Australasian Lawyer issue 3.06

australasianlawyer.com.au Issue 3.6

INNOVATIVE FIRMS Legal businesses taking on the challenge of change

CHOOSING CHANGE The legal landscape across the Tasman

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THE RISE OF THE FREELANCE LAWYER Lawyers on Demand's opportunities for legal practitioners

BRAVE NEW WORLD Dell Technologies’ Kristin Brown on life after the mega merger

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CONTENTS UPFRONT 04 Legal insight Change is challenging firms of all sizes, according to CommBank’s latest Legal Market Pulse report

06 Deals round-up 12 Appointments

PEOPLE 34 The rise of the freelance lawyer

20 COVER STORY

INNOVATIVE FIRMS

Recognising the law firms working hard to reimagine the business of law

38 FEATURES

CHOOSING CHANGE

New Zealand firms embracing change in order to move forward

Lawyers on Demand’s Tom Hartley and Sandra Gibson on creating new opportunities for staff

46 A lawyer’s pathway to governance New Zealand’s Cathy Quinn reflects on her journey as a corporate lawyer

50 Career path PLN Australia’s Paul Toua takes us through his international legal career

52 Other life

PROFILE

Frankel Lawyers’ Greg Duffy shares his passion for filmmaking

BRAVE NEW WORLD

FEATURES

Dell Technologies’ Kristin Brown on life after the largest tech deal in history

16

48 Dispute resolution What science can teach us about lawyers’ negligence claims

14 UPRFRONT

OPINION

A matter of individual responsibility

AUSTRALASIANLAWYER.COM.AU CHECK IT OUT ONLINE www.australasianlawyer.com.au

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UPFRONT

EDITORIAL

www.australasianlawyer.com.au DECEMBER 2O16 EDITORIAL

Confronting change

I

t’s difficult to believe we’ve reached the end of another year but, sure enough, 2016 has almost come and gone, and the challenges and opportunities of 2017 will soon be upon us.

In this issue of Australasian Lawyer, we shine a light on 30 law firms that have taken substantial steps in their efforts to prepare themselves for the unknown challenges that lie ahead. Our Innovative Firms 2016 report specifically recognises the work undertaken by those businesses to better place

2016 has almost come and gone, and the challenges and opportunities of 2017 will soon be upon us themselves in the global legal services industry of tomorrow. Be sure to read the report to find out which organisations made the list.

Still on the subject of grappling with change, Kristin Brown, Dell Technologies’ head of legal for Australia and New Zealand, talks to Australasian Lawyer about life at Dell after the organisation’s US$67bn acquisition of EMC – an agreement that represents the largest tech deal in history.

Tom Hartley and Sandra Gibson are senior leaders of Lawyers On Demand, a firm that recently merged with AdventBalance, creating one of the world’s largest flexible lawyer businesses. They’ve provided readers with an insight into their business model and the appeal it has for practitioners and clients alike.

And heading to the east, Australasian Lawyer speaks to leaders of New Zealand firms about the challenges they’re confronted with and the moves they’re making to address change.

Elsewhere, there’s plenty more to read about in this issue. We thank you for your support of the publication again this year and wish you well for the holiday season and the year ahead.

The Australasian Lawyer editorial team

SALES & MARKETING

Production Editor Roslyn Meredith

Sales Manager Paul Ferris

CONTRIBUTORS

Marketing and Communications Manager Lisa Narroway

Stephanie Barclay Malcolm Cameron Jerome Doraisamy Libby MacDonald Jonathan Tyne Samantha Woodhill

ART & PRODUCTION Design Manager Daniel Williams Designers Marla Morelos Loiza Caguiat Martin Cosme

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

Traffic Coordinator Freya Demegilio

EDITORIAL ENQUIRIES

+61 2 8437 4704 paul.ferris@keymedia.com.au

SUBSCRIPTION ENQUIRIES

subscriptions@keymedia.com.au

ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES +61 2 8437 4703 paul.ferris@keymedia.com.au

Key Media www.keymedia.com.au Key Media Pty Ltd, regional head office, Level 10, 1–9 Chandos St, St Leonards, NSW 2065, Australia tel: +61 2 8437 4700 fax: +61 2 9439 4599 Offices in Sydney, Auckland, Denver, Toronto, Manila, London, Singapore

Australasian Lawyer is part of an international family of B2B publications and websites for the legal industry AUSTRALASIAN LAWYER paul.ferris@keymedia.com.au T +61 2 8437 4704

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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

STATISTICS

CHANGES AND CHALLENGES

UK/Europe Wave 1

75% 36%

FY16

Wave 2 FY16

Firms of every size are grappling with changes, both short-term and structural, according to an annual pulse-taking report

OUTSOURCING, IN-HOUSE solutions and broader economic forces have all conspired to put the Australian legal industry under pressure, according to the most recent Legal Market Pulse annual report from CommBank.

As the Australian economy adjusts to the end of the resources-backed expansion, more modest capital expenditure and subdued business confidence have resulted in a decline in the number of initiatives that typically

76%

Respondents who considered ‘negotiating price with clients’ to be a challenge

create demand for legal services, such as the development of new products, or activities such as M&As. For international-facing firms, an uncertain global economic picture is putting greater pressure on their Antipodean offices.

Deeper operational changes have reduced demand for legal counsel as corporate clients keep costs under control by using in-house services. Outsourcing is also emerging as a threat, pushing prices for legal services down.

9%

2.4%

Top-tier firms that believe the year ahead will be positive for the broader Australian economy

Overall increase in profit forecast for FY16 among top-tier firms

EYES TURN TO AUSTRALIA Constrained global economic conditions and Brexit worries mean pessimism is starting to bite, thus internationally diversified firms have turned their eyes to Australia to do some revenue-raising in the year to come.

International firms’ focus for growth

1.6%

Wave 1 FY16

Overall increase in profit forecast for FY16 among mid-tier firms

Wave 2 FY16

*Research carried out before Brexit vote

Source: CommBank, Legal Market Pulse, September 2016

GROWTH FORECAST

EYEING THE FUTURE

Answers to a question on how respondents expected their firms’ overall profit and PPEP (profit per equity partner) to change in FY17 indicated marked optimism among top-tier firms as well as a positive outlook from the mid-tier.

When asked how they rated overall business conditions for Australian corporate and commercial law firms, respondents’ forecasts grew more optimistic the further out the timeline went.

