challenge, there is a clear silver lining of opportunity too Gadens is an Australian firm that opened a Singapore practice in 2013.

“Having a local presence in Singapore means that we are able to offer clients a seamless service by being on the ground in the markets in which they operate,” says Ian Clarke, partner and national chairman (page 15).

It’s not just firms that are making their mark in Asia but Aussie lawyers as well.

In this issue we feature Lewis McDonald (page 50), one of the leading international transactional lawyers in the energy and natural resources sector in Asia, and now the managing partner of the Seoul practice of Herbert Smith Freehills.

“I have a very strong belief that Aussie lawyers are very well placed to get out into the world and live anywhere, particularly doing cross-border deals,” McDonald says. “Korea is just another place where that’s proven to be true.”

The world is an oyster for Australian lawyers and law firms, and while many may perceive globalisation as a challenge, there is a clear silver lining of opportunity too.

Hannah Norton, editor

OCTOBER 2O15 EDITORIAL Editor Hannah Norton Production Editors Roslyn Meredith Moira Daniels Carolin Wun

CONTRIBUTORS Samantha Woodhill Ben Abbott Anthony Howard

ART & PRODUCTION Design Manager Daniel Williams Designers Kat Vargas Lea Valenzuela Photographer Richard Shaw Photography

SALES & MARKETING Sales Manager Paul Ferris Marketing and Communications Manager Lisa Narroway Traffic Coordinator Lou Gonzales

CORPORATE Chief Executive Officer Mike Shipley Chief Operating Officer George Walmsley Managing Director Justin Kennedy Chief Information Officer Colin Chan Human Resources Manager Julia Bookallil

EDITORIAL ENQUIRIES

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Australasian Lawyer is part of an international family of B2B publications and websites for the legal industry AUSTRALASIAN LAWYER hannah.norton@keymedia.co.nz T +64 9 889 0124 samantha.woodhill@keymedia.com.au T +61 2 8437 4704

NZLAWYER hannah.norton@keymedia.co.nz T +64 9 889 0124 samantha.woodhill@keymedia.com.au T +61 2 8437 4704 Copyright is reserved throughout. No part of this publication can be reproduced in whole or part without the express permission of the editor. Contributions are invited, but copies of work should be kept, as Australasian Lawyer magazine can accept no responsibility for loss.

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UPFRONT

INDUSTRY TRENDS

Close-up on class actions

US

It has been a landmark year for class action settlements in Australia CLASS ACTIONS are at an all-time high in Australia, with the 12 months till June featuring the country’s largest class action settlements to date, according to a report collated by King Wood & Mallesons. In the 2014/15 financial year, Australia saw the largest class action settlements ever, totalling nearly $1b – much

$500m

settlement seen in the Black Saturday Kilmore East/Kinglake class action (AusNet and others)

of which related to the Black Saturday class actions, which included the Kilmore East/ Kinglake and the Murrindindi/Marysville bush fires. In the year to June 2015, at least 33 new class actions were filed in the Federal Court and the Supreme Courts of Victoria – an increase from 18 in the financial year prior.

33

new class actions launched

$300m

An upcoming Supreme Court decision has the potential to massively alter the number of class actions filed in relation to the breach of statutes.

The crux of the decision will rest around whether breaches have caused any concrete harm

settlement in the Black Saturday Murrindindi/ Marysville case (AusNet and others)

THIRD PARTY LITIGATION FUNDING ON THE INCREASE A verdant island in the stagnant swamp of the Australian economy, the housing market is producing significant profit increases for many players

6.05%

Human rights

6.05%

30.3%

Government

Securities

39% 26%

of class actions filed in the 2014/15 financial year had third party litigation funding in their early stages

of class actions filed in the 2013/14 financial year had third party litigation funding in their early stages Source: King Wood & Mallesons Class Actions Report 2015

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18.2%

Investment claims

18.2%

Environment events

TYPES OF CLASS ACTIONS

21.2%

Consumer protection

Source: King Wood & Mallesons Class Actions Report 2015

GLOBAL TRENDS AROUND CLASS ACTIONS

UK A new regime for competition damages actions – due to take effect in October this year – will permit both opt-in and opt-out actions, which will be subject to a certification process before the Competition Appeal Tribunal

CHINA

The past year has seen an increase in accepted cases of public interest litigation – particularly related to environmental protection – following legislative guidance around both the basis for standing to bring joint actions and the evidence required for case acceptance

2014/15 FINANCIAL YEAR CLASS ACTIONS Non-funded or funding not disclosed • Billabong • BrisConnections • Open class credit card late fee actions – Citibank, ANZ, Westpac • European River Cruise Live Cattle Export Ban

• • • • •

Bank SA (knowing involvement in Ponzi scheme) Treasury Wines Estate – Maurice Blackburn Newcrest Vocation Limited – Slater & Gordon Wivenhoe Dam floods RBS

Funded • • • • • • • • • •

Despite repeated calls for introduction of a legislative model, New Zealand’s parliament has yet to pass a specific procedural regime for class actions

Callide Dam Christmas Island Coffs Harbour City Council v ANZ Deception Bay Gloucester Shire Council v Fitch Ratings Jack River bushfire Manus Island detention Mickleham-Kilmore bushfires Myer – Melbourne City Investments Treasury Wines Estate – Melbourne City Investments

• • • • • • • • • •

Pizza Hut – Pricing strategy Provident Capital Springwood bushfire St George Bank Employee Bonus WorleyParsons – Mark Elliott UGL – Melbourne City Investments The Trust Company (Banksia) Vocation Limited – Mark Elliott ASIC re Storm Forex v Westpac Source: King Wood & Mallesons Class Actions Report 2015

NEW ZEALAND

2006 17

first year litigation funding first entered the class action market with the Fostif decision separate companies funding or proposing to fund class actions in Australia in the past year

4

of these funders had publicly available accounts and financial information

2

of these funders (BSL Litigation Partners Limited and Hillcrest Litigation Services Limited) have publicly available proforma funding agreements on their websites Source: King Wood & Mallesons Class Actions Report 2015

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UPFRONT

TRANSACTIONS

Deals round-up $450m

Ararat wind development Herbert Smith Freehills has advised on one of the largest wind farms to be developed in Australia.

The firm advised the project company on reaching financial close for a $450m wind farm to be developed at Ararat in west Victoria.

The deal was the first to reach financial close following resolution of the federal government’s Renewable Energy Target (RET) in June 2015.

Herbert Smith Freehills advised on all aspects of the transaction including planning, land access arrangements, construction, long-term maintenance arrangements, grid connection, corporate structuring and external equity investment.

The team was led by partners Toby Anderson, Joel Rennie, David Ryan and Andrew Clark who were supported by executive counsel Peter Davis, senior associates Kris Percy, Daniel Ficyk, Marnie Fels and Rupert Baker, and solicitors Calvin Shaw and Michael Gabriel.

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Transaction

Value (A$)

Sale of Zelam to Lonza of Switzerland

Lead lawyer(s)

Additional firms involved

Adviser

Client

Confidential (over $100m)

Buddle Findlay

Shareholders of Zelam

Advising Manufacturing Suppliers Limited (MSL) on the sale of its fastener business to Steel & Tube Holdings

NZ$32m

Buddle Findlay

Manufacturing Suppliers Grant Dunn Limited (MSL)

Rangatira acquisition of 70% of Bio-Strategy

Confidential

Buddle Findlay

Rangatira Limited

Steve Nightingale Montie Baskett

Gaze Burt

The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) acquires 37.5% interest in the A$2 billion “International Tower 1” at Barangaroo South in Sydney

Circa A$525m Minter Ellison

Qatar Investment Authority

Cameron Charlton

Herbert Smith Freehills – advised Lend Lease King & Wood Mallesons – advised Lend Lease 1 International Towers Sydney Trust

Ararat wind farm development

A$450m

Herbert Smith Freehills

GE/Downer consortium

Toby Anderson, Joel Rennie, David Ryan, Andrew Clark

Wesfarmers Limited (Wesfarmers) acquires a 13.7% interest in Quadrant Energy Holdings Pty Ltd (Quadrant Energy).

US$100m

Gilbert + Tobin

Wesfarmers

Justin Little, Mindy Bonomelli

QMS Media Limited IPO

A$165m

Hive Legal

QMS Media Limited

Westpac’s sell down of shares in BT Investment Management

A$451m

Herbert Smith Freehills

UBS AG, Australian Branch (UBS) and Macquarie Capital (Australia) Limited (Macquarie) as joint lead managers

Grant Dunn Montie Baskett

Philippa Stone

Simpson Grierson

Westpac – Allens Linklaters, BTIM – Allen & Overy

MAKE SURE YOUR FIRM’S WORK IS RECOGNISED To ensure your firm and its lawyers get the recognition they deserve for their fantastic work, send all your deal details to hannah.norton@keymedia.co.nz

Transaction

Challenger ‘s property sale of Forum Cisco

Value (A$)

Adviser

A$115m

Henry Davis York Challenger

Client

Lead lawyer(s)

Andrew Steele

GARDA Capital Limited IPO A$97.2m and ASX listing

King & Wood Mallesons

GARDA Capital Limited

Stefan Luke, Rhys Casey

AMP Capital’s acquisition of Royal North Shore Hospital

A$1b-plus

Norton Rose Fulbright

Royal North Shore Hospital

Nigel Deed, Adrian Ahern, Chris Redden, Jo Crew

Priceline Group acquisition of AS Digital

Confidential

Baker & McKenzie

Priceline Group

Arthur Apos, Chris Taylor

Mills Oakley

AS Digital

Daniel Livingston, Nicole Tumiati

Macquarie Infrastructure A$2b and Real Assets (MIRA) consortium’s acquisition of Crown Castle Australia

Norton Rose Fulbright

Crown Castle

Nigel Deed, Adrian Ahern, Chris Redden, Jo Crew

Sale of Blue Lake Milling to the CBH Group

Confidential

Kain C+C Lawyers

Blue Lake Milling Pty Limited’s shareholders

John Kain, Sarah Chia

Pulse Health’s Vision Eye Institute takeover bid

A$255m

Norton Rose Fulbright

Pulse Health

James Stewart

Establishment of Australian Fresh Milk Holdings Pty Ltd

Undisclosed

DLA Piper

Consortium comprising Freedom Foods Group, Leppington Pastoral Company and New Hope Dairy

Bryan Pointon

Mitula Group Limited IPO

A$154m

Herbert Smith Freehills

Mitula Group Limited

Michael Ziegelaar

Additional firms involved

Abacus Property Group and Goldman Sachs – HWL Ebsworth

$97.2m

GARDA Capital Limited IPO and ASX listing King & Wood Mallesons continued its run of IPOs, acting for GARDA Capital Limited, the responsible entity for the GARDA Diversified Property Fund, in connection with its initial public offering and ASX listing.

The Fund, which includes six commercial properties and one industrial property, has an initial market capitalisation of approximately $97.2 million.

It offers investors a diversified portfolio through tenant profile, geographic location as well as building type.

The Brisbane-based KWM team was led by Brisbane corporate M&A partners Stefan Luke and Rhys Casey, who were supported by senior associate Prue Macleod and solicitors Mitch Fairbairn, Alexander Tod and Liz Ng. “We are very pleased to have been able to support GARDA Capital Limited in achieving this significant milestone for the Fund,” Luke says.

KWM has also recently advised on the listings of Estia Health, Medibank Private and Alibaba (on the NYSE).

Baillieu Holst Ltd

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UPFRONT

TRANSACTIONS Value (A$)

Adviser

Client

Lead lawyer(s)

Netccentric Limited IPO and ASX listing

Undisclosed

Hall & Wilcox

Netccentric Limited

Danny Herceg

Genex Power ASX listing

Undisclosed

Kemp Strang

Genex Power

David Nolan

Murray Goulburn new capital structure and raising

A$500m

Herbert Smith Freehills

Murray Goulburn Cooperative Co. Limited

Tim McEwen, James Crowe

Sale of Coles Distribution Centre

A$253m

Henry Davis York Goodman, in joint Andrew Steele venture with Brickworks Limited

Purchase of 320 Pitt Street

A$300m

Herbert Smith Freehills

Propertylink

Michael Back, Philip Podzebenko, Phillip McMahon

K2 Global Equities Fund listing

A$200m– A$400m

HWL Ebsworth

K2 Asset Management Ltd

Anthony Seyfort

Energy Developments Limited’s proposed acquisition by DUET Group via Scheme of Arrangement

A$1.4b

Gilbert + Tobin

Energy Developments Limited (EDL)

Hiroshi Narushima

DirectMoney Limited ASX listing

A$53m

Clarendon Lawyers

DirectMoney Limited

Robert Feiner, Nick Manuell

Alliance Resources on the A$73.975m. sale of its interest in the Four Mile Uranium Project

HWL Ebsworth

Alliance Resources Ltd

Gail Owen, Michael Durrant

ME RMBS issue

Norton Rose Fulbright

ME (formerly ME Bank)

Scott Millar

World Nomads’ sale to nib A$106m

HWL Ebsworth

World Nomads Group Pty Limited

Robert Gibson

Sale of Bombora Technologies

A$118.5m

Gadens

Bombora Technologies

Richard Partridge

The Citadel Group Limited’s acquisition of PJA Solutions

A$45m– A$60m

Gadens

The Citadel Group Limited

Jeremy Smith, Michael Kenny, Elise Nowak

Transaction

$1.4b

Energy Development Limited’s proposed acquisition by Duet Group via Scheme of Arrangement Gilbert + Tobin acted for EDL, an international provider of clean energy and remote energy solutions, on the Scheme of Arrangement it has entered into with DUET, an energy assets investment company, under which DUET proposes to acquire all EDL shares for A$1.4 billion.