Decrease by 0–5%

0%

Overall profit FY17 PPEP FY17 4%

Top-tier firms Mid-tier firms

4%

About the same

Top-tier firms Mid-tier firms 29%

46% 40% 39%

18%

Increase by 0–5%

40% 38%

Increase by more than 5% 10%

20%

48%

36%

19% 20% 19%

0%

Net %

0%

30%

40%

50%

Source: CommBank, Legal Market Pulse, September 2016

4

80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 -10 -20 -30 -40 -50

June 2016 Dec 2015 June 2015 Dec 2014 June 2014 Dec 2013

Today

In 12 months

In 24 months Source: CommBank, Legal Market Pulse, September 2016

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Brisbane Wave 1 FY16

Wave 2

Perth Wave 1 FY16

Wave 2 FY16

FY16

30% 37%

0% 11% Sydney Wave 1 FY16

Wave 2 FY16

58% 71%

Adelaide Wave 1

Asia Wave 1

FY16

Wave 2

71% 36%

FY16

Wave 2 FY16

FY16

25% 27%

Melbourne Wave 1 FY16

Wave 2 FY16

45% 48%

Canberra Wave 1 FY16

Wave 2 FY16

57% 38%

Source: CommBank, Legal Market Pulse, September 2016

TOP-TIER CHALLENGES

MID-TIER OUTLOOK

Far and away the most pressing challenge noted by top-tier firms was the matter of negotiating with clients, which was a 6% higher concern than it was six months before, when it also topped the charts.

Mid-tier firms also said the negotiation of prices with clients was their topmost challenge, but for these firms winning new business was a higher concern than for their top-tier colleagues.

Negative outlook

Positive outlook

Negative outlook

Negotiating prices with clients 73%

Negotiating prices with clients 27%

78%

22%

Winning new business 55%

Winning new business 33%

63%

36%

Competing with other firms 55%

Competing with other firms 44%

52%

36%

Keeping staff fully utilised

Keeping staff fully utilised

27%

73%

33%

63%

Collecting invoices 45%

Positive outlook

Collecting invoices 55% Source: CommBank, Legal Market Pulse, September 2016

44%

49% Source: CommBank, Legal Market Pulse, September 2016

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UPFRONT

TRANSACTIONS

DEALS ROUND-UP Value (A$)

Adviser

Client

Lead lawyer(s)

Other firms involved

Tatts Group Limited and Tabcorp Holdings Limited merger

$11.3bn

Clayton Utz

Tatts Group Limited

Andrew Walker

Herbert Smith Freehills

Henderson Group PLC and Janus Capital Group Inc merger

$7.9bn

Landers & Rogers

Henderson Group PLC

Alex Ding

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom

Lonsdale Consortium’s acquisition of 50-year Port of Melbourne lease

$7.9bn

Herbert Smith Freehills

Lonsdale Consortium (Future Fund, QIC, Global Infrastructure Partners and OMERS)

Peter Butler, Robert Nicholson King & Wood Mallesons

Trustpower demerger into two separate companies

~$3.8bn

Russell McVeagh

Trustpower

Joe Windmeyer, Sarah Armstrong, Matt Kersey, John-Paul Rice, Fred Ward, David Raudkivi

Numerous other firms advising on finance aspect of transaction

Nippon Life Insurance’s acquisition of 80% of MLC Limited

$2.4bn

Ashurst

Nippon Life Insurance

Natsuko Ogawa

Nishimura & Asahi, Herbert Smith Freehills, Allens

Baring Private Equity Asia’s acquisition of SAI Global

$1.2bn

MinterEllison

Baring Private Equity Asia

Ricky Casali

Gilbert + Tobin

Nuplex Industries acquisition by Allnex New Zealand Limited

NZ$1.07bn

Russell McVeagh

Allnex Belgium SA/NV

Joe Windmeyer, John-Paul Rice, Ian Beaumont

Allen & Overy, Bell Gully, Allens

Nuplex Industries acquisition by Allnex New Zealand Limited

NZ$1bn

Bell Gully

Nuplex Industries Limited

Gavin Macdonald, James Cooney

Russell McVeagh, Allens Linklaters

Allegro Funds’ acquisition of Pizza Hut Australia

Undisclosed

Herbert Smith Freehills

Allegro Funds

Mark Currell, Kristin Stammer

Allens

Viva Energy REIT

$1bn

Ashurst

Finance parties

Steve Smith

Gilbert + Tobin

Advent International portfolio company Allnex’s acquisition of Nuplex Industries Limited

$988.80m

Allen & Overy

Advent International

Helge Schäfer, Aaron Kenavan

Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., Ltd. acquisition of Bradken

$976.1m

MinterEllison

Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., Ltd. Alberto Colla, Bard Oude-Vrielink

Transaction

6

Allen & Overy

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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 paul.ferris@keymedia.com.au

Other firms involved

Value (A$)

Adviser

Client

Lead lawyer(s)

JB Hi-Fi’s takeover of The Good Guys

$870m

Allens

The Muir Family

Jon Webster, Robert Pick

Puhoi to Warkworth motorway

NZ$709.5m

Bell Gully

New Zealand Transport

Hugh Kettle

World Bank’s first Special Drawing Rightsdenominated bond in the Chinese Inter-Bank Bond Market

Undisclosed

King & Wood Mallesons

World Bank

Richard Mazzochi, Minny Siu, Christine Chen

Grand Central Shopping Centre redevelopment

$500m

Herbert Smith Freehills

QIC Limited

Kerry Heilbronn

Partial sale of Kiwibank to NZ Super Fund and Accident Compensation Corporation

NZ$494m

Bell Gully

Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation

Brynn Gilbertson, Rachel Paris Chapman Tripp, Simpson Grierson, MinterEllisonRuddWatts, Russell McVeagh

Sale of Queensgate and Chartwell shopping centres

NZ$445m

Russell McVeagh

Scentre Group

Ed Crook, Daniel Williams

Stride Property Limited acquisition of Westfield Queensgate Lower Hutt and Westfield Chartwell Hamilton, New Zealand

NZ$445m

Bell Gully

Stride Property Limited

Jane Holland

Westpac NZD Subordinated Offer size Notes retail offer NZ$400m

Chapman Tripp

Westpac Banking Corporation

Mark Reese

Trustpower exchange and general bond offer

NZ$377m

Russell McVeagh

Trustpower

John-Paul Rice

Numerous other firms advising on finance aspect of transaction

Sekisui House acquisition of 14A Hill Road, Wentworth Point

$360m

Ashurst

Sekisui House

Pauline Tan

MinterEllison

Transaction

Chapman Tripp, Anderson Lloyd, Russell McVeagh, King & Wood Mallesons, Ashurst

Bell Gully

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UPFRONT

TRANSACTIONS Value (A$)

Adviser

Client

Lead lawyer(s)

Carlyle Infrastructure Partners’ block trade of remaining Qube Holdings Limited stake