Corporate Advisory partner Hiroshi Narushima led the team with support from Corporate Advisory lawyers Nirangjan Nagarajah, Wendy Hsu and Jennifer Mulheron.

“The proposed acquisition by DUET recognises the strong growth of EDL’s clean energy business,” Narushima says.

“We are delighted to have worked closely with the EDL management team in seeing the company through another major milestone and a bright future ahead.”

Gilbert + Tobin previously advised EDL on rights and placements issuances and refinancing arrangements.

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A$1.5b

Additional firms involved

Firm Profile

SANY DEFEATS DAIMLER AGAIN THIS TIME IN NEW ZEALAND In the latest bout of a long running trade mark dispute played out in a number of jurisdictions, Chinese heavy industries manufacturer Sany Group Co Ltd (Sany) has won a further victory against German vehicle manufacturer Daimler AG (Daimler) in a recent New Zealand Court of Appeal decision.

In Daimler AG v Sany Group Co Ltd [2015] NZCA 418, Daimler unsuccessfully appealed against the earlier decisions of both the High Court and the Assistant Commissioner of Trade Mark’s approving an application by Sany to register its trade mark.

Sany had sought to register its Sany logo, which includes a three pronged device within a circle (see below) and covers a range of heavy industry goods including excavators, diggers, buses, motor cars and lorries.

Daimler, who manufactures vehicles under the well-known Mercedes Benz brand, opposed registration of Sany’s mark, claiming Sany’s mark was too similar to its registered three-pointed star for Mercedes (see below):

Daimler’s key argument was that consumers would be deceived or confused by the visual and conceptual similarities of the marks (pursuant to section 17(1)(a) of the Trade Marks Act 2002 (the Act)). Daimler also argued that such deception or confusion would be in breach of the Fair Trading Act 1986 (the New Zealand equivalent of Australia’s Competition and Consumer Act 2010) and amounted to passing off.

The Court of Appeal agreed with both the High Court and Assistant Commissioner of Trade Marks that the marks were not sufficiently similar to cause confusion or deception. The Court of Appeal summarised its view by stating that “when we look at the Sany mark we do not think of the Daimler marks.”

In reaching its decision, the Court of Appeal also took into account what (if any) confusion purchasers or prospective purchasers of the goods are likely to have, given the fact such purchasers would be reasonably knowledgeable (and one would hope, careful) when purchasing these goods due to their price and speciality.

The Court of Appeal did agree with Daimler on one point however, finding that it was wrong for the High Court Judge to rely on the addition of the word “Sany” in the Sany mark to make it distinctive. The court said that in some cases the addition of a word may not be significant. Here, the word “Sany” did further distinguish the marks, “but even without its inclusion there is no risk of confusion because of the lack of visual similarity”.

Practically speaking, the Court of Appeal’s decision indicates that for a device mark to be considered confusingly similar, it must be nearly identical to another mark (ie the threshold test for similarity is high). In this case, the common element of a three pronged device within a circle does not and will not necessarily mean that a mark is so similar as to cause consumer confusion.

The New Zealand Court of Appeal’s decision is yet another in this dispute, which has played out in a number of jurisdictions, including most notably the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Taiwan. Not unsurprisingly, divergent decisions were

reached in different jurisdictions, which by and large reflect the differences in law and practice when assessing the issue of similarity.

In the United Kingdom High Court, which considered the matter in the context of registered trade mark infringement, Daimler also failed. The High Court did not consider Sany’s mark to meet the threshold level of similarity under United Kingdom law to constitute infringement, and just like New Zealand, the average customer or person working in the industry would not make the relevant “link” between the two marks. Conversely, in Germany and France, the similarities between the marks were considered to be sufficient so as to cause confusion.

It is therefore interesting to note that the Sany and Daimler dispute has not yet played out in Australia. Given the similarities between New Zealand and Australian trade mark law, and the principles followed in each jurisdiction when assessing similarity of marks, it is reasonable to assume that if the same matter was heard in Australia, the Australian courts are likely to reach the same decision (and so follow the approach of the United Kingdom and New Zealand).

Hamish Selby is a senior associate in the Auckland office of Buddle Findlay, one of New Zealand’s leading law firms. Hamish is a specialist intellectual property lawyer with extensive experience advising clients in New Zealand, Australia and overseas. He can be contacted by phone on +64 9 363 0703 or email hamish.selby@buddlefindlay.com

www.buddlefindlay.com

UPFRONT

TRANSACTIONS $8.9b

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners acquisition of Asciano Limited by Scheme of Arrangement King & Wood Mallesons advised Asciano Limited on its A$8.9bn sale to Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. by way of a scheme of arrangement.

Herbert Smith Freehills advised a consortium led by international infrastructure investment group Brookfield Infrastructure Partners on the proposed acquisition.

Asciano agreed to propose a scheme of arrangement with Brookfield, under which a vehicle owned by Brookfield Infrastructure Partners, other Brookfield sponsored and managed private funds, and two institutional partners will acquire all the shares in Asciano.

The KWM team included partners Stephen Minns, Neil Carabine, Nicola Charlston and, supported by senior associates Rob Kelly and Daniel Natale.

The Herbert Smith Freehills team was led by partner Philippa Stone, special counsel Rob Finlay, senior associates Nick Baker and Glynn Cooper and solicitors Liam Hickey and Ben Robinson (corporate) and assisted by partners Jay Leary (port and rail), Liza Carver (competition), Erin Wakelin (finance) and Jinny Chaimungkalanont (stamp duty).

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Adviser

Client

Sale of ICS Industries Pty Ltd to EnerSys Inc (NYSE: ENS)

Undisclosed

Gadens

ICS Industries Shareholders

Stephen Moulton, Michael Kenny, Elise Nowak

Hanson Construction Materials’ acquisition of Fletcher Building’s Rocla Quarry Products

A$203m

King & Wood Mallesons

Hanson Construction Materials

Adrian Perkins, James Slimnicanovski

Hornsdale wind farm project

A$285m

Herbert Smith Freehills

NEOEN, John Laing, Megawatt Capital Investments

Andrew Clark, Joel Rennie

First State Super’s first agricultural investment in Australia

A$150m

Lander & Rogers

First State Super

Deanna Constable, Lisa Gaddie

Australian Unity’s Home Care NSW tender

A$114m

Herbert Smith Freehills

Australian Unity

Brendan Earle

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners’ acquisition of Asciano Limited

by Scheme of Arrangement

A$8.9b

Herbert Smith Freehills

Consortium led by Philippa Stone Brookfield Infrastructure Partners

King & Wood Mallesons

King & Wood Mallesons

Asciano

Stephen Minns, Neil Carabine, Nicola Charlston

Herbert Smith Freehills

Vitaco IPO

A$332m

King & Wood Mallesons

J.P Morgan Australia Limited Citigroup Global Markets Australia Pty Limited

Shannon Finch, Meredith Paynter

Minter Ellison

Minter Ellison

Vitaco Holdings Limited

Daniel Scotti, Glen Sauer

King & Wood Mallesons

Federation Centres’ sale of A$100m shopping centres

Herbert Smith Freehills

Federation Centres

Julie Couch

Allens

Australian Careers Network conditional agreement purchase Smallprint Australia Pty Ltd

HWL Ebsworth Lawyers

Australian Careers Network

Grant Hummel, David Clarke

A$23.8m

Lead lawyer(s)

Additional firms involved

Value (A$)

Transaction

Kylie Brown, Allens Linklaters

Blue Sky Water Partners, Minter Ellison, PPB Advisory

UPFRONT

MARKET MOVEMENTS

Appointments LATERAL PARTNER APPOINTMENTS

Presented by

PARTNER PROMOTIONS

NAME

PRACTICE AREA

LEAVING

GOING TO

Michael Tuckfield

Infrastructure

Clayton Utz

HWL Ebsworth

FIRM

LAWYERS PROMOTED

Maddocks

Aaron Klockzo, Alicia Albury, Alicia Sheridan, Ian Temby, Michael Winram, Stella Wild.

Thomson Geer

Jeffrey Chang, Claire Gitsham, George Hodson, Jason Marcus, Tara Page, Marc Wyld

Michael Bowen

Corporate

Hardy Bowen

DLA Piper

Scott Gibson

Corporate

Hardy Bowen

DLA Piper

Marc Wilshaw

Corporate

Hardy Bowen

DLA Piper

Robert Wilcher

Planning

Hunt & Hunt

Hicksons

Jason Lambeth

Corporate

Kemp Strang

Thomson Geer

TressCox Lawyers

Kylie Agland

Andrew Digges

Resources & Infrastructure

Allen & Overy

Ashurst Singapore

DibbsBarker

Shelley Mulherin

Rohan Ingleton

Property

K&L Gates

Madgwicks Lawyers

Meredith Gibbs

Planning, Environment & Government

Ashurst

HWL Ebsworth

Kemp Strang

Nick Noonan, Michael Wirth, Joni Young, Mark Faraday

DibbsBarker

Mark Baker-Jones

Henry Davis York

Henry Davis York

MinterEllison

Shyama Jayaswal, Caitlin Murray, Nicole Boustani, Gehann Perera, Darren Sumich, Penelope Eden, Michael Gajic, Sebastian Rosholt, David Schiavello, Louella Stone, Owen Cooper, Kip Fitzsimon, David Pearce, Julie Purbrick, Luke Walker, Leah Wright, Hamish Wallace, Karl Blake

King & Wood Mallesons

Tim Klineberg, Scott Langford, Rhys Casey, Will Heath, Michael Swinson, Andrew Maynes, Jonathan Grant, Michael Lawson

DLA Piper

David Hallam, Leanne Nickels

SENIOR ASSOCIATE APPOINTMENTS FIRM

Norton Rose Fulbright Maddocks

Allens

Thomson Geer

Clayton Utz

LAWYERS PROMOTED OR LATERALLY APPOINTED

Anne Cobbett, Amelia Williams, Adam Smith, Adam Joannou, Nick Kipriotis, Jacqueline Masterman, Andrew Whittingham, Miranda Brookes, Nicole Whitby, Christopher Marsh, Lona Naoum, Harriet Oldmeadow, Laura McAlister, Sophie Ball, Viviane Karoumbalis, Andrew Wright, Libby Buchanan, Stefan Fenk, Shannon Derbyshire, Linda Mackinlay, Suzanne Rizk, Jasmin Barker-Mitchell, Kate Kennedy, Melissa Mallos Matthew De Remer, Andrew Wilcock, Aparna Nanayakkara, Catherine Li, Janis Dunnicliff, Thao Tran, Amit Jois, James Kanabar, Stephanie Malon, Nick Beresford-Wylie, Carissa Apps, David Stewart, Tony Shaw Melissa Baxter, Frances Carne, Peta Conitsiotis, Angus Kurtze, Thomas McKillop, Brock Morgan, Chris Newby, Robert Paoletti, Emily Ratnagobal, Jordan Schutz, Darren Vance, Wendy Wang, Cameron White, Bernardo Wood Peter Abraham, Kezia Adams, Mark Brady, Sabrina Buck, Emma Forbes, Dean Gerakiteys, Trina Gledhill, Leigh Howard, Alexandra Kennedy-Breit, Jessica Keogh, Michelle Larin, Michael Lucey, Rebecca Magee, Danijela Malesevic, Jerome Martin, Claire McKenzie, Alex Meguid, Greg Midgley, Nathan Moy, Sarah Newman, Kelvin Ng, Hai-Van Nguyen, Belinda Nisbet, Bree O’Connell, Jessica Salinger, Rachael Schulz, Tania Scott, Natalie Speranza, Laura Thomson, Kathryn Warner, Prue Warner

Sparke Helmore Kerry Haddock Lawyers Mills Oakley

Rechelle Brost, Patrick Thaung, Luke Westmore

TressCox Lawyers

David Fechte, Tracy Tran

Moulis Legal

Christopher Hewitt

DibbsBarker

Maria Andreou, Angela Brookes, Simone Collignon, Emma Dear (soon to be Emma McCleave), Kelly Mahood, Kamini Newton, Simone Seller, Bettina Sorbello

HWL Ebsworth

Damien Foulis

Kott Gunning

Katrina Welch

Colin Biggers & Paisley

Andrew Komesaroff

Kemp Strang

Adam Israel, Jacob Rodgers

Piper Alderman

Stephen Hughes

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OTHER NAME

FIRM/COMPANY

TITLE

Richard Spurio Angela Martin Andrew Stirling Kate Austin Ed Martin Chris Blane Valeska Bloch Michelle Bennett Rosannah Healy Liam Chambers Eve Lynch Alexandra Pearce Penny Alexander Mark Williams Alison Beaumer Craig Boyle Peter Bowden James Clyne Eleanor Dickens Chris Keane Johnson Lo Maria Ratner Elizabeth Richmond Alexandra Rose Natalie Shoolman

Allens Allens Allens Allens Allens Allens Allens Allens Allens Allens Allens Allens Allens Allens Allens Clayton Utz Clayton Utz Clayton Utz Clayton Utz Clayton Utz Clayton Utz Clayton Utz Clayton Utz Clayton Utz Clayton Utz

Chief Executive Partner Managing Associate Managing Associate Managing Associate Managing Associate Managing Associate Managing Associate Managing Associate Managing Associate Managing Associate Managing Associate Managing Associate Managing Associate Managing Associate Managing Associate Tax Counsel Special Counsel Special Counsel Special Counsel Special Counsel Special Counsel Special Counsel Special Counsel Special Counsel Special Counsel

ALLENS APPOINTS NEW CHIEF EXECUTIVE PARTNER Allens last month appointed Richard Spurio as the firm’s next chief executive partner, effective 1 January 2016. He will take over the reins from current CEP Michael Rose.

Recognised as one of Australia’s leading M&A and corporate lawyers, Spurio has acted on some of the largest deals across the mining, banking and retail sectors.

“I have been with Allens for 20 years and respect the firm’s history and also have a deep commitment to helping the firm adapt in what is a rapidly changing business environment,” he says.

“The role enables me to work closely with our clients as they navigate a changing world economy and regulatory landscape. I am also looking forward to working with our people through exciting times ahead.”

Xuelin Teo Susie Stone Nick Beech Bronwyn Pott John W.H. Denton Matthew Carmody Brian Kirkup Anne Wilson

Clayton Utz Clarendon Lawyers Clyde & Co CPD For Me

Special Counsel Director Special Counsel Chair The International Chamber of Corrs Chambers Westgarth Commerce board member DibbsBarker Associate DibbsBarker Associate DibbsBarker Associate

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13

UPFRONT

NEWS ANALYSIS

From swamps to skyscrapers: Asia’s legal melting pot Firms chat to Hannah Norton about why it’s more important than ever for Australian and international legal practices to have a Singapore base

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ONCE A colonial outpost surrounded by swamp-filled jungle, Singapore has grown rapidly into a global financial powerhouse.

And with the island-nation recently celebrating 50 years of independence – during which time the former British colony has developed into one of the world’s wealthiest countries – it’s now more important than ever for Australian and other international firms to have a presence there.

“Having a local presence in Singapore means that we are able to offer clients a seamless service by being on the ground in the markets in which they operate,” says Ian Clarke, partner and national chairman at Gadens, which opened a Singapore practice in 2013.

“We felt that by having a local presence in Singapore we would be better able to service our existing clients in Asia and attract new ones.”

The firm’s focus includes both Australian companies branching out into Asia using Singapore as a hub, as well as companies and investors looking to invest or do business in Australia or the Pacific region.

to our advantage.

“Singapore is the second largest source of in-bound investment in Australia, hence its strategic importance.”

K&L Gates Asia managing partner David

“To be truly competitive in Asia, having a presence in Singapore is critical” David Tang, K&L GATES ASIA “It has also provided an excellent foundation for us to build on our Asian experience in Vietnam, Thailand, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Myanmar, etcetera, and provides us with an excellent launch pad to build a larger Asian practice,” says Clarke.

“For Gadens, our traditional strong links with Australia’s ‘Big Four’ banks, who are looking to Asia as a potential client base, meant that having a local operation worked

Tang reiterates this point.

“To be truly competitive in Asia, having a presence in Singapore is critical.

“That is evident not just in the legal sector – over the past few years many global companies have either opened in or relocated their Asia regional base to Singapore.

“It is a strong indication of how important and attractive Singapore is and how the business flows.”

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15

UPFRONT

NEWS ANALYSIS

Legal and consulting services firm AdventBalance has doubled the size of its business in Asia over the past 12 months.

Managing director for Asia, John Knox, says Singapore is becoming a true international city of importance.

“A large number of multinationals and global banks now have their regional headquarters in Singapore. As a result, the number of general counsel based here has increased as has the demand for high quality international legal advice and secondments.”

Key drivers of work The key drivers of work for Gadens’ Singapore practice follow the firm’s three

including construction matters,” he adds.

Also similar is the firm’s clientele.

“In terms of clients, one of the biggest developments in recent years has been the significant increase in investment by Asian companies both within Asia and outside of Asia into Australia, Europe and the Americas,” McGuire says.

“As a result, at least half the clients for whom Ashurst now works out of Singapore are Asian companies investing in Asia or outside of Asia, including a number of Asian national oil companies.”

K&L Gates opened a Singapore office in 2009 – at the height of the GFC – because of the client and lawyer opportunities and

“One of the biggest challenges when entering a new market is that the brand is not necessarily as well known in Asia as it is in Australia and Papua New Guinea” Ian Clarke, GADENS key pillars of banking and finance; property and construction; and energy and resources, Clarke says.

“Our head partner in Singapore, Marc Rathbone, has a long-standing energy and resources practice and provides our clients with broad services in oil & gas, power, petrochemicals and mining.”

Keith McGuire, managing partner of Ashurst’s Singapore office which was established in 1996, echoes his sentiments.

“In terms of sectors, energy and infrastructure, financial institutions, private equity and distressed debt and restructuring are the most active for Ashurst, which is largely a reflection of the market.

“A large proportion of the arbitration work handled by our Singapore disputes team is in the energy and infrastructure space,

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the firm’s confidence in the central role to be played by Singapore in the region, the firm’s Asia managing partner David Tang tells Australasian Lawyer.

He attributes the continual growth of markets, wealth and economic activity in South East Asia as a significant driver of work.

“The economic players in these markets have increasing engagement in the region and globally and the markets are becoming ever more integrated,” Tang says.

“Developments in ASEAN and trade agreements, like the TPP, and demand for goods and services are leading to more open markets and opportunities. Singapore is at the centre of that activity.

“Increasing numbers of multi-national companies, global financial institutions and

funds are operating out of Singapore and basing regional headquarters in Singapore.

Our Singapore office will expand along with this economic activity.”

As with other firms, much of K&L Gates’ Singapore practice’s work is cross-border, including M&A, equity and debt capital markets and restructuring transactions.

“Of particular note is our cross-border arbitration practice, which is led by Singapore office head and partner Raja Bose,” Tang says.

“We have also established an energy practice that works on a pipeline of deals involving clients in the Asia Pacific region and across our platform. We have always focused on advising indigenous entities and have assisted them on their cross-border ventures and capital raising in markets like London, the US and Australia.”

The challenges Branding has been a crucial aspect for Gadens’ expansion into Asia over the past two years.

“One of the biggest challenges when entering a new market is that the brand is not necessarily as well known in Asia as it is in Australia and Papua New Guinea,” Clarke says.

“Having a clear understanding of why you are entering the market, as well as having a strong business plan, are crucial to overcoming some of these initial challenges.

“Our Singapore team and our ability to partner with clients who operate in the region are part of the process of establishing the Gadens brand locally.”

The legal landscape remains very competitive in Singapore, with foreign law firms operating under Foreign Law Firm status still excluded from doing domestic legal work.

“That being said, there is still a lot of cross-border transactional work and having a local operation has opened up broader opportunities across the region,” Clarke says.

McGuire says the local market is no longer completely “closed”.

“Foreign firms now have a variety of opportunities to be involved in, and to share profits from, Singapore legal matters, outside of litigation and property work, through QFLPs, JLVs or FLAs (Qualifying Foreign Law Practices, Joint Law Ventures or Formal

Law Alliances).

“However, Singapore law advice must still be provided by Singapore qualified lawyers in the relevant structure.”

Because the offshore firms in Singapore doing regional work are all so well developed, including Ashurst, it’s a challenging market for new or recent entrants who don’t have

A SNAPSHOT OF SINGAPORE’S ECONOMY

3rd

55%

third highest GDP per capita in the world

increase of business receipts from Singapore’s business services sector – which includes legal services – in second quarter 2015

3.6275m

size of Singapore’s labour force

MAIN IMPORT PARTNERS

11.7%

10.9%

China

Malaysia

10.4%

6.4%

5.5%

United States

South Korea

Japan

5.2%

4.4%

Indonesia

United Arab Emirates Source: Singapore Department of Statistics

teams with a depth of experience in the region, McGuire says.

“Hence the large amount of lateral recruiting and ‘poaching’ by new entrants. It has also become a very competitive market from a fee point of view.”

In addition to the highly competitive market, there is the added pressure of high costs, according to Tang.

“In various studies on the cost of doing business, Singapore is usually ranked in the top five as a high cost market.

“In addition, several of the markets in South East Asia are emerging markets with all of those attendant risks. Accordingly, we need to be highly focused and disciplined about our business plan, nimble and vigilant with respect to the ever changing developments and on top of the markets.”

The region consists of many different markets with diverse business cultures, practices and legal systems, Tang says.

“Our lawyers in the Singapore office have the practice experience to understand and interpret those differences and to guide our clients and develop practical solutions for them.”

The firm’s business model has always been to grow offices with lawyers who have grown with the regional markets and are comfortable with global market practices, he says.

“Moreover, clients in the region do not want to be hindered by time zones and geographic distance.

“From Singapore, our lawyers are on the ground, close to the action, can more easily meet and stay in contact with clients at the times the client desires, handle fast moving developments, and have access to the resources provided by the more than 400 colleagues in the Asia-Pacific time zones and the 1,600 lawyers in our other offices around the globe.

“Our clients are in Singapore or the region, so simply put, we want to be where our clients are.” AL

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PROFILE

ASHE-LEE JEGATHESAN

Taking care of business Being a great lawyer is not enough when you are a business lawyer, M2 Group general counsel and company secretary Ashe-lee Jegathesan tells Hannah Norton. You also need to get close to the business

‘A LAWYER and a business person walked into a bar…’

Once upon a time, that might have conjured a mental image of two separate people being involved.

These days, it’s more than conceivable – and increasingly common – for these two entities to be one and the same.

Sound business acumen and financial literacy are more and more becoming core competencies for lawyers globally, and are essential for lawyers working in-house.

Ashe-lee Jegathesan, general counsel and company secretary of M2 Group Ltd, views these skills as being imperative for her legal team.

And with over two decades of legal experience both in firms and in-house, as well as a stack of accolades, she is well positioned to comment.

“I see the legal team as a commercial partner to the business and so I encourage all of our team, regardless of their function, to get close to the business,” she tells Australasian Lawyer.

“We are business lawyers. There is a marked difference to being a lawyer who works in-house versus working in a law firm… We are not here to simply dispense

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legal advice, but to help the business achieve its strategic plan whilst complying with its legal and regulatory obligations.”

Something which is no mean feat – M2 Group Ltd is an ASX-listed company providing a full suite of telecommunications products alongside utility services. “[It] involves focusing on ensuring that what we do either adds or preserves value for the business, being pragmatic and creative, and coming up with ways to help the business to achieve what it wants to achieve, within the regulatory framework we operate in.”

Being in the telecommunications and energy industries, M2 operates in a highly regulated environment, and the team are often in the position of having to explain these constraints to the operational teams, Jegathesan says.

“Being a great lawyer is not enough when you are a business lawyer, we have to also be strong influencers and leaders, and have and demonstrate a high level of commerciality in our engagement with the business.”

In-house operations Jegathesan is a member of the senior executive team at M2 Group and has executive responsibility for all legal,

“Being a great lawyer is not enough when you are a business lawyer, we have to also be strong influencers and leaders, and have and demonstrate a high level of commerciality in our engagement with the business”

regulatory, compliance, risk management and company secretarial functions for the Group, which has activities in both Australia and New Zealand.

“There is really no such thing as a typical day, which is one of the things I love most about my role,” she says.

“Typically, it would involve time with various executive team members on strategic initiatives for the company, working on legal matters which I am handling myself – as we have a lean team, in addition to my executive responsibilities, I still handle some matters – company secretarial/governance work, risk management, coaching the team [and] liaising with external counsel.”

The legal team consists of four lawyers, four compliance professionals, a paralegal and a risk manager.

Of the lawyers, three are senior, with between seven and 15 years’ PQE, with one junior lawyer with three years’ PQE. The risk manager and compliance professionals are all at senior level, with the paralegal being a final year law student.

And all operate close to – and understand – the business, Jegathesan says.

“The majority of the team are senior and experienced professionals who demonstrate these qualities well and have developed a good understanding of the business.

“Each lawyer has accountability for supporting a particular area of our business as well as a specialist regulatory field.

“That doesn’t mean, however, that that particular lawyer has to do all of the work relating to that area of the business or regulatory field – instead, we share the load depending on what else each of us has on at the time.”

Each week starts with a team meeting, where staff come together and discuss workloads, key matters and events – and where appropriate, re-balance workloads amongst the team.

In terms of training and professional development, team members are encouraged to undertake technical legal and compliance training, as well as general leadership and business training, Jegathesan says.

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PROFILE

ASHE-LEE JEGATHESAN “Our legal team have all undertaken programs such as accounting for nonaccountants, so that they develop a good level of financial literacy and are then able to appreciate the commercial aspects of their work.

“Our lawyers also deliver training to the business on areas which impact the business, particularly when new regulations are introduced.”

Dealing with externals As with most in-house teams, M2 Group’s legal team engages external firms in a number of different areas.

“Most commonly, we engage external counsel to provide advice in specialist technical areas where we do not have the expertise or experience in-house to provide advice – for example, tax or stamp duty law.

We also use external counsel to provide us

“Clients look for a firm who want to, and can be, an extension of their team” – Advice for external law firms The company also strongly encourages flexible working arrangements, with fulltime and part-time staff members in senior roles, as well as the philosophy that ‘Work is a thing you do, not a place that you go’.