$350m

DLA Piper

Carlyle Infrastructure Partners

David Ryan

AAI’s Tier 2 hybrid securities issuance

$330m

Herbert Smith Freehills

Suncorp Group Limited, Suncorp Insurance Holdings, AAI

Patrick Lowden, Philippa Stone

King & Wood Mallesons

Pacific Equity Partners’ acquisition of Patties Foods Limited

$307m

Allens

Pacific Equity Partners

Tom Story, Mark Kidston

MinterEllison

Capital Environment Holdings Ltd/BCG NZ Investment Holding Ltd acquisition

NZ$320.1m

Russell McVeagh

Capital Environment Holdings Ltd

Mei Fern Johnson, Dominic Rowe

Skaddens

MinterEllison

Burra Foods

Tim Watkin

Ashurst, King & Wood Mallesons

Transaction

Burra Foods’ acquisition by >$300m Chinese consortium

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Other firms involved

Quadrant Private Equity’s acquisition of Fitness First Australia

Undisclosed

King & Wood Mallesons

Quadrant Private Equity

Mark McNamara

Iron Mountain syndicated Term Loan B Facility

$250m

Allens

Iron Mountain

Tim Stewart

Frasers Hospitality Trust’s purchase of the Novotel on Collins

$237m

Baker & McKenzie

Frasers Hospitality Trust

Graeme Dickson

Superloop’s acquisition of Big Air

$224m

Gilbert + Tobin

Superloop

Costas Condoleon, John Schembri

Sundance Energy’s Nasdaq $219.3m listing

Baker & McKenzie

Sundance Energy

Andrew Reilly

Fonterra Cooperative Group NZ$215m sale and joint venture of its Darnum infant formula plant with Beingmate Baby & Child Food Company

Russell McVeagh

Fonterra Cooperative Group

Graeme Quigley, Lance Jones

Arnold Block Leibler, Ashurst, MinterEllisonRuddWatts

AFL’s acquisition of the Etihad Stadium in Melbourne

Undisclosed

DLA Piper

AFL

David Hallam

King & Wood Mallesons

L-3 Communications’ acquisition of Micreo

Undisclosed

K&L Gates

Micreo

Glenn Hughes

L-Bank’s issuance under $5bn Australian and New Zealand Debt Issuance Program

$200m

Ashurst

L-Bank

Jamie Ng

Clifford Chance

Baker & McKenzie

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UPFRONT

TRANSACTIONS Value (A$)

Adviser

Client

Lead lawyer(s)

NZME and Fairfax NZ merger

Undisclosed

Chapman Tripp

NZME

Rachel Dunne, Kelly McFadzien and Philip Ascroft

Russell McVeagh

Blackstone acquisition of stake in Partners Life

NZ$200m

Bell Gully

Blackstone

Glenn Joblin, Anna Buchly

Chapman Tripp, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett

Exit of Crown Fibre Holdings Limited from its UFB1 investment in Ultrafast Fibre Limited

NZ$189m

Bell Gully

Crown Fibre Holdings

Anna Buchly

Tomkins Wade

Investore’s IPO and NZX Main Board listing

NZ$185m

Chapman Tripp

Goldman Sachs

Roger Wallis, Joshua Pringle

Bell Gully

Sale of 13 commercial, industrial and shopping centre properties

$174.35m

Massons

Denison Funds Management

Jodie Massons

Allens

Acquisition of equity interest in Australian National University student accommodation

$165m

Chapman Tripp

Infratil

Josh Blackmore, Tom Jemson MinterEllison, King & Wood Mallesons

Metcash’s acquisition of Home Timber & Hardware

$165m

Herbert Smith Freehills

Metcash

Tony Damian, Nicole Pedler

New Zealand King Salmon IPO

NZ$154.5m

Russell McVeagh

First NZ Capital Securities Limited and David Raudkivi, Ian Beaumont Chapman Tripp Macquarie Capital (New Zealand) Limited

Myer building sale

$151.3m

Landers & Rogers

Myer

Lisa Gaddie

Quadrant Private Equity’s acquisition of Great Southern Rail

Undisclosed

King & Wood Mallesons

Quadrant Private Equity

Mark McNamara

NEXTDC entitlement offer and institutional placement

$150m

Herbert Smith Freehills

NEXTDC

Philippa Stone, Philip Podzebenko

Gilbert + Tobin

Quadrant Private Equity’s Undisclosed acquisition of Jetts Fitness

King & Wood Mallesons

Quadrant Private Equity

Matthew Coull, Mark McNamara

Mills Oakley

Insight Enterprises’ acquisition of Ignia

Undisclosed

Baker & McKenzie

Insight Enterprises

Lawrence Mendes

Pact Group’s acquisition of Australian Pharmaceutical Manufacturers

$90m

Mills Oakley

Salisbury Cove Corporate, Perpetual Corporate Nominees

Warren Scott, Ross Levin

Transaction

10

Other firms involved

King & Wood Mallesons

MinterEllison

Baker & McKenzie

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Firm

Firm Profile Firm Profile

THE LAWS OF NEW YORK? BUT OF I’MTHE IN ADELAIDE! THE LAWS NEW YORK? REGULATING THE LAWS OF NEWBLOCKCHAIN YORK? BUT BUT I’M I’M IN IN ADELAIDE! ADELAIDE!

In the financial services sector, billions of would designate existing systemically not drafted with cryptocurrencies in dollars are being invested in distributed important systems.

However, the mind and mayoverseas not capture company; all How many times have you signed up for services, Facebook is an we can ledger technology, such as blockchain. This consultation did not contemplate the activities that rise to especially online services and software, and safely assume thatgive most ofrisk their assets are in th technology operates on a decentralised rules of those systems existing in a • The Reserve Bank’s outsourcing policy discovered that any issues underledger the contract/ USAfor (orregistered maybebanks Ireland) and nothing significant l basis, with the ledger held on nodes distributed nor the possibility How many times have you signed up for services, Facebook is an overseas company;may weneed canto be licence/app terms are governed by the laws of within Australia and New Zealand. (computers) within the have network. there may not be an operator amended as many requirements, such So, even if y How many times youand signed up forand services, Facebook is that an overseas company; especially online services software, safely assume most of their assetswe arecan in the Transactions are then validated in • The Financial Markets Conducts Act as contractual step-in rights, may not be some state ofsoftware, the USA, and or some other jurisdiction can sue Facebook in Australia or New Zealand especially online services and safely assume most of their assets are in the discovered that any issues under the contract/ USA (or maybethat Ireland) and lies accordance with the rules of the blockchain 2013 requires operators of financial possible ifnothing there isn’tsignificant a single entity thousands of miles from where you live?

This there may be no assets for your local judgemen discovered that anyare issues underby the contract/ (or maybe and nothing significant lies and recorded on the ledger.

Distributed products be licenced.

Such Ireland) providing the services due to the licence/app terms governed the laws of markets to USA within Australia and New Zealand.

So, even if you doesn’t just happen to consumers.

Unless you are to attach to.

However, you may ledger is currently being trialledby licencing for licence/app terms are governed thejurisdiction laws of may be a problem within Australia andinNew Zealand.