“All members of the team are very clear on what their role is and what the expectations are of that role, and what they are accountable and responsible for, both for the company and their colleagues,” she says.

“Timelines for deliverables are clearly set.

It is then up to the individual to manage the delivery of those outcomes.”

Technology has been a key instrument in achieving this.

“Technology has given us the ability to both integrate and balance both our work and personal lives – and all team members are encouraged to do so.

“Team members are encouraged to also volunteer their time to a cause of their choosing, and our company policies contribute to this by allowing some paid volunteering time.”

Challenges currently facing in-house teams include expectations from the business to do “more with less” in terms of cost controls, Jegathesan says.

Teams are also faced with increasing – in both volume and complexity – regulatory requirements on the local as well as the global front.

Another challenge is the retaining of legal talent, especially senior lawyers, she says.

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with specialist transaction advice on strategic M&A work.”

The firm also engages with external firms where it would be more cost effective to do so, she says, “Particularly where the work is not core to our business, and in this instance, we work predominantly with alternative providers.”

She gives the example where last year the company rolled out its retail kiosk strategy which saw it entering into approximately 45 shopping centre kiosk leases over a period of three months.

“Typically though, any work relating to our core business or activities is handled in-house by our team.”

Advice for external firms The key things Jegathesan looks for in external legal advisors include: “a firm which is interested in building a long-term relationship with our company, rather than a short-term transaction focus; innovative lawyers who will think outside the square and help us navigate through any challenges we might have [and] lawyers who regularly think about our business and lean forwards to support us through both legal and nonlegal work.”

M2 Group’s legal team is looking for practical solutions-focused advice which is “ready for consumption” by management and which doesn’t require the team to have to re-interpret the advice, she says.

TIMELINE

May 2014 – Present

August 2008 – December 2013

General counsel and company secretary, M2 Group Ltd

General counsel and company secretary, Melbourne IT Ltd

December 2001 – July 2008 Executive director & general counsel, 3D Networks and Planet One Group of Companies

November 1999 – September 2001 Legal counsel – Enterprise Solutions, Asia, Nortel Networks

January 1997 – February 1999

February 1999 – October 1999 Corporate counsel, BHP Steel

Solicitor, Freehills

March 1992 – December 1996 Solicitor and director, Asia Business Services, Maddocks

She has a number of snippets of advice for such firms.

“Take a long-term view of your relationship with a client.

“Clients look for a firm who want to, and can be, an extension of their team.

Demonstrate this by keeping your client informed of developments in their area, even when you’re not advising them on that particular matter at the time.”

Firms should also provide legal advice which is user-friendly, practical and commercial, she says.

“Don’t make your legal client have to translate your advice before they can pass it on to the business.”

She also suggests developing a fee structure which is relevant to the type of work or transaction and the value placed by the client on that type of work.

Creating value for the business There are many aspects to Jegathesan’s role that she enjoys, so it’s hard to pick only the one favourite.

“The main aspects, I think, would have to be the opportunity to add value to an organisation and help the organisation achieve its strategic objectives, [and] engaging with the Board and executive team at a strategic level, as well as at an operational and transactional level.

“The breadth of this engagement is extremely interesting.”

The variety of work that constantly crosses her desk is another enjoyable aspect, as well as working “with a group of highly engaged, committed and dedicated professionals in an entrepreneurial culture which is challenging, interesting, vibrant, and exciting.

“[There is] never a dull moment here and change is constant.”

The role also provides her with the opportunity to be innovative and continuously explore new ways for the company to deliver its objectives, “and therefore free us up to add more value to the organisation”. Jegathesan believes her roles of company secretary and general counsel are complementary.

“Acting as company secretary enables me to work closely with the board of directors, and this also provides me with an opportunity to participate in board discussions and to provide advice as general counsel to the board directly.

“Governance as a responsibility belongs to both roles, and frankly it is difficult for me to separate the work that I do in some instances between the two roles.”

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EMPLOYER OF CHOICE MORE THAN 500 EMPLOYEES

K&L Gates Minter Ellison Herbert Smith Freehills K&L Gates Attractive benefits, a diverse range of health and wellbeing initiatives, flexible workplace practices, a thorough learning and development program, career progression and competitive remuneration are all part of what makes K&L Gates a great place to work, says K&L Gates Australia managing partner Nick Nichola.

“All are important but none more so than providing staff with work that engages their interests.

“Lawyers are inquisitive, fast-thinking, solution-focused individuals who thrive on complexity and challenge. They have a passion for keeping on top of domestic and global affairs, and an intrinsic sense of responsibility to use their skills to assist those less privileged.”

Where K&L Gates is unique is that staff are able to engage those passions through a fully integrated global network of 46 offices, giving lawyers opportunities to work on highly complex and challenging domestic and international matters, fine-tune the art of cross-border negotiations, and work with some of the world’s largest brands, he says.

“In addition, our extensive pro bono and award-winning Global Day of Service programs allow partners and staff at all levels to truly make a difference to those in the community that need it most. We are tremendously proud of our pro bono program which has allowed a number of lawyers to undertake incredibly impressive projects; perhaps best exemplified by a cross-border team of our lawyers who this year co-launched with Kaleidoscope Australia, a best practice guide for assessing refugees seeking asylum on the grounds of sexual orientation, gender identity or Nick Nichola intersex grounds.”

Minter Ellison Minter Ellison values teamwork, innovative thinking and initiative, according to Melbourne office managing partner Angela Skandarajah.

“We invest in and encourage our people, help them build exceptional careers, and recognise and advance talented professionals.

“Our aspiration is to be our clients’ best partner, and so we’re focusing on building a culture that supports that aspiration.”

The firm recognises, for example, that flexible work practices help to drive behaviours that support employee engagement, she says.

“We’ve embraced flexible work arrangements, including for partners. Through our Empower Program and its end-to-end approach, every person in a team can define what flexibility means to them and how this can be implemented in a way that is successful for them and for their team.”

The firm also has a strong commitment to diversity, as well as strong role models to help develop future leaders.

Angela Skandarajah

Herbert Smith Freehills What really sets Herbert Smith Freehills apart is its people, says Andrea Bell, human resources director for Australia. “We have amongst our ranks many of the country’s most brilliant legal minds, and it’s no surprise that people are drawn to our firm out of a desire to work with the best talent the profession has to offer.”

The firm’s people say Herbert Smith Freehills is a great place to work, for a number of reasons.

“We work hard at maintaining and evolving a fantastic culture because we know how vital it is to attract and retain talent. “[We have] the privilege of advising the world’s leading corporations on their most challenging and market-defining matters. Our lawyers get to act on some of the most interesting and challenging legal work in the world.”

Staff constantly push themselves to challenge their thinking about what clients need, both now and in the future. “[This] has seen us think more holistically about the education, experiences and exposure lawyers need. This isanother area of focus and significant investment for us; we want to ensure our people can be the best they can be.”

As a result, lawyers benefit from extensive learning and development opportunities early in their careers, Bell says, and gain international experience through the firm’s successful global secondments program.

Andrea Bell

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FEATURES

EMPLOYER OF CHOICE 2015 EMPLOYER OF CHOICE LESS THAN 500 EMPLOYEES

DibbsBarker Hive Legal Hall & Wilcox Hive Legal All Hive Legal’s employees are talented, highly motivated and truly committed to the firm’s vision, values and success, says founding principal Jacinda de Witts.

“They want the satisfaction of being valued for their great work, and to do it in an innovative, collaborative and flexible environment. That’s what Hive Legal provides.”

Every day, the firm celebrates its values, employees’ achievements and client outcomes.

“We push ahead with innovative ideas and involve all employees on the journey from identification to implementation. We work flexibly using the cloud, so our employees can work when and where is best for them. We don’t time-record – employees are focused on outcomes rather than outputs.

“Working collaboratively is at the core of what we do.

It requires effective communication and we provide that through a balance of technology tools and face-to-face time.”

Maintaining Hive Legal’s culture is a priority, de Witts says. “Our employees are empowered to contribute to and shape the direction of the firm. They are part of, and excited by, something truly progressive.

“Since Hive Legal was established in February 2014 we have seen the many benefits that come from engagement, empowerment and sheer enthusiasm.

We will continue to provide our employees with the foundation, tools and what they need to enjoy their Jacinda de Witts work with Hive Legal.”

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DibbsBarker Odile Shepherd, head of people and development at DibbsBarker, says the firm is genuinely focused on cultivating a workplace culture that is supportive, collegiate and inspiring for every individual.

“We are seriously invested in the development and growth of our people, never taking for granted the incredible talent we have within our firm.

“The learning and development opportunities we offer are truly market-leading, and we have some wonderful leaders – and leaders in the making – in our ranks.”

The firm is very open to implementing flexible work arrangements, constantly bearing in mind that no two people will ever have exactly the same needs, Shepherd says.

“A ‘one size fits all’ policy is simply not our style. Instead, we work collaboratively with our people to find a solution that is a true fit and will bring out the best in them.

“We want our people to feel encouraged and motivated to be the best they can be at work, but the path to this end goal will look different for everyone,” she says.

“Whether it’s caring for family members, being involved in competitive sporting activities, or undertaking further studies, the reality is that there are so many different elements that make us all who we are. We think that’s something to be not only acknowledged but also celebrated and valued.”

Odile Shepherd

Hall & Wilcox Managing partner of Hall & Wilcox Tony Macvean says the firm is proud of and cherishes its culture.

“Culture is something we constantly nurture. In a recent survey of our people, 84% of our people stated that our culture is ‘definitely better than other firms’.”

Macvean describes the culture as warm and welcoming; inclusive and supportive.

“We think that we strike a healthy balance between working hard and maintaining a high level of professionalism with having fun and being able to laugh at ourselves. By having happy and engaged people, we ensure our clients also receive a great experience too.”

The firm’s ambition and growth is also a factor.

“We consider ourselves to be a progressive ‘firm on the rise’, and this helps us to provide fantastic opportunities for our people to grow and Tony Macvean progress,” Macvean says.

RESPONDENT SNAPSHOT GENDER

HOW MANY HOURS DO YOU WORK EACH WEEK?

4%

61–70 hours

<1%

More than 70 hours

33%

40 hours or less

22%

51–60 hours Female

62.05% Male

37.95% 40%

41–50 hours AGE OF RESPONDENTS

4.10% 56–65

12%

HOW MUCH ANNUAL LEAVE HAVE YOU TAKEN IN THE LAST 12 MONTHS?

1.07% 66+

15%

More than 4 weeks

16% <25

46–55

26%

9%

None

12%

Less than a week

3–4 weeks

25.17% 36–45

41.66% 26–35

18%

2–3 weeks

20%

1–2 weeks

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FEATURES

EMPLOYER OF CHOICE 2015 EMPLOYER OF CHOICE METHODOLOGY

Date of survey: July 2015 Method: Online survey Number of respondents: 2,160 from 161 firms Employer of Choice status was determined by averaging employee scores given to a range of questions/statements. Scores ranged from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree) for the following questions/statements: “My firm has a strong commitment to achieving gender equality in the workplace.”

“My firm has a strong work culture and a high level of engagement.”

“My firm provides me with sufficient opportunities to do interesting and challenging work.”

“My firm provides sufficient opportunities for training and professional development.”

“My firm supports my health and wellbeing.”

“My firm gives me access to the technology I need to do my work effectively.”

“My firm fosters an environment of trust and empowerment.”

“My firm demonstrates effective leadership.”

“My firm helps me to achieve a work-life balance.”

“My firm provides sufficient opportunities to do pro bono work.”

“My firm offers a clear career progression path for all employees.”

“My firm provides satisfactory remuneration.”

“My firm offers satisfactory employee benefits.”

“Overall, how satisfied are you with your firm?”

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NEW ZEALAND FIRMS

Chapman Tripp Buddle Findlay Russell McVeagh

Chapman Tripp “To win this award for a second consecutive year is wonderful because it reflects the pride our people take in their work and in the firm,” Chapman Tripp chief executive partner Andrew Poole says.

“We value all of our relationships – with our clients, our staff and the wider community – so it is a source of great satisfaction that everyone enjoys working here.”

The firm also recently won a national accolade – a White Camellia award for its diversity strategy around gender equality.

“We’re delighted to receive this acknowledgment because

this issue is very important to us,” he says.

The awards recognise organisations that have made most progress in advancing the seven ‘Women’s Empowerment Principles’: Leadership Promotes Gender Equality, Equal Opportunity, Inclusion and Non-discrimination; Health, Safety and Freedom from Violence; Education and Training; Enterprise Development; Supply Chain and Marketing Practices; Community Leadership and Engagement; and Transparency, Measuring and Reporting.

“We won our award for demonstration of the first of the seven principles, which is to establish high-level corporate leadership for gender equality,” Poole says.

White camellias are an emblem of women’s suffrage and were given to all MPs who voted for the right of women to vote in 1893.

The awards are administered in New Zealand by a partnership of the NZ National Committee for UN Women, the EEO Trust, the Human Rights Commission and the New Zealand Federation of Business and Professional Women.

Diversity is more and more becoming an important focus for firms, with two top-tier firms recently recognised in this year’s Diversity Awards NZ 2015.

Simpson Grierson won the Positive Inclusion Award, while Russell McVeagh was recognised as a finalist in the Empowerment Andrew Poole Award category.