So, even if yoube able to take distributed nature of the technology sometechnology state of the USA, or some other can sue Facebook Australia or New Zealand in the financial services sector for things like ‘permissionless’ networks where there is a major customer, many business contracts with your local judgment and court orders to Californ blockchain operates on the buyer some stateof ofmiles the USA, orwhere someyou other jurisdiction can Facebook in• The Australia orlocal Newjudgement Zealand thousands from live?

This theresue may be no assets for your trade finance, derivatives and securities no ‘operator’.

The definition of financial beware principle, which has long been overseas suppliers will require that the laws ofmay some attempt to convince the California courts to thousands miles from where you live?

This there be However, no and assets for your local judgement doesn’t justofhappen to consumers.

Unless youmay arealso need to to attach to. you may be able to takelaws settlement. product be considered modified by consumer protection other country ‘govern’ the contract.

What does this enforce your judgment there against Facebook’s doesn’t just happen to aconsumers.

Unless you to attach to.

However, you may beCustomers able to take While blockchain is simply type of to determine enough in other contexts. will often a major customer, many business contracts withareif it is wide your localto judgment and court orders to California assets.

This will cost even more than technology, it is being mean? used to facilitate capture all appropriate activities, be transacting inprobably environments where a major customer, many business with your localsuch judgment and court orders tocourts California overseas suppliers will require thatcontracts the laws of some and attempt to convince the California to activities that are otherwise regulated.

It is sign up as those involving cryptocurrencies they are relying on the code, but will be Let’s say you for Facebook.

Facebook’s local proceedings but gives you some chance o overseas suppliers will the require that the lawsdoes of some attempt convince the California courts to US other country contract.

What thisneed toand enforce your to judgment there againstread Facebook’s therefore important‘govern’ to understand the • The FMA will consider its unable to actually and verify the terms the state that all disputes under the terms of use recovering your losses. other ‘govern’ contract.

What does this your judgment there against Facebook’s US regulatory impact of financial activities position on the use ofenforce distributed ledger mean?country assets.

This will probably cost more than the effect of that even code themselves. (a contract) are governed by the laws of California, Contracting with an overseas supplier, whethe mean? assets.

This will probably cost even more than the undertaken using distributed ledgers; technology if it receives an application where you cannot ascertain Let’s say you sign up for Facebook. Facebook’s local proceedings butHowever, gives you some chance of and, the have to bring anyfrom court action in a but local business or consumer, in most cases lea particularly as there may noup longer be a for a licence a ‘permissioned’ the identity or jurisdiction of the other Let’sstate say you forparties Facebook.

Facebook’s local proceedings gives you some chance of terms thatsign all disputes under the terms of use recovering your losses. central entity involved California, in the provision of the blockchain operating a this securities market you in party (ie on a ‘permissionless’ and nowhere else.

In practice means a pretty poor position if things go wrong i terms state that all disputes theof terms of use recovering your losses.overseas supplier, whether (a contract) aredue governed by under the laws California, Contracting as financial activities to the decentralised or P2P lending, because one aspect thewith anblockchain) existing consumer if Facebook breaches the contract you have to sue with governing law and venuewhether are anything other tha (a contract) are governed by the laws of California, Contracting an overseas supplier, as nature of blockchain.

This is analogous to FMA must consider in granting a licence protection laws will becases of little value and, the parties have to bring any court action in a local business or consumer, in most leaves them in California under a set of unfamiliar laws.

Australia or New Zealand. the challenge faced by internet isthis the technology and, the parties have to regulators: bring court action in a local or consumer, most cases leaves • position Consideration will need towrong be given California, and nowhere else. any In practice means you in abusiness pretty poor if in things go if tothe how do you regulate without one party • In relation to anti-money laundering: These law and ‘venue’ requirements may make your So what can you do?

Try to the application of common law rules California, and nowhere In practice thistomeans you in a pretty poorvenue position ifanything things go wrong ifget thethe governing if Facebook breaches theelse. contract you have governing law and are other than in control?

• pursue on a sue ‘permissioned’ blockchain relating to confidentiality and theto Privacy complaint uneconomic to in terms of both law to be your local law.

Try contract with if Facebook breaches thetocontract you havelaws. to sue governing law and venue are anything other than them inregulators California set of unfamiliar Australia Global are under starting a respond where there is a single entity or New Zealand.

Act 1993 given the volume of time and expense. someone with assets on the ground in Australia them inlaw California under a general set of unfamiliar laws. orcan New Zealand. to blockchain innovation, with requirements the governing this not information held on the These and ‘venue’ may make youraccess,Australia Somay what you do?

Try to that getwill thebegoverning But that isn’t the end of the story.

Facebook is New Zealand.

Finally, consider contracting with consensus being that heavy-handed require regulatory amendment blockchain.

These law and ‘venue’ requirements may make your So what can you do?

Try to get the governing complaint uneconomic to pursue in terms of both law to be your local law. Try to contract with regulation won’t work.trading in Australia and New are significant challenges in Itlaw. isguy important that regulators understand Zealand and, whether a big – iftoMicrosoft messes up Excel or Wor complaint uneconomic to pursue in terms • ofthere both law to be your local Try contract with time and expense. someone with assets on the ground in Australia or Most of the financial services uses being relation to ‘permissionless’ the technology and develop innovative they like it or not, some local laws will apply to you won’t be the only end user with a complaint time expense. with assets on the ground in Australia invested in are ‘permissioned’ blockchains.

Newsomeone Zealand’s Butand that isn’t the end blockchains, of the story. Facebook is New Zealand.

Finally, consider with or responses to find acontracting balance between their activities, suchFacebook as theanti-money FairisTrading Act orZealand. the you will be amongst a legion of other affected a But isn’t the end of thetrades story.

New Finally, consider contracting with such as that a in stock exchange facilitating laundering protecting consumer confidence trading Australia and New Zealand and, whether a biglegislation guy – if Microsoft messes up Excel orand Word Consumer Law and its implied guarantees about complaining users. between parties and regulating entry into, imposes obligations on entities enabling innovation. trading and New Zealand whether a big guy –be if Microsoft messes up Excel or Word they likeinitAustralia or not, some local laws willand, apply to you won’t the only end user with a complaint, and governance of, the blockchain.

These undertaking certain financial the quality of consumer services.

Also, if Facebook they it or not, some local laws will apply tothe you the onlya end user complaint, their like activities, such as Fair Trading Act activities. or youbewon’t will bebe amongst legion of with otheraaffected and permissioned blockchains maythe not require It will often difficult to misuses one ofTrading your pictures, it might be infringing This article was written by Jensen their activities, such as the Fair Act or the you will be amongst a legion of other affected and This article was written bySimon Andrew Matangi, a consultan significant changes the existing regulatory identify the entitycomplaining offering these users.

Consumer Lawtoand its implied guarantees about (partner) and Katie Williams (senior the Australian or New Zealand Copyright Act, giving framework as they are likely toimplied have an entity financial activitiescomplaining to customers asusers. based in the Wellington office of Buddle Findlay. Andrew Consumer Law and its guarantees about the quality of consumer services. Also, if Facebook solicitor) who specialise in financial services that controls the rules and entry to the rights mostdamages transactionsunder will occur you potential to sue for that specialises in intellectual property, information and the quality of consumer services.

Also, if Facebook regulation and are based in the Wellington misuses that onecan of be your pictures, it might be infringing blockchain subject to regulation. bilaterally.

There will no use entity Thisbearticle wastowritten

by Andrew Matangi, a consultant communications technology and commercial contracts.

Act. Facebook is quite cunning; their terms of office of Buddle Findlay. misuses oneblockchains oforyour itismight be Act, infringing the Australian Newpictures, Zealand giving Permissionless where there Copyright enforce customerThis due article diligence or written office was

by Andrew Matangi, a consultant based in the Wellington of Buddle Findlay.

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6/10/2 6/10/2

6/10/2016 AM 6/10/2016 10:34:42 5:09:38 13/12/2016 1:17:31 PM

UPFRONT

MARKET MOVEMENTS

APPOINTMENTS

Presented by

LATERAL PARTNER APPOINTMENTS NAME

PRACTICE AREA

LEAVING

GOING TO

Bianca Tree

Environment and resource management

Heimsath Alexander

MinterEllisonRuddWatts

Michael Jonas

Banking and finance

Heartland Bank

Chapman Tripp

Nichols Cowie

Real estate

Allens

Herbert Smith Freehills

Mark Payne

Taxation

HWL Ebsworth

Corrs Chambers Westgarth

Ben Fuller

Property and construction

Meyer Vandenberg

Henry Davis York

Catie Moore

Corporate and commercial

K&L Gates

Sparke Helmore

Mary MacLeod

Accident compensation and self-insurance

Thomson Geer

MinterEllison

Ian Streeter

Property and commercial

Keypoint Law

Steven Morris

Property and commercial

Smith Leonard Fahey Lawyers

Macaire Bromley

Restructuring

DibbsBarker

DLA Piper

Dannelle Howley

Real estate

Allen & Overy

Squire Patton Boggs

Drew Castley

Insurance and commercial litigation

DLA Piper

Hall & Wilcox

Paul Baxter

Personal injury and property liability claims

Matthew Craven

IT and IP

Corrs Chambers Westgarth

HWL Ebsworth

Maria Jockel

Immigration

Holding Redlich

BDO

Mark Pistilli

Corporate

Pistilli Simmons

PwC Legal

Danny Simmons

Corporate

Pistilli Simmons

PwC Legal

Joni Henry

Corporate

Pistilli Simmons

PwC Legal

Brendan Taylor

Disputes

Tony Lalor

Corporate

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Hall & Wilcox

Mills Oakley Clayton Utz

Mills Oakley

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PARTNER PROMOTIONS

SENIOR ASSOCIATE APPOINTMENTS

FIRM

LAWYERS PROMOTED

FIRM

LAWYERS PROMOTED OR LATERALLY APPOINTED

BTLawyers

Kerrie Jackson

Russell McVeagh

Lucy Becke, Will Irving, Michael Mabbett, Joanna Khoo

Clayton Utz

David Benson, Christy Miller, Pip Mitchell, Kounny Rattley, Cilla Robinson, Carrie Rogers, Jonathan Slater, Chris Slocombe

MinterEllisonRuddWatts

Tanya Wood, Jennifer Hambleton

Herbert Smith Freehills

Heidi Asten, Elizabeth Charlesworth, Andrew Griffiths, Richard Wilkinson, Erin Wyeth

Kensington Swan

Cait Fleming, Karen Mace

Harmos Horton Lusk

Emma Barnett

Kensington Swan

James McMillan

Russell McVeagh

Daniel Minhinnick, Troy Pilkington, Marika Eastwick-Field, Ian Beaumont

OTHER APPOINTMENTS NAME

FIRM/ TITLE ORGANISATION

SPECIAL COUNSEL APPOINTMENTS

Tracey Epps

Chapman Tripp

Consultant

FIRM

LAWYERS PROMOTED OR LATERALLY APPOINTED

Alison Dodd

Herbert Smith Freehills

Executive counsel

Hall & Wilcox

Sean Sullivan

Jason Radford

Ashurst

Director

Cate Mullins

Nexus Law Group

National executive partner

Kensington Swan

Helen Brown

Andrew Lacey

McCabes Lawyers

Managing principal

King & Wood Mallesons

Matt Egerton-Warburton

Emma Hodgman

DibbsBarker

Chairwoman

MinterEllisonRuddWatts

Benjamin Jacobs, Tom Kelly

Lewis McDonald

Herbert Smith Freehills

Regional corporate practice head

Roundtable Briefing The view from the top Proving the value of in-house legal teams

www.mahlab.com.au Sydney (02) 9241 1199 Melbourne (03) 9629 2111

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14/12/2016 8:04:06 AM

UPFRONT

OPINION

A MATTER OF INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITY When it comes to mental wellbeing, writes Jerome Doraisamy, we have to find what works for each of us

I’M CRAP at mindfulness and meditation.

Much as I like the idea of detaching myself intellectually and spiritually, even if only for a few minutes, I have found in my multiple attempts at these disciplines that I just cannot turn my brain off.

Thankfully, this doesn’t present a huge problem for me as I have numerous other ways that I can unwind and relax – weekly team sports, daily reading, listening to

balance in my daily and weekly schedules.

Being autonomous and responsible has put me in a position whereby I’m able to exercise freedom in managing my work-life integration, rather than relying on what is presented to me.

While the idea of doing what we love in order to be healthy and happy might seem obvious, it is also important when considered in the context of the prevalence,

Psychological distress, anxiety and depression affect a great number of lawyers, giving the sense that the practice of law makes someone sick podcasts, cooking and baking, and regular gym attendance.

As a result, I don’t mind being unable to engage in traditional mindful or meditative practices, because I have other ways that I can switch off and recharge my batteries. I have found what works for me and, conversely, what doesn’t work, when it comes to achieving some semblance of

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causes and effects of psychological distress, anxiety and depression within the legal profession. Such ailments affect a greater number of lawyers than people in most if not all other industries, giving the sense that it is the study and practice of law that will, in many cases, make someone sick.

The legal profession has made great strides over the past 10 to 15 years in both

raising awareness of such issues and putting in place workplace or on-campus initiatives that serve to look after lawyers and students alike. Much more work is needed in this space, of course, but institutions are on the right track.

Initiatives put in place by these institutions will be the ones that medical professionals espouse as being invaluable to personal, physical and emotional wellbeing, such as yoga classes and boot camp sessions.

And they are no doubt fundamentally important to those people who appreciate

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GOT AN OPINION THAT COUNTS? E: paul.ferris@keymedia.com.au

You have a responsibility to yourself to be engaged in whatever it is that not only puts a smile on your face but helps keep your health stable

yoga and boot camp. But not everybody does.