REMUNERATION

UMERATIO EN



N

R

TOP-PERFORMING FIRMS



Arnold Bloch Leibler Herbert Smith Freehills Nexus Law Group

Respondents to this year’s Employer of Choice survey gave their firms an average rating of 3.64 when it came to remuneration. As is to be expected, those most satisfied with their remuneration levels were partners and managing partners, who gave their firms an average rating of 4.14 and 4.11 respectively.

In-house counsel staff gave the third-highest average rating of 3.75, while special counsel, senior associates and solicitors/associates gave average ratings of 3.28, 3.41 and 3.26 respectively.

Seven per cent of respondents strongly disagreed with the statement, “My firm provides satisfactory remuneration”.

Twelve per cent disagreed, while 20% were neutral, 35% agreed and 27% strongly agreed.

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FEATURES

EMPLOYER OF CHOICE 2015 TRAINING AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

SIONAL FES D RO



PMENT ELO EV

INING & TRA P

TOP-PERFORMING FIRMS



Carew Counsel K&L Gates Russell McVeagh

Partners are the most happy with training and development offered by their firms, according to this year’s Employer of Choice survey results.

Respondents holding the position of partner gave an average rating of 4.29, followed by those in solicitor/associate roles, who gave a rating of 3.94.

Those who least agreed with the statement, “My firm provides sufficient opportunities for training and professional development”, were those in in-house counsel positions, who gave an average rating of 3.25.

The average rating given by special counsel in relation to training and development was 3.86, while senior associates’ rating averaged at 3.81.

CAREER PROGRESSION

R PROGRESS EE

N IO

CA R

TOP-PERFORMING FIRMS





DibbsBarker HWL Ebsworth Marque Lawyers

Career progression was a strong point for firms, with 65% of survey respondents agreeing or strongly agreeing with the statement, “My firm offers a clear career progression path for all employees”.

Seven per cent of respondents strongly disagreed with that statement, while 11% disagreed and 17% listed their stance as neutral.

Partners gave the best average rating of 4.06, followed by managing partners with 3.84 and special counsel with 3.44.

GENDER EQUALITY

ER EQUALI T ND



28

Y

GE

TOP-PERFORMING FIRMS



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Hive Legal Maddocks Norton Rose Fulbright

The majority of survey respondents – 53% – strongly agreed with the statement, “My firm has a strong commitment to achieving gender equality in the workplace”.

Eleven per cent of respondents disagreed or strongly disagreed with the statement, while 11% remained neutral.

Partners gave the highest average rating of 4.38, followed by managing partners with 3.95 and those in solicitor/associate roles with 3.92.

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Feeney Family Law Gilbert + Tobin Norton Rose Fulbright

Quality of work was a highlight for survey respondents, with 78% agreeing or strongly agreeing with the statement, “My firm provides me with sufficient opportunities to do interesting and challenging work”.

Twelve per cent of respondents either disagreed or strongly disagreed, while 10% remained neutral.

In-house counsel gave the lowest average rating of 3.08 for this aspect of their job, while partners gave the highest rating of 4.39.

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Arnold Bloch Leibler K&L Gates Lander & Rogers

Pro bono is an area in which a lot of firms do great things.

Sixty-five per cent of respondents agreed or strongly agreed with the statement, “My firm provides sufficient opportunities to do pro bono work”.

Partners rated their firms’ work around pro bono the highest, at an average of 4.08. In-house counsel, on the other hand, gave a low rating of only 2.75.

Managing partners and special counsel gave respective ratings of 3.79 and 3.77, while senior associates and those in solicitor/associate positions gave an average rating of 3.58 and 3.56 respectively.

ACCESS TO TECHNOLOGY

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Cooper Grace Ward Hall & Wilcox K&L Gates

With flexible working practices requiring more access to remote technologies, it’s no surprise that more and more firms are seeing the value in up-to-date technology.

Seventy-five per cent of survey respondents either strongly agreed or agreed with the statement, “My firm gives me access to the technology I need to do my work effectively”.

Twelve per cent remained neutral, while 13% either disagreed or strongly disagreed.

Partners and managing partners gave the highest average ratings in this area, at 4.13 and 4 respectively, while in-house counsel gave the lowest at 3.17.

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FEATURES

EMPLOYER OF CHOICE 2015 WORK CULTURE AND ENGAGEMENT

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DLA Piper Australia Hall & Wilcox Hive Legal

As with any workplace, culture and engagement can be key drivers when it comes to staff retention.

Forty-eight per cent of survey respondents strongly agreed with the statement, “My firm has a strong work culture and a high level of engagement”.

Thirty-two per cent agreed with the statement, while 12% remained neutral, 5% disagreed and 6% strongly disagreed.

Partners most strongly agreed, with the highest average rating of 4.44, while in-house counsel staff had the lowest average rating of 3.33.

TRUST AND EMPOWERMENT

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Australian Business Lawyers & Advisors Corrs Chambers Westgarth Maddocks

Respondents to this year’s Employer of Choice survey gave their firms an average rating of 3.95 when it came to trust and empowerment. Those most satisfied with their firm’s environment around trust and empowerment were partners and managing partners, who gave their firms an average rating of 4.26 and 4 respectively.

Senior associates gave the third-highest average rating of 3.81, while special counsel, solicitors/associates and in-house counsel gave average ratings of 3.67, 3.65 and 3.33 respectively.

Seven per cent of respondents strongly disagreed with the statement, “My firm fosters an environment of trust and empowerment”.

Six per cent disagreed, while 13% were neutral, 32% agreed and 42% strongly agreed.

LEADERSHIP TOP-PERFORMING FIRMS ADERSHIP LE

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Australian Business Lawyers & Advisors Minter Ellison Wallmans Lawyers

The majority of survey respondents – 74% – agreed or strongly agreed with the statement, “My firm demonstrates effective leadership”.

Fourteen per cent of respondents disagreed or strongly disagreed with the statement, while 11% remained neutral.

Partners gave the highest average rating of 4.26, followed by managing partners with 4.05 and those in solicitor/associate roles with 3.69.

WORK-LIFE BALANCE TOP-PERFORMING FIRMS

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Cooper Grace Ward DibbsBarker HWL Ebsworth

With the concept of work-life balance being brought to the fore for many employees in recent years, it’s interesting to note that many lawyers are satisfied with their level of work-life balance, despite long hours and a high incidence of mental health problems in the profession.

Seventy per cent of survey respondents agreed or strongly agreed with the statement, “My firm helps me to achieve a work-life balance”.

Fourteen per cent of respondents disagreed or strongly disagreed with this statement, while 17% remained neutral.

Partners were the most satisfied, with the highest average rating of 4.05, while in-house counsel staff were the least satisfied, with the lowest average rating of 3.33.

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Leach Legal Herbert Smith Freehills Squire Patton Boggs

The majority of respondents – 74% – agreed or strongly agreed with the statement, “My firm supports my health and wellbeing”.

Partners were the most satisfied with their firms’ support of their health and wellbeing, with the highest average rating of 4.21, while in-house counsel were the least, with the lowest average rating of 3.5.

EMPLOYEE BENEFITS

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Buddle Findlay Chapman Tripp Minter Ellison

Employee benefits appear to be an area that many firms could improve on, with a markedly lower rating than other areas.

The highest average rating was given by partners – with 3.92 – while the lowest was by in-house counsel, with an average rating of just 2.

Twenty-six per cent of respondents strongly disagreed or disagreed with the statement, “My firm offers satisfactory employee benefits”.

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PROFILE

POSTGRADUATE EDUCATION

Masters of innovation A creative evolution is taking place at law schools across the country as students seek out cutting-edge learning. Australasian Lawyer speaks to three of the best

THE STUDY of law may be as old as society itself, but each and every year it keeps changing.

At least, that’s what a look at Australia’s law schools will tell you. Constantly busy developing postgraduate programs to meet the changing demands of students as well as the needs of the legal market, law schools are creating and pioneering a range of innovations in content and delivery that are changing the study of law.

Australasian Lawyer spoke to three of the best schools at the cutting edge about

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their 2015 Masters programs, and to see what’s in store for 2016 and beyond.

The University of Sydney Sydney Law School has always aimed to offer a premium learning experience, through both the depth and breadth of its core program – replete with a wide range of options for students to choose from – and innovation in new subject areas.

Sydney’s Pro Dean, Professor Cameron Stewart, says in his area of interest – health law – there are new units in neuro law,

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POSTGRADUATE EDUCATION

in ethics and regulatory theory. There is also a range of new units in the corporate and commercial area, like in corporate governance and finance. “Every year we have new subjects,” Stewart says.

Sydney’s profile means it continues to attract high profile global teaching talent, and the coursework itself offers an international flavour that includes Asian law subjects.

“We have an international team of teachers coming from all over the place,” Stewart says. “For example, next year we

interesting research and feeding that back into our teaching, really marrying those two things together. We have a reputation for high quality research, so when you come to Sydney you are doing a course that’s really at the cutting edge, that enables you to get traditional coverage but also makes sure you are armed and prepared for the future in that field of study.”

Like many universities, Sydney is continuing to enhance its online offering.

“We are starting to shop out new online units next year, and we have invested a

“We have a reputation for high quality research, so when you come to Sydney you are doing a course that’s really at the cutting edge, that enables you to get traditional coverage but also makes sure you are armed and prepared for the future in that field of study” Professor Cameron Stewart, UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY have a number of really good courses in our tax program, with a very high profile tax expert coming out here next year.”

Sydney Law School is growing through recruitment. Its environmental law teaching staff includes two brand new teachers, including a South African expert in the area of wildlife and biodiversity law. Much of its recruitment is designed to ensure that the law school’s research capabilities remain at the forefront of the sector.

“We want to continue matching research with our teaching program,” Stewart explains. “We want to have people doing

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heap of money in putting a heap online.”

However, at Sydney, it will always be about providing a fuller experience.

“We realise we have to give students good experiences. For example, we offer a range of units that are taught offshore – our students have options to do units in Europe and England and in China. It’s important to give people a mix of different options – so they can do it online – but that shouldn’t be detrimental to a good experience on campus and overseas.”

It’s interesting that Sydney Law School is seeing many students take advantage of its Professional Plus Program, which allows

singular, one-off units of study. Rather than completing a full Masters, students are offered the ability to study a stand-alone subject at a discounted rate. A ‘big bump’ of students are using the program to refresh their understanding of classical subjects, like torts and contract law.

“People don’t always want to commit to a whole Masters and that is fine, so we offer a price point for one-off units; students don’t have the exam or assessments, but they get the content, interaction and access to our quality teaching,” Stewart says.

“The thing we can do is – because we are big enough – we can give students a lot of different options. They can come in and we have the options to suit them.”

The College of Law The College of Law’s online learning environment will be more immersive than ever next year, with the rollout of a brand new Learning Management System designed to enhance student engagement as well as its flexible delivery offering.

“It’s been quite amazing; we are undergoing a bit of a revolution here,” says Dr John McGill, manager of teaching and learning at The College of Law. While the College’s previous custombuilt platform was a vast repository of content for students, it was limited in terms of interaction. However, the new platform – based on the popular Canvas LMS – will allow students and teachers to interact in a variety of new ways with each other as well as their chosen subject matter.

For example, McGill says students have access to discussion boards and audio and video web conferencing, that will allow them to network and interact throughout a course in a synchronous way.

Teachers will have opportunities to utilise it for things like mini-lecture podcasts,

and offer personalised audio and video feedback. “There is a high level of personal interaction,” McGill says. “It takes that flat interface and adds all the wonderful aspects of social networking involved in LinkedIn or Facebook which people are comfortable with, meaning they can identify and have a community that they are part of and engage in an exchange of ideas.”

The LMS plays to the strengths of The College of Law. It tends to attract students from mid-tier and smaller practices – as well as solo practitioners – who are looking to connect with other practitioners, gain

practical knowledge they can implement in the workplace immediately, and take advantage of studying flexibly. Ninety per cent of its courses are delivered online, though this is supplemented with a faceto-face component or ‘workshop day’, where students can network, practise the elements they’ve learned, and hear from guest speakers and experts in their field.

“We have a blended learning experience where students have multiple ways to interact, be a part of the course and engage with the course and engage with each other,” McGill says.

The College of Law continues to add to its offering. This year, it added a property practice area and subjects aligning with the boom in the property market in Australia. It is also launching a new practice area focused on mediation and negotiation within the dispute resolution arena, and is kicking off a super subject on estate planning, as part of its large wills and estates program. Its family dispute resolution continues to be well received, by lawyers and non-lawyers alike.

McGill says he is also proud of The College of Law’s relatively new

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POSTGRADUATE EDUCATION

““[The College of Law course takes] that flat interface and adds all the wonderful aspects of social networking involved in LinkedIn or Facebook which people are comfortable with, meaning they can identify and have a community that they are part of and engage in an exchange of ideas” John McGill, THE COLLEGE OF LAW MONASH UNIVERSITY FOLLOWING CONSULTATION WITH THE LEGAL INDUSTRY, MONASH UNIVERSITY IS OFFERING A REVITALISED MASTERS OF LAW PROGRAM WITH SOME NEW SPECIALISATIONS. The university also has a number of new masters specialisations available to both law and non-law graduates.

FOR LAW GRADUATES This course now offers nine specialisations: Commercial law Dispute resolution Government law and regulatory practice Human rights law Intellectual property and communications law International and comparative law Law and international development Law studies Workplace and employment law FOR LAW GRADUATES AND NON-LAW GRADUATES The university offers a range of masters programs suitable for those from a non-law background.

New specialisations as of 2016: Master of intellectual property and communications law Master of dispute resolution Master of government law and regulatory practice Law and international development

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capstone project, modelled on specialist accreditations in the various practice areas it teaches.

“Our students don’t become accredited specialists, but currently there is no training for specialty accreditations and few resources to prepare someone,” McGill says. This shows them the totality of what they have learned and links it to real life, but also gives them an idea of the level of rigour they need to be at, and what they need to do in order to be at an accredited specialist level,” he says.

The University of NSW Environmental law will be taking centre stage at the University of NSW in 2016, with the launch of a newly-developed Masters of Environmental Law and Policy program.

Consisting of 72 units of credit – as opposed to the regular 48 – the new program is a true interdisciplinary offering that will equip lawyers to deal with anything from climate change and energy sustainability, to resources-related environmental law.

“We have put together this Masters program which we teach jointly with the faculty of science,” director of postgraduate programs Brendan Edgeworth says.

“Because it has a lot of science in it as well as law, it’s longer than conventional Masters programs, and students are expected to

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have some basic science knowledge before they enter, as well as the legal knowledge,” he says.

UNSW has built the program based on an interdisciplinary approach it employed successfully in its international relations course, which combines law and arts and social sciences. “These are tailored to two streams of students; those who have undergraduate knowledge in the discipline, and those coming in for the first time.”

Edgeworth says. “There is an article in the newspaper every other day about a mine development that has been approved or knocked back, and climate change as a factor has generated a whole array of legal problems that lawyers need to address.

There’s also NGOs involved in campaigning for legal change, so there’s opportunities there for graduates.”

UNSW is offering greater numbers of courses in flexible mode, allowing students

“We are aware most of our students are working part-time or full-time, so we have made the program sufficiently flexible so that students can work it around the other less flexible commitments they have to family and the workplace”

TOP 10 UNIVERSITIES IN AUSTRALIA

University Australian National University (ANU) University of Melbourne

World rank

25= 33

University of Sydney

37=

University of Queensland (UQ)

43=

University of New South Wales (UNSW)

48

Monash University

70

University of Western Australia (UWA)

89

University of Adelaide

100

Macquarie University

254=

University of Newcastle

257=

Brendan Edgeworth, UNSW Edgeworth says UNSW is expecting at least 30 students, based on indications of demand from its LLM environmental law specialisation. “It’s a growing area of interest among practising lawyers and law graduates, particularly the developing law around climate change, general environmental law and sustainable energy.”

He expects there will be no shortage of opportunities for graduates.

“Environmental regulation is a growing area of legal practice, both from a government point of view – increasingly departments are both implementing environmental regulation and policing it – but also in the private sector, where there is an increasing need for lawyers to be aware of growing environmental considerations,”

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to take them intensively. Currently, 75% of its courses are available this way. “We are aware most of our students are working part-time or full-time, so we have made the program sufficiently flexible so that students can work it around the other less flexible commitments they have to family and the workplace,” he says.

The faculty is also increasingly embracing the delivery enhancements available through its MOODLE platform. While Edgeworth says ‘older dinosaurs’ might use it mainly for content delivery – freeing students up from buying those expensive textbooks – others are using it in innovative ways such as hosting chat forums in order to engage students throughout the duration of their Masters.

MORTGAGEBROKERNEWS.CA

5 minutes with Linda Kochanski, Practice Leader for Dispute Resolution Programs, The College of Law Tell us a little about your background I started out my legal career as a criminal and family lawyer in Brisbane. It was interesting and fulfilling work and while I was never bored, I could see that many of the problems that my clients had were more than just legal ones. I started looking at how they could be assisted in dealing with their problems without always resorting to court. This was particularly the case with my family law clients, as I could see that court was certainly not the answer for them when the issues were around their children and they needed to be able to resolve their differences and identify conflict resolution processes for the future.

What led you to mediation as a career path?

I used to refer a lot of my family law clients to counselling and while it assisted, it wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t always effective in resolving their disputes. Then I heard about mediation, which was not well known when I moved across to it; in fact it was often mixed up with meditation! I went to work for an organisation that assisted families in Queensland, where I received my training and have been a mediator ever since. I work primarily in family mediation but also have done workplace and estate mediation.

I have completed approximately 3800 mediation hours since I started and still

find the process of mediation fascinating and fulfilling.

Have you noticed an increase in the number of cases that are resolved by mediation/dispute resolution?

Certainly â&#x20AC;&#x201C; particularly since mediation has become a profession in its own right and people require accreditation or registration as a mediator. Also I think the clients themselves now better understand mediation and often will self-select into a mediation process. Mediating disputes crosses all disciplines and this has added to the acceptance of mediation and other processes as ways to resolve the differences.

Mediation can be found in the law and social science sectors as well as the construction industry and most workplaces.

What are some benefits to parties opting to resolve disputes through mediation?

I think the ability to have a voice in the mediation process and the ability to selfdetermine their issues and resolutions are

what make mediation an appropriate and beneficial alternative to a judicial decision.

If parties can feel the ownership of the resolution it makes them participate in the process. Just being given a voice and some acknowledgment around the dispute can be enough for parties to move from positions to offering up options for resolution. It has also been shown that any agreements reached in mediation are often considered more sustainable in the long-term.

What tips would you give to professionals looking to transition into mediation?

Talk to practising mediators who have already made the transition, see what they did and accept any tips they can offer.

Certainly finding a good training course is essential with experienced mediators and trainers to give you a solid grounding in the processes and skills required. Be openminded and ready to embrace a change in the way you approach dispute resolution.

It is a challenging but very rewarding and collegiate profession to be a part of.

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PEOPLE

LUKE GEARY

Partnering with purpose Salvos Legal’s rise into the mid-tier has just begun.

Managing partner Luke Geary tells Ben Abbott how he made a new model work – and why other legal businesses should care

WHEN LUKE GEARY left the Mills Oakley partnership to build the Salvation Army’s legal arm in 2010, his new business had only one office, and he was the only lawyer.

Almost five years on, Salvos Legal has 16 offices in two states and 38 staff, has funded 13,700 legal cases, and has a welldocumented vision for rising to competitive mid-tier status.

“We have a pretty ambitious growth plan for the next five years, which is to

well as a self-funded humanitarian arm supporting 200 cases a week, this 2020 goal will challenge the successful model he has created all over again.

“This is kind of really the big test for us, as we move from being right at the end of the bottom of the mid-tier category to being a true significant mid-tier firm in five years’ time.”

But Geary says the firm is prepared to grow, and so is he. “We have gone from being

“We have to appeal to a greater sense of meaning for the individuals who we want to be leaders of the firm, and to inspire and to incentivise those who are working underneath them” continue to grow the business by 20% compounding each year between now and 2020,” Geary says.

Though he has built a firm with a recognised commercial arm servicing business and government institutions, as

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born, to crawling and walking. Now we are looking at running a race.”

Cultural salvation Geary was the youngest partner in Mills Oakley’s then-150-year history when he was

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made partner at 28. However – though he still enjoyed the job – he left six months later to start Salvos Legal.

“I had run a voluntary service for the Salvation Army for five years before then.

When I was asked by the Salvos to do it on a full-time basis and I came up with the model that we have used to fund it, I was still doing full-time legal practice work and enjoying it.”

However, overnight Geary became the boss of a legal business with no guarantee of success, largely because there was no existing model to follow. “Starting out without there being a precedent of this kind of a model means we have had to find our own way,” Geary says.

Much of the challenge came from having to turn the profit-driven law firm on its head, to meet the vision and mission of Salvos Legal while still attracting the people to achieve it.

“In a typical firm the motivating factor is to grow the business; most firms have a pretty similar model in that there is an equity partnership, some salaried partners, and those underneath them who all want to be them. In our environment it’s very different because we never offer equity to anyone. We have to appeal to a greater sense of meaning for the individuals who we want to be leaders of the firm, and to inspire and to incentivise those who are working underneath them.”

The firm has “figured out to some degree” how to achieve this; however, Geary says to grow the business he will need to attract more senior key people willing to grow the practice.

“Unless you are promising equity as a measure of return, you have got to come up with something valuable for them, so it’s not simply a proposition that we can offer likefor-like, whether they are working here or at King & Wood Mallesons or Herbert Smith Freehills. But we expect people of that calibre, so how do we get out of comparing ourselves with those firms?”

There are a few ways that Salvos has re-engineered the traditional law firm

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BREAKING THE LAW

Most law firms would rather have fewer competitors to worry about. However, Salvos Legal’s Luke Geary is encouraging more law firm leaders to follow in his footsteps.

“I actually don’t have a problem with organisations doing what we do, because to a degree that also helps us in that we won’t be a lone wolf in this sort of space,” says Geary.

One of the problems Salvos Legal has had to overcome is what Geary describes as the “hack factor”, or the perception that the firm was not up to commercial law firm standard because it was associated with the Salvation Army brand. Though Salvos Legal has long since proved itself worthy of the best clients in the country – with the Commonwealth Bank a significant turning point for the firm four years ago – other firms to compare itself with would certainly help.

“If we have other social enterprise firms out there like ours which are doing a similar type of thing, it will create a bit more recognition for these business models as a legitimate supplier of commercial legal services to big business and to government,” he says. “It will help us overcome perceptions of less than professionalism or perceptions of risk within companies that we might want to do business with, and also ultimately the end result will be that people get helped. The more the merrier as far as I’m concerned.”

Geary says firms could manage a shift in Salvos Legal’s direction, but it would mean partners drawing less profit, or essentially breaking the law as dominant law firms know it.

“I think what we do is possible because none of our partners are actual owners of the business, so we don’t have the need for there to be dividends to be paid – we only need to pay the expenses of our humanitarian firm,” Geary explains.

“We grow that at the pace we want it to grow, so that means if we decide we don’t want to grow it from one year to the next, we can take that money and invest it in benefits to staff. Other firms could take a smaller profit percentage and do a similar thing,” he says.

While law firms may shrink from such a move, the reality is, they may eventually have to.

“I think the generations rising now through the ranks – Gen Y and following – are really going to be looking to employers that have that kind of an attitude,” Geary says. “It is no secret they are not built the same way as the generation that preceded them. They have far too many expectations of personal satisfaction, their own social outlooks and a level of expectation of being treated well, rather than expecting what 20 years ago was a right of passage.”

culture to appeal to partners, as well as more junior lawyers who are promised “a great place to work”.

“The way we can give more of a benefit is that we don’t need to have as high a profit margin as some of the other firms, so we compromise our profit margin to a degree so that we can invest in a culture which doesn’t drive people to have to work until midnight or on weekends.”

Geary says the firm also appeals to people’s desire to help those in need. “If you are a banking and finance lawyer, you can come here and have a practice and still do work for the big banks, and looking down the hallway you can see a humanitarian lawyer that you are funding, who is serving the person in jail or the single parent who has custody issues with their children with an abusive spouse, or you have got a refugee who is about to be deported,” he says.

“We aren’t oblivious to the fact people have a mortgage and kids in school; we just have to somehow balance appropriate reward and recognition within the model we have. I can’t say we are settled and we have the final foolproof solution – it’s a work in progress.”

A 2020 vision Geary will not be satisfied unless Salvos Legal grows its revenue to about $10.5m a year by 2020. If the firm succeeds, it will be able to fund 35 humanitarian offices between Canberra and North Queensland on the Eastern Seaboard, handling 600 cases every week for free.

“You can imagine the impact that would have on access to justice issues in this country,” Geary says.

Currently the firm services commercial clients nationally from Sydney, and is somewhat agnostic about the possibility of a second commercial law office, though this could be in Melbourne. However, Geary is sure Australia won’t be the only country to have a Salvos Legal.

“I do see it going international. Within

five years I would be surprised if we didn’t have a similar Salvation Army-owned firm using this model in at least one other very developed country.”

The model has been watched closely around the world and is being rolled out by the Salvation Army in various forms. The UK has begun a ‘lite’ version of the model; in Canada a senior judge has been appointed to consider it; and the US and New Zealand are both mulling over it.

“Ultimately their launch is going to be based on our continued success, but it is past the point of being a novelty; it’s a sustainable business,” Geary says.

Caring to lead In five years, Geary has learned a thing or two about leading others towards a vision.

“It took me a long time to realise the value of very deliberate, clear and regular communication. People wanted to be led and wanted to be communicated with and wanted to follow the leader and achieve the goals, but if you don’t have a habit of communicating directly, regularly and clearly – and, if you can, inspirationally – your followers will soon fall away,” he says.

Inspiring a team as a leader may actually be one of the most valuable things other managing partners can do for their firms’

“We have a pretty ambitious growth plan for the next five years, which is to continue to grow the business by 20% compounding each year between now and 2020” In Australia, Salvos Legal added an IP and technology practice group earlier this year with the addition of Sparke Helmore partner Guy Betar, and Geary anticipates this will be a larger practice in the future.

Aside from its core corporate transactional practice, there is scope for others.

“We do have strong relationships with banks and other financial services providers, so there is scope for a dedicated banking and finance practice,” Geary says. ”We have a significant real property practice which I see would continue to grow, and the area of construction law is probably well aligned with what we do; I think front-end construction work is something that we could open up if we had the right person to lead a dedicated practice.”