We are, I believe, much more likely to benefit from activities that we feel motivated and inspired to participate in. I am personally more inclined to undertake the activities that I have signed up for on a weekly basis – my sport – because I know how much joy and meaning I get from them.

The autonomy and responsibility I practise is something many lawyers and law students alike could benefit from. This is not to say that our individual health state is our problem and we’re on our own in dealing

with it. But there must be acknowledgment that we are all unique individuals, and what works for me may not work for the next person.

It is also fair to say that, while our employers have a duty of care to provide a safe working environment in which our psychological and emotional states are not only maintained but nurtured, there are only so many hours in the day in which those institutions are responsible for us. By and large, those hours are from the moment we enter the building to when we exit it.

Work is not your life, nor should it ever be. Outside of the office, you have a responsibility to yourself to be engaged in whatever it is that not only puts a smile on your face but helps keep your health stable, rather than fluctuating on a continuum depending on what time of day it is or where you are at any given moment.

The fact that, at times, we may be required to work late or answer calls or emails once we’re home only reinforces that we need to look after ourselves on top of whatever support is offered by our employers. Having as many safeguards in place against distress, anxiety or even depression is paramount if we are to be as healthy and happy as possible.

Take individual responsibility for yourself. You’re not alone on your personal journey, nor will you ever be. Being autonomous in managing our work-life integration puts us in the most optimal position to stay ahead of any looming issues, and consequently gives us the best possible chance of being the productive, successful lawyers we want to be.

Jerome Doraisamy is the author of The Wellness Doctrines for Law Students & Young Lawyers and is a consultant to law firms and universities.

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PEOPLE

KRISTIN BROWN

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BRAVE NEW WORLD Dell Technologies’ legal head for Australia and New Zealand, Kristin Brown, talks to Australasian Lawyer after the company’s mega merger with EMC “I’M IN the brave new world,” says Kristin Brown, not convinced she’s completely out the other end of the largest tech deal in history, the US$67bn acquisition of EMC

by Dell Technologies.

Brown is the head of legal for Australia and New Zealand, but also the marketing, privacy and online legal head for the whole of Asia. On this particular morning when Australasian Lawyer sits down with her at her office in Sydney, she has started her day at 7am with calls to the US. “In any one day I could be doing any number of things,” she says.

“We obviously sit in an open-plan office, so it’s one of those situations where you don’t

escape clients because they just walk up to your desk, which is great.

“I think one of the things I like most about my job is that you do work closely with the business, but they also know exactly where you sit, so there’s no escape.

“So I spend a lot of time with people just coming up and asking me questions.”

Spanning the Tasman Brown takes her trans-Tasman role completely in her stride, but it seems she couldn’t do what she does without the support of what she refers to as the extension of her legal team. With the majority of her legal team based in Sydney, Brown uses

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13/12/2016 1:20:48 PM

PEOPLE

KRISTIN BROWN THE EARLY YEARS

l CAREER TIMELINE

1998–2001 Solicitor, Alfred J Morgan & Son

2001–2002 Legal counsel, Austar United Communications

2002–2008 Corporate counsel, Optus

2008–2009 Senior legal counsel, Batelco, Bahrain Kristin Brown began her legal life at Alfred J Morgan & Son, a small family-run city firm in Sydney, before moving in-house to Austar, prior to its acquisition

by Foxtel. Realising the limitations of the pay TV industry, she then moved to Optus, where she spent six and a half years before a two-year stint in Bahrain.

“I got there and they only had one telco,” she says.

“So this is 2008; it’s not that long ago. But they only ever had one telco carrier, the incumbent, the Telstra. They’d never had competition.”

Brown worked as senior legal counsel at Batelco, Bahrain’s telecoms provider, for a little over a year.

Sitting across a table from men dressed in immaculate Arabic dress, all talking about how terrible a competitor would be for business, was an eye-opener, she says.

“It’s sort of where I realised that the worldwide legal community is actually quite small, because I actually knew some people when I got there, which was quite interesting,” she says.

“I really loved it.”

“I don’t think they suffer any significant impact having us sitting in Australia and our GM sitting over in New Zealand” external counsel for most of the legal work the team does in New Zealand.

“The laws are pretty similar,” she says.

“We often have customers who ... serve both Australia and New Zealand; they support both markets as well.

“I think because of the trans-Tasman

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aspect, they’re also quite familiar with Australian laws as well as New Zealand laws.”

Brown says, from a resourcing perspective, having one team operating across the Australian and New Zealand operations is cost-effective and works well.

“I don’t think they suffer any significant

2010 (Jan–June) Corporate counsel, AAPT (fixed-term contract role)

2010–present Head of legal – Australia and New Zealand, Dell

impact having us sitting in Australia and our GM sitting over in New Zealand.”

Life at Dell For Brown, life at Dell is truly multinational.

“I’m dealing with people in lots of different parts of the world, learning a lot from other people about their systems and what they do,” she says.

Her day normally begins with calls to the US in the morning and wraps up with calls to the UK in the evening. But everything in between is often full of surprises, she says.

“Sometimes regulators walk into the building and want to speak to someone,” she says.

“Sometimes we have a particularly cranky customer, so I might be dealing with a customer escalation. So all manner of

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THE NEXT INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION In September, following its merger with EMC Corporation, Dell Technologies announced it had become the world’s largest privately controlled tech company, comprised of Dell, Dell EMC, Pivotal, RSA, SecureWorks, Virtustream and VMware. The company serves 98% of the Fortune 500.

“We are at the dawn of the next industrial revolution,” chairman and CEO Michael Dell said in a statement.

“Our world is becoming more intelligent and more connected by the minute, and ultimately will become intertwined with a vast Internet of Things, paving the way for our customers to do incredible things. This is why we created Dell Technologies.

“We have the products, services, talent and global scale to be a catalyst for change and guide customers, large and small, on their digital journey.”

The transaction merging the two companies closed on 7 September. EMC shareholders received $24.05 per share in cash, in addition to a tracking stock linked to a portion of EMC’s economic interest in the VMware business.

different things pop up during the day, so it always makes for a very interesting time.

“I’m really interested in developing my team, so I tend to spend a lot of time on that with them.”

Being an IT company, Dell is well set up for its employees to work from any location.

Sometimes Brown likes to take a short break from Sydney life and log in to work from her mum’s place. It’s a mature approach to flexibility, she says.

“Everyone from my team works from home at least one day a week,” Brown says, praising Dell’s numerous flexible working policies. “I think I’ve got some people on my team that are definitely working at a place like this because of the flexibility.”

The focus is on output, rather than physically sitting at your desk, she says.

“I think one of the things I like most about my job is that you do work closely with the business, but they also know exactly where you sit, so there’s no escape” “[The team] work from home when they need to. We have staggered work hours as well, so in terms of flexible work practices, if someone wants to start at 10 and be here until whatever time in the day, great. If you’re an early starter and you want to be in the office at six, great.”