Litigation will stay off the table. “That is part of our limited mandate of doing advice and transactional work, so I don’t see that we would ever have a disputes practice.”

success, he says. “If you do that they will get excited about it and they will work hard to achieve it and they’ll work cooperatively together. You get places a lot faster and that doesn’t cost you anything either; it is something that is free.”

Geary will need every tool in the box to take Salvos forward further into the midtier. But if he needs any inspiration himself, all he will need to do is look down the hall.

“This has been a very satisfying time, giving opportunities to other lawyers and other individuals within our firm who are doing fantastic things with their lives,” he says.

“If I stop to think about it, it’s almost unbelievable the sorts of things that have been achieved for people in need. Just looking through some of those stories, you only need to look at one or two to be satisfied that you have done something with your life.

And we have countless stories like that.”

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FEATURES

SYDNEY REPORT

Right place, right time Sydney may be more competitive than ever, but for client-focused firms it can still feel like being in the right place at the right time. Ben Abbott reports

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MANAGING PARTNERS in Sydney can’t help but be aware of one hard truth about their market: it’s the same-sized legal pie but there are more people fighting over it.

With data showing that NSW legal spend hasn’t changed much in 20 years, competition is hotter than ever, forcing firms to deliver clients both value and innovation.

“Competition is getting more intense all the time,” Gilbert + Tobin managing partner Danny Gilbert told Australasian Lawyer.

“That’s causing some price pressures.”

Global law firms are blamed for the carnage. Following the new entrants, the market has become fragmented; more fluid.

More of the status quo is up for grabs.

Which is good news for some. Despite the tough market, there are firms excited by their growth who now find Sydney to be the right place, at the right time.

In a great state In general, Sydney is not a bad place to be a lawyer at the moment.

National GDP figures released in early September revealed that Australia had grown by 2% in the year to June 2015, and only 0.2% in the June quarter. Without NSW’s contribution? The nation would have shrunk by 1.1% during that quarter. A new ‘Stateometer’ from ANZ reinforced the message, crunching a range of state-based data to find NSW was “above trend and accelerating”, well ahead of other states.

Squire Patton Boggs is a firm accelerating along with it. Launching with four partners in serviced offices in Sydney’s MLC Centre in November 2012, it now has 50 staff and is taking extra space to expand its current Gateway Building offices.

“We have had quite incredible growth here in Sydney,” says Sydney managing partner Campbell Davidson. “For us, it’s really exciting. Sydney is a great market to be growing in at the moment. When you break it down state by state, Sydney is the market actually growing at by far the greatest rate, and that is being reflected by the fact that we are being able to grow; we are in a happy

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FEATURES

SYDNEY REPORT

THE POWER OF POLICY

At Squire Patton Boggs’ first global partner retreat in Miami this year, Campbell Davidson found himself mixing with ex-congressmen, ex-senators and ex-Whitehouse staff from the US, all of whom are now his colleagues.

Before the merger with Squire Sanders, Patton Boggs was well known for its strength in public policy work out of its Washington, DC, office. “The connections they have around the world is just extraordinary,” Davidson says.

While it may be new for clients, Davidson says it is an area of expertise the firm will look to explore in Australia thanks to the expertise of his US peers.

“They are very involved in public policy work, and that is something that is not done by law firms outside of the US very much at all,” Davidson explains.

“It is something we can see clients valuing, and it can be anything from being able to help influence legislation when it is coming through, or helping investors navigate regulatory issues by making sure they are able to speak to the right people.”

The Australian offices are already taking advantage. Recently, US partner Rodney Slater –a former secretary of transportation under Clinton and a current Transurban board member – visited Australia and drew 30 people for lunch, including the NSW Minister for Transport and Infrastructure, Andrew Constance. At another event the firm hosted business leaders and the president of Tanzania, Jakaya Kikwete.

“That is an area where I can see us over the next little while developing, and that is something that differentiates us from any law firm in Australia.”

But how?

“When you step back, you realise you are doing some of it already. It is really about picking up on that, and then it may be we partner some of the people who also have those type of backgrounds. That is something starting to happen here and we are learning a lot from our colleagues on how to go about it,” Davidson says.

Clients are so far receptive. “We are speaking to clients about it. A number of them can understand how we might be engaged to assist them with more public policy-type issues rather than just traditional legal issues,” he says.

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place in that respect.”

Though its Perth office is almost twice the size, the Sydney office is punching above its weight, propelling the firm to an overall head count growth of 31% in 12 months.

Holman Webb Lawyers is also exhibiting strong growth. “In our last financial year, we had approximately 8% growth in revenue, which was terrific in the current climate,” Sydney office chairman of partners John Wakefield tells Australasian Lawyer.

Both Squire Patton Boggs and Holman Webb Lawyers are busy exploiting their respective global links to advise on international work, including inbound M&A. “In the corporate practice there is a lot of mid-market cross-border M&A work,” says Davidson. “Being part of a global firm, we do a lot of work for foreign companies coming in and making acquisitions – we benefit from mainly acting on the buy side.”

Wakefield says Holman Webb’s history of building relationships with international firms in regions including Europe and the US has been showing dividends, citing recent South American work sourced thanks to a US alliance partner. “ There are very many Australian companies operating in places like Chile and Brazil, and we hope to see quite a lot of commercial work arising out of that,” he says.

Though financial markets have been spooked in recent times by share market trouble and a slowing economy in China, both firms shrug off these global headwinds, arguing that for their businesses at the moment they only see signs of more work.

“Our Australian dollar not that long ago was very strong, but it has taken a bit of a hit, and it’s feasible it might drop below 70 US cents,” Davidson said in September.

“Even with the Chinese starting to liberalise their currency, up against the Aussie our assets still look cheap; there is quite a lot of money that will be moving out of the Chinese economy into offshore destinations, including Australia.”

“Sydney is the market actually growing at by far the greatest rate, and that is being reflected by the fact that we are being able to grow” Campbell Davidson, SQUIRE PATTON BOGGS Funds are attracting some of this offshore money. Squire Patton Boggs partner Michelle Segaert is busy with fund formation work, often with a property focus.

The firm’s coup in attracting renowned litigator Amanda Banton and her team from Piper Alderman earlier in 2015 has also given it new litigation firepower in Sydney.

Insolvency and litigation is generally slower, however.

“Insolvency work has come off over the last year or two; when you speak to the big insolvency firms and see what they are doing, you find that what has been feeding those machines for a number of years has started to dry up in the last year or so,” says Davidson.

Wakefield agrees. “Litigation has not been very strong in general over the last 18 months to two years. Having said that, in the last month or two we’ve had a reasonable number of insolvency instructions. Generally I think clients are cost-conscious and risk averse, and we are seeing matters settle more quickly.”

Holman Webb is seeing “stratospheric” growth in its employment and industrial relations practice. “We are actively recruiting in that area,” Wakefield says. Likewise, its staple insurance business continues to make up a third of its practice, with strong growth in health and aged care, IP, technology and property practices.

Danny Gilbert says that while M&A remains “patchy” – with some deals the firm

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SYDNEY REPORT

hopes will eventuate – much of the rest of its practice is very busy, including private equity, competition, telecommunications, banking and finance and even litigation.

Servicing Sydney Being successful in Sydney now means giving clients more of what they want – and being ready to seize any creative growth opportunities when they do arise.

Gilbert + Tobin’s Danny Gilbert says

some time offered a platform to clients that allows them to manage their cases; they can access virtual files in real time to see what’s happening and produce managing reports at different levels. That product has become a real point of difference for us,” Wakefield says. Already labelled the “best platform seen at a law firm” by one client, it is now in high demand.

Holman Webb is also conscious of the need to meet clients’ needs on legal fees.

“The best way we can respond to competition is to make sure we are providing a superior service, and by having the right people to provide that service” Danny Gilbert, GILBERT + TOBIN clients essentially want what they always have. “The best way we can respond to competition is to make sure we are providing a superior service, and by having the right people to provide that service.”

Firms approach service in different ways.

For Squire Patton Boggs, it means providing the best talent, whether that is based in Sydney, Perth or Darwin.

“We consider ourselves to be one office, just in three different locations,” Davidson says.

“That way, clients have the best people working on their matters, no matter where they are located; there is no one saying, ‘Oh, we have to keep this in Sydney because we have the work here’. If there is someone more experienced elsewhere then of course the best thing for the client is to have them working on it.”

Holman Webb meanwhile is tapping internal technology expertise – thanks to its three-partner practice and some demanding technology clients – to enhance its wider client experience through an innovative client service platform.

“We are very technology-driven, and for

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“We are focused on the client, so it’s not all about hourly rates. It’s about working out what best suits from the client’s perspective, and that is often more about certainty – a lot of clients say they don’t care if it costs $X, but they want certainty on that price.”

A middle harbour Squire Patton Boggs considers itself to be in a very fortunate position in Sydney. Though competition is fierce, Davidson is upbeat about the firm’s strategy.

“The way our strategy in Australia really works is that we don’t want to be a huge firm like my old firm Allens, or King & Wood Mallesons or Herbert Smith Freehills,” Davidson says.

“Since we established our Sydney office we’ve been growing our practice, but in doing so we can make sure what we are building is appropriate for the market; we don’t want to be large – we want to be about 25 or 30 partners – so we have still got a bit of growth here and in Perth and Darwin to get to that size.”

Firms like Squire Patton Boggs seem to be benefiting from the ructions in the market.

“There is quite a lot of fluidity among partners. A lot of the other firms are challenged in terms of holding on to some of their good people, and we are in the nice position of still growing our team here, so there are some really good people we are able to speak to and potentially bring on board,” Davidson says.

Holman Webb is also viewing the market with optimism, and that means seizing new opportunities as they arise.

“We are always on the lookout for lateral hires and other opportunities, including relationships overseas, to build new growth areas – there is work through our US contacts that hadn’t been available a couple of years ago. Opportunities arise and you have to take advantage when they do,” Wakefield says.

In fact, Wakefield is convinced that now is a great time to be mid-tier in Sydney.

“We have found in the last two to three years that many major corporates, software developers and industrials are no longer wedded to one firm – they will go to major firms for things like regulatory work, and second-tier firms for employment, IP protection, leasing, and litigation. We have picked up some very large clients from Southeast Asia doing that sort of work, and this has been part of our growth.”

With all the partner moves taking place, as well as large law firm pressure to deliver high hourly rates, the likes of Holman Webb are thriving in Sydney by keeping costs down, getting creative with technology and being focused on the client.

“Everyone is cost-sensitive. Major companies are starting to realise that they don’t need to be paying $1,000 an hour for work that could be done equally well by a second-tier firm for half that or less. Both public companies or private companies can focus on keeping their costs down to deliver shareholders returns, if the standard of service is the same.” AL

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PEOPLE

LEWIS MCDONALD

Solo in Seoul Lewis McDonald, Herbert Smith Freehills Seoul managing partner, talks to Samantha Woodhill about being the sole Aussie lawyer operating in the South Korean metropolis

that between running a busy legal practice and finding time for his young family he hasn’t been left with much time to continue his Korean classes.

“The way I deal with that is that I’ve hired some really good Koreans who speak Korean – I’ve learnt how to work within my limitations.”

As any good manager would, McDonald has effectively worked out how to utilise the abilities of his diverse team.

KOREA AT A GLANCE HAVING BEEN transferred from Singapore to establish a South Korean office of Herbert Smith Freehills, two years on Lewis McDonald remains the sole Aussie in Seoul’s legal market.

McDonald spent his early career in Perth in the energy and resources sector before moving to Asia where he worked on energy and resources imports (with a stint in the UK in between). In 2008, McDonald left Hong Kong bound for Singapore before setting off for South Korea.

Originally functioning to help Korean companies buy into natural resource projects, the Seoul office is now a rapidly growing practice, working closely with the Australian government to promote Korean investment.

Heading up a foreign practice Over two years, McDonald has watched

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Herbert Smith Freehills’ Seoul office grow from a small energy and resources M&A and projects practice into one of South Korea’s leading foreign firms.

McDonald says he’s now at the point where he feels like a trusted legal adviser, despite language being a fairly significant relationshipbuilding barrier.

“The satisfying point is really when you get that repeat instruction from a client and when the client trusts you to sit in a meeting room and talk for them,” he says.

“It’s taken me some time to get there with the Korean companies but I’m there now.”

Though he’s certainly no stranger to working in a foreign country, working in Korea continues to have its challenges.

“I’ve learnt a little bit so I’m able to say that I speak a little bit of Korean,” he says, adding

3

rd

12th 3.7

Korea is Australia’s third-largest export market and fourthlargest trading partner, ahead of India and the USA Korea is the 12th largest economy in the world and the fourth-largest in Asia Economic growth in Korea is projected to accelerate to 4% this year, up from 3.7% in 2014

An Australian in Korea When the South Korean legal market opened back in 2012, Australia-trained lawyers were not able to work in Korea, leaving dually qualified McDonald as the only Australian registered in the entire South Korean legal market.

“It’s really challenging being in another country, and being in a legal market that’s just opening up and being a guy who’s not Korean and doesn’t speak Korean is challenging,” says McDonald.

And while there aren’t any in Korea yet, Aussie-trained lawyers can now work there following 2014’s free trade agreement.

“I have a very strong belief that Aussie lawyers are very well placed to get out into the world and live anywhere, particularly doing

particularly in the specialisation that I undertook in energy and resources that has helped me all over the world.”

Life in Seoul Having just spent three and a half days cycling from the top to the bottom of Korea, McDonald says the natural attractions are some of the most beautiful and underrated in the country.

He and his family often spend weekends doing things outside of the city.

“Living in Seoul is good,” says McDonald.

“The natural beauty outside of Seoul itself is really something.”

With his wife being the president of the Australia and New Zealand Association supporting expats in Korea, McDonald and his family have embraced living there.

“The satisfying point is really when you get that repeat instruction from a client and when the client trusts you to sit in a meeting room and talk for them” cross-border deals,” McDonald says.

“Korea is just another place where that’s proven to be true.”

His one piece of advice to lawyers considering a stint abroad: Go. “Australian law is based on English law, so if you’re an Australian-qualified lawyer you’re actually very well prepared to go out into the world and do these English-law governed project finance and mega transactions,” he says.

McDonald says his Australian energy and resources specialisation is what has allowed him to work in different countries.

“Korea gas is the number one buyer of LNG in the world, and Australia produces a lot of LNG. “These countries that need energy and natural resources, they’ve got to go out there in the world and they’ve got to transact – they generally do so in the English language and they generally do so under English law.

“The main way is the skill set that I developed from working in Australia,

“In a way, being an expat in Seoul has a bit of a village feel to it,” McDonald says, “even though greater Seoul has about 24 million people and it’s a massive city.”

With a large number of expats now living in Seoul and working for international companies, including many Australians, McDonald says his family has managed to build a supportive network of friends around them.

“I guess the support network is the most fundamental thing,” he says.

“When you live in Australia, you’ve got everything around you that’s familiar and you’ve got a really big support network that you can’t underestimate.

“When you pluck yourself out of that and put yourself overseas, particularly in one of the more exotic markets like Korea, you give that up; that becomes a virtual support network available to you on Skype and Facebook.

“So you’ve got to rebuild your support network somehow; you’ve got to have a support network wherever you go. That takes time and it takes a lot of energy.”

CAREER TIMELINE

1995–2000 Studied law and environmental science at University of Western Australia, Perth – graduated with LLB (Hons) and BSc (Hons)

2005–2008 Associate/senior associate at Herbert Smith, London (including 10-month secondment to BP in London, threemonth secondment to Herbert Smith in Hong Kong and onemonth secondment to Lazard in Hong Kong)

2013–present Managing partner, Herbert Smith Freehills, Seoul (promoted to equity partnership in 2013)

2001–2004 Solicitor at Mallesons Stephen Jaques in Perth (now KWM) – including 4-month secondment to Epic Energy

2008–2013 Senior associate/ partner, Herbert Smith, Singapore (made partner in 2010; merger with Freehills in 2012)

2013 2015 Appointed regional coordinator (Asia), Global Energy Group

Appointed member of Asia Executive Committee

Other relevant positions held: • Board member of AustCham (Korea) since 2013 (and vice chair since 2015) • Member of Mayor of Seoul Foreign Investment Advisory Committee since 2014

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HUMAN-CENTRED LEADERSHIP

PUTTING THE ‘HUMAN’ BACK INTO LEADERSHIP

Paul Polman, global CEO of Unilever, knows it. So, too, do other leading CEOs: the key to their success is putting people first. Anthony Howard outlines how a human-centred approach to leadership does not need to be ‘fluffy’ or risk averse

“WE FACE an existential challenge,” said ‘Ian’ some years ago as we discussed his key challenges. As CEO of one of the country’s largest organisations he was unsure whether the business would survive the impact of a major natural disaster and was deeply concerned about how that would impact on its people.

The crisis created an opportunity to review the entire business model and change the way the firm operated. Under Ian’s leadership the firm shifted from a linear, evidence-based model to a purpose-driven firm that cares deeply about its people and customers. They have broken down silo

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mentalities and created a collaborative environment spanning functions, borders, industry and government. The firm is deeply engaged in the community of which they are a part.

Although you may not be facing a natural disaster, you are facing a seismic shift in the way business operates. You are in a moment of great change, which requires a new approach to business and leadership. While many commentators look from a geopolitical, economic or strategic perspective, I look through a human lens and note two key challenges that depersonalise people and require a human response.

Economic framework Thinking about business and management has been built on an economic perspective that believes the purpose of business is to create shareholder value. In an economic world we measure, predict, make rules, and use systems and processes to deliver against KPIs, results and outcomes.

This approach leads to one of the great management myths: people are our greatest asset. In reality, we treat people as units of economic production, whose function is to deliver results as quickly and as cheaply as possible.

In an economic world it is easy to treat

people not as an asset but as a liability.

The threat of artificial intelligence In the early 1960s Peter Drucker wrote an article called ‘The manager and the moron’, which talked about a new ‘dumb’ machine that would do all the low-end processing work and be available at all hours to do whatever you asked whenever you asked it. That computer has morphed into IBM’s Watson, which has the cognitional capability of a human brain and can process vast amounts of data at hyper speed. It is used, for example, by the Mayo Clinic to do medical diagnoses. In this world, the human person can become a mere object to Watson, a tool for completing a task.

destination. It explains why the organisation exists and gives meaning to your colleagues and clients.

2

You need to create a caring organisation in which people are more important than performance, and you recognise human beings and do whatever you can to contribute to their growth, development and wellbeing.

It is a collaborative organisation, rather than primarily a competitive organisation. Collaboration arises from an abundance mentality that believes there is sufficient for everyone, rather than a scarcity mentality that believes in limited opportunity and resources.

3

Rather than viewing progress or change through the eyes of technology, economics or politics, you can gain a much richer perspective by looking at the people in your organisation Recent reports suggest 5,000,000 jobs will disappear in Australia over the next generation because of artificial intelligence.

Watson and his descendants will do anything that may be automated – and that is almost everything, except for human-touch jobs – and they will do it in a non-emotional and probably morally neutral manner.

The changes being wrought by technology, and a number of other forces, give rise to two important questions:

What kind of organisation do you need to create to succeed in this environment?

Building on what made you successful in the past, you need to create an organisation that does four things well: It needs to be purpose-driven. A purpose endures over time and across generations. It is something like the North Star or a lighthouse sought by navigators to give them guidance towards their

1

Successful organisations will be firmly anchored in society. This is demonstrated by Paul Polman, global CEO of Unilever, who is at the forefront of a movement that recognises business cannot prosper in a community that fails. He points out that businesses have to know what they are doing to contribute to solving the world’s problems.

4

Secondly, what kind of leader do you need to be to lead in the new world?

Future-fit organisations need humancentred leaders who put people first, who integrate the moral and technical dimensions of leadership, and who create an environment in which people can flourish. Leadership is firstly a relationship between two or more people. If there is no relationship, there is no leadership because you don’t have a follower.

And because leadership involves people and decision-making, it has a moral dimension.

Leadership involves supporting and choosing

what is proper, not just what is permissible – ie doing what is morally right, not just legally right.

‘Arjay’ had recently joined Ian’s executive team and related a story that demonstrated human-centred leadership. At his previous firm a colleague had reported on unforeseen events that meant their division would miss the forecast numbers. The CEO exploded with abusive, bullying behaviour that cowed all those around the table, and encouraged Arjay to seek employment elsewhere.

Arjay said the same scenario had unfolded during Ian’s executive meeting when one of the team advised they were unlikely to deliver their numbers. Arjay silently leant back and braced for an explosion. To his great surprise Ian paused and looked around the table.

“Bob is not alone in this,” he said. “We have a shared problem. What do we need to do to find a shared solution?”

Ian is a human-centred leader, building a human-centred organisation.

Rather than viewing progress or change through the eyes of technology, economics or politics, you can gain a much richer perspective by looking at the people in your organisation. The human person is the starting point for leadership, for activity, for proper outcomes.

In the face of depersonalisation brought about by economic models and rampant technology, we need human-centred leadership more than ever before. We need human-centred leaders to build the kind of organisation in which people can be treated as human beings, which respects its place in society, and which upholds what is right.

Human-centred leadership is the key to success in the 21st century.

Anthony Howard is an executive mentor and founder of The Confidere Group. Known as the ‘CEO Whisperer’, he is the author of Humanise: Why Human-Centred Leadership is the Key to the 21st Century (published

by Wiley, January 2015, $32.95).

For more information, visit humancentredleadership.com or email anthony.howard@confideregroup.com.

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PROFILE

IAN WILLIAMS

Tackling the big deals As the Rugby World Cup brings the sport to the forefront of the minds of many people, Hannah Norton catches up with former Wallabies winger and recently appointed Herbert Smith Freehills partner Ian Williams

HE WAS once described by author Terry Smith as a rugby player who could “break away like a frightened rabbit surprised in stubble”. But former Wallabies winger Ian Williams’ last game was in 1994.

“I put my boots, mouthguard and contact lenses straight in the bin so I would never be tempted to play again and keep my remaining ligaments and cartilage,” the former Wallabies winger tells Australasian Lawyer.

While – thanks to the sport - some of the links in his skeletal system have may disintegrated, Williams’ links to Japan remain strong.

The highly experienced M&A and joint venture specialist heads Herbert Smith Freehills’ Japanese practice in Brisbane.

It was a position he took up in February this year, after a 20-year stint with Ashurst/

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Blake Dawson that saw him spearhead the opening of the Tokyo office of Blake Dawson in 2010.

“Since 1995 I have lived in Australia and travelled to Japan every two to three months and work almost exclusively for Japanese and Korean clients on inbound investment into Australia,” he says.

“I speak and read Japanese but my Korean has not progressed as far.”

Switching teams Williams donned the 664 jersey for the Wallabies for 17 tests between 1984 and 1990 – something he juggled with law school.

“I was always interested in business, and particularly strategy, [and] I was lucky to play in the amateur era of rugby which allowed me to study ... a little, and play rugby ... a lot, at the

same time,” he says. “These days it would not be possible as both have gone professional.”

Graduating from Sydney University with degrees in economics and law in 1987, Williams went on to do a year in King & Woods Mallesons’ banking practice in 1988.

He then received a scholarship to study politics, philosophy and economics at Oxford University between 1988 and 1989.

After retiring from the Wallabies, Williams headed to Japan, where he spent five years employed by major Japanese steel manufacturer Kobe Steel, while also a member of the All-Japan club rugby champion team from 1989 to 1995 and representing Japan in rugby in 1993.

The two-decade stint at Ashurst/ Blake Dawson preceded his appointment to his current role.

According to Williams, the fields of rugby and law do have some similarities.

“Rugby is about anticipating what both the opposition and your own players will do

Tackling the big deals Despite hanging up his rugby boots, exercise still remains an integral part of Williams’ life.

A typical day involves some form of exercise

“I put my boots, mouthguard and contact lenses straight in the bin so I would never be tempted to play again and keep my remaining ligaments” next, and positioning yourself accordingly,” he says. “In law you need to understand where the market is moving and make sure to be in position with the right team to take advantage of opportunities.”

before work – be it cycling, tennis, going to the gym or pilates – before advising clients across the Australian and Tokyo offices on Japan-Australia cross-border M&A and joint venture transactions by way of face-to-face

meetings, video conferences, teleconferences and emails.

Some of the big deals he’s been involved in recently include working with the Tokyo office advising Gulliver – Japan’s largest secondhand-car company – on its acquisition of a majority shareholding in DVG Automotive Group, which operates 25 car dealerships in WA, for $120m.

He’s also played various roles for Japanese companies in the proposed coal asset selloffs by major mining companies such as Rio Tinto, Anglo, Vale and Peabody.

Australia has always been a source of minerals, energy and food, Williams says.

“But in the last 10 years there has been a second wave as the Australian domestic market has become attractive with Australia’s population growth and high

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PROFILE

IAN WILLIAMS margins in retail relative to Japan.”

This is exemplified by the investments

by Kirin, Asahi, Suntory, Uniqlo and Muji, he says. “The third wave will be investment in Australian companies with Asian operations,

“In law you need to understand where the market is moving and ... be in position with the right team to take advantage of opportunities” such as the recent Japan Post takeover of Toll Holdings.”

He cites Abenomics – the economic policies advocated by Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe based upon the “three arrows” of fiscal stimulus, monetary easing and structural reforms – as a driver of Japanese companies pursuing growth strategies by investing overseas for the first time.

“The recent free trade agreements with Japan and Korea have raised the awareness of business opportunities in Australia and also captured increased attention of politicians, bureaucrats and the media, which helps promote the bilateral relationships.

“Japan and Korea are Australia’s closest friends in Asia,” Williams says.

What does he enjoy most about his role?

“I enjoy the people I work with and the various industries I have a chance to become involved with – mining, agribusiness, infrastructure, retail, industrial.”

It doesn’t come without its challenges, however. “The most challenging aspects are the increasing complexity of business and relationships as business globalises, and the cursed convenience of being constantly connected virtually everywhere in the world.” AL

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CAREER TIMELINE

LAW

1987 Graduated in economics and law from Sydney University

1988 12 months in banking at King & Wood Mallesons 1989/9 Scholarship to Oxford University and studied politics, philosophy and economics (PPE)

1990–1995 Position at Kobe Steel, Japan

1995–2015 Blake Dawson/ Ashurst

Februrary 2015 Joined Herbert Smith Freehills

RUGBY

1984–1990 17 tests for the Australian Wallabies

1989–1995 Member of All-Japan club rugby champion team

1993 Represented Japan in rugby

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