The flexible model is something that Brown predicts is likely to develop across the board in the legal industry. She explains,

for example, that Dell has started to use a NewLaw firm to assist with contract work.

“I anticipate that we’ll see more opportunity in that area. I’m seeing these NewLaw firms pop up now, offering flexible arrangements,” Brown says.

“I think we’re going to see more NewLaw opportunities coming up – a proliferation of these types of NewLaw models. No doubt that’s where we’ll head.”

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13/12/2016 1:21:00 PM

COVER STORY FEATURES

INNOVATIVE FIRMS 2016

LAW FIRMS REIMAGINED Law firms were slow to get started, but as our Innovative Firms 2016 report shows, they are now going well beyond words to reimagine the business of law Supported by

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SUPPORTED BY

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TM

COMPANY INDEX NAME

PAGE

Allens

22

AR Conolly & Company Lawyers

22

Ashurst

22

Bespoke

22

Bird & Bird

24

Clayton Utz

23

Cooper Grace Ward

24

Corrs Chambers Westgarth

24

Crowd & Co

24

LAW FIRMS have for many years heard the growing chorus of

DLA Piper

25

criticism from pundits and clients that they have not been adapting fast enough to keep up with change.

With the advent of NewLaw business models and an environment focused on cost, the calls for change over time have only grown more resounding and urgent.

Law firms have responded. As our Innovative Firms 2016 list proves, the industry is no longer paying lip service to innovation but is instead actively seeking to push itself beyond the comfort of existing business models, systems and processes, sometimes even disrupting their own models from within.

From an embrace of new business models, the development of useful technology and apps, and investments in getting close to the start-up sector, to the growing prevalence of artificial intelligence and innovation cultures bringing in ideas from all corners of their firms, today’s innovators are squaring up to the unknown future.

Australasian Lawyer congratulates the management and staff of the 30 innovative law firms in our 2016 list on their changemaking efforts.

The destination may be unknown, but it’s clear that Australian firms are playing their part in the next exciting chapter of the global legal services industry. >>

Gilbert + Tobin

25

Griffith Hack

27

Henry Davis York

26

Herbert Smith Freehills

26

Hive Legal

28

Hynes Legal

25

K&L Gates

26

Lexvoco

26

Lawyers on Demand

29

Massons

31

Maurice Blackburn Lawyers

29

Mills Oakley

29

MinterEllison

29

Nexus Law Group

29

Norton Rose Fulbright

30

Pinsent Masons

30

Pragma Legal

30

Proximity

30

Salvos Legal

30

Sparke Helmore Lawyers

32

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13/12/2016 1:21:57 PM

FEATURES

INNOVATIVE FIRMS 2016 ALLENS Allens is using Allens Arrow to drive savings on high-volume document exercises, as well as an in-house LawLab to reconnoitre and test the latest tech. It is championing artificial intelligence, using Neota logic apps to streamline lease due diligence; and has introduced electronic signature technology and set up a legal project management program, Allens LPM, to improve large-matter legal and business processes.

AR CONOLLY & COMPANY LAWYERS Alan Conolly is close to 70, but his four hours’ sleep a night has been enough to fuel his emergence as an icon thanks to his Benchmark email bulletins and TV and radio interviews, which update and educate lawyers any time, anywhere, through any device, and help them achieve their annual CLE point load.

BESPOKE With a mission to reinvent the law firm, Bespoke has followed through with paradigm-shifting fixed price offerings (including on M&A, workplace investigations, commercial leasing and litigation) by spreading its value-based pricing product D.cubed, and gaining market buy-in on its Outsourced In-house Counsel offering.

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ASHURST The creation of NewLaw model firm Ashurst Advance and internal ‘design jams’ are just two ways that Ashurst is embracing innovation. The firm has committed to encouraging and supporting innovation at scale across its network, including an online ‘innovation exchange’, and ‘innovation challenges’ to boost new thinking.

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CLAYTON UTZ Under the hood at Clayton Utz are teams of designated ‘innovation champions’ and ‘innovation explorers’, all trained in best practice end-to-end innovation process skills and techniques and with a mission to propagate the firm’s top-down approach to innovation in the interest of its clients.

So far, a joint effort by the firm’s workplace relations and environment and planning teams has resulted in the development of the CU SAFE app for serious accident, fatality and environmental emergencies, an interactive tool guiding clients through the critical first 48 hours of responding to serious accidents or incidents.

The firm has also leveraged its long-time projects expertise to launch strategic and commercial advice spin-off Ngamuru Advisory for government clients. It is also trialling TheDocYard’s Closing Room solution to negotiate complex suites of agreements on large projects, and improving the scoping, planning, pricing and managing of matters through its own legal project management framework, Clearpath.

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FEATURES

INNOVATIVE FIRMS 2016

CROWD & CO

BIRD & BIRD

Crowd & Co proudly declares that it is not a law firm but a platform connecting lawyers, firms and in-house teams to revolutionise the resourcing of projects.

While embracing the gig economy with an online marketplace model, layers of sophistication include back-office and LPO support for participating lawyers.

Bird & Bird won law students over in 2016 with its creative ‘GC for a day’ competition, in which students vied – via a 90-second video – for a chance to shadow a leading general counsel and gain a Bird & Bird mentoring session.

Raising the profile of in-house careers, it is being replicated in global offices.

CORRS CHAMBERS WESTGARTH COOPER GRACE WARD A Towards 2020 leadership strategy launched in 2016 has seen Cooper Grace Ward create five task forces that have been charged with delivering actionable improvements to service offerings to its clients and team. With an ‘all states, one roof’ strategy out of Queensland, IT investments are also improving service.

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Breaking ground with Orbit, Corrs has continued its innovation drive by migrating legal technology, analytics and document review to Amazon Web Services. Its Crisis Covered workplace relations app hit a mark for crisis communications, and through a partnership with the University of Melbourne it is giving legal advice to start-ups.

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DLA PIPER Machine learning is now entrenched within DLA Piper, after a partnership with Kira Systems saw the firm adopt artificial intelligence for document and contract reviews for some practices this year. The firm also partnered with Lawyers On Demand to create a flexible talent pool for the Australian market that includes DLA alumni.

GILBERT + TOBIN

HYNES LEGAL

In line with a ‘look like a law firm, act like a start-up’ impetus, Gilbert + Tobin’s ‘g+t<i>’ strategy brings its team together with clients and start-ups to explore new business models and processes to meet client needs. Annual hackathons and coding lawyers are the norm, while the firm took a stake in start-up LegalVision.

Niche player Hynes Legal utilises offshoring and a flexible workforce to provide the community living sector with specialist, full-service – but low-cost – legal services.

Philippines-based support staff have increased productivity, while legal contractors are dialled up or down to capture cost savings for end clients.

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FEATURES

INNOVATIVE FIRMS 2016 HERBERT SMITH FREEHILLS HSF is redefining what legal project management looks like, with a new global model that combines project, process and analytics experts with embedded managers in practice groups.

Locally, a symbiotic partnership with Telstra Legal that goes beyond legal saw it identify 27,000 hours a year of unnecessary work.

HENRY DAVIS YORK Almost 60% of HDY staff use flexible work arrangements – supported by new Surface Pro tablets – thanks to an internal push to improve productivity through flexibility and diversity. Armed with a new innovation budget, the firm’s ‘Ignite’ program is also encouraging the team to come up with innovative ideas.

K&L GATES Embracing its inner Netflix, K&L Gates’ on-demand CLE Centre has allowed the firm to deliver prerecorded video CLE courses from the local and global market to the desktops, tablets and mobile phones of lawyers for free. It’s already helping lawyers, from busy in-house counsel to those on parental leave.

LEXVOCO Only hiring those with industry-specific in-house expertise or consultancy backgrounds, lexvoco is taking a fresh look at team formation and seeing results in creative solutions to complex client problems. With a love of Lean, Six Sigma and Agile methodologies, the firm has produced the apps MyDay and Triage.

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GRIFFITH HACK IP firm Griffith Hack is continually remaking itself, inside and out. Led by strong internal IT capabilities, the firm has been able to create leading global products like Amplia, a ground-breaking digital trademark filing and renewal platform. Amplia is the first platform to put clients in control of managing their IP portfolios, regardless of their time zone and with a level of transparency unattainable in an offline world.

The firm’s Asia hub, likewise, goes beyond the centralised filing portals of competitors by matching strategic advice with a network of specialists in Asia, cutting costs for clients while safeguarding their IP across jurisdictions.

Another innovation, CATCH, is a customised collaboration Web platform that provides a task-based workflow aligning Outlook, practice management, case management and document management into a ‘single pane of glass’.

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FEATURES

INNOVATIVE FIRMS 2016

HIVE LEGAL Hive Legal launched with a bang in 2014 with a model that combined virtual lawyering, an embrace of value pricing, and innovative resourcing to turn traditional law on its head. For example, its resourcing approach links a core team of former top-tier BigLaw legal experts with a network of lower-cost, ‘use and pay only as required’ services for routine work, including LPOs and the use of low-cost jurisdictions and technology solutions, all on a fixed-price basis.

However, Hive Legal is proving its claims to be “proudly disruptive” by continuing to innovate beyond its initial market model. It is defying its smaller size by doing things like launching an app that uses artificial intelligence to help financial services companies with breach reporting, and incubating its first technology platform and spin-off, Xakia Matters, which is now giving in-house teams the tools they need for visibility and control over their matters.

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LAWYERS ON DEMAND

NEXUS LAW GROUP

A cross-continental merger comes alongside new innovation at this NewLaw pioneer (formerly AdventBalance). The firm’s new ‘on call’ and ‘managed solutions’ services are supplementing its on-site services, and a deal with law firm DLA Piper is modelling a new way for firms to create flexible lawyer pools from alumni.

With no template to follow, the Nexus ‘embedded contractor’ model puts its own stamp on NewLaw. From a cloud-based practice management system – OpenLaw – built from the ground up, to a fixed remuneration system for lawyers and national coverage, the firm’s innovations benefit both lawyers and clients.

MILLS OAKLEY MAURICE BLACKBURN LAWYERS Social justice is driving engagement at Maurice Blackburn, which has doubled its workforce in six years. Encouraging internal disruption through Ideas@MB, the firm is pushing forward externally with the likes of global litigation funding initiatives and pro bono partnerships, such as the Health Legal Partnership Clinic.

Not afraid of disrupting itself, Mills Oakley’s innovation accelerator is the Asia-Pacific’s first for legal technology hopefuls looking to take on traditional law. Taking an active involvement in incubation and growth, and with $500,000 in funding for start-ups, the hub is taking founders through to commercialisation.

MINTER ELLISON With an innovation council ready for 2017 moves on service, delivery, execution and price, MinterEllison has already rolled out a process standardisation tool for highvolume work, Taskflow, and contract-lawyer business Flex; created hackathon and coding initiatives; and grown its compliance training-focused Safetrac Group.

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FEATURES

INNOVATIVE FIRMS 2016 PINSENT MASONS Proprietary system TermFrame has streamlined project management at Pinsent Masons so effectively it is being used by in-house teams and external firms. Aiming to integrate innovation, the firm’s tech creations include SmartDelivery to deliver advice more productively, and compliance automation tool Cerico.

PROXIMITY Government-focused Proximity has willingly pivoted from a focus on secondments to on-site consultancy and projects, and has innovated through the use of multidisciplinary legal and non-legal teams, a team-up with an Indigenous law firm, and the rollout of its Procurement-as-a-Service delivery model.

NORTON ROSE FULBRIGHT With global initiatives improving lawyers’ ability to advise any time, anywhere, local offices are creating niche innovations, from supporting start-ups and SMEs with fixed-price services through LawPath, to allowing law students to handle routine client insurance work and providing on-demand leasing documents.

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PRAGMA LEGAL

SALVOS LEGAL

The fixed-fee early mediation offering at Pragma Legal is providing clients with a new way to resolve disputes early and avoid the costs of litigation. By capping fees at a maximum, the firm’s model, launched in 2014, gives clients an innovative option to achieve faster resolution of lower-value disputes.

The Salvation Army’s creation of a sustainable social enterprise commercial law firm has already helped represent marginalised and disadvantaged people in 17,200 cases since 2010 without any government funding. Combining challenging legal work with a moral core, the model is rolling out globally.

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SUPPORTED BY

CRITICAL THINKING AT THE CRITICAL TIME

TM

MASSONS The all-female partnership at boutique firm Massons is shaking up what it means to be a female lawyer. While delivering top-tier commercial property advice with a model that shuns the billable hour and encourages client care, empathy, relationships, results and team endeavour, the firm is integrating innovative working arrangements for women in an example for the industry as a whole.

With seven female staff in total, and two members with children under the age of eight, the firm has built itself from the ground up with a proactive maternity leave policy designed to encourage long-term staff retention. It has also introduced flexible work arrangements for staff at all levels, and both partners lead by example, with one employed four days per week and the other working remotely at least one week per month. The partnership’s understanding that a large part of the team are – or will shortly be – working mums has seen the creation of a childfriendly zone in the new office fit-out to encourage staff to bring their children into the office if the need ever arises.

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FEATURES

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INNOVATIVE FIRMS 2016

CRITICAL THINKING AT THE CRITICAL TIME

TM

SPARKE HELMORE LAWYERS Bright Sparke is Sparke Helmoreâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s answer to the challenges of law firms and clients alike. Sitting outside the operations of the firm, the new innovation hub combines tech-based legal solutions with non-legal advisory services in a way that strays well beyond legal advice into the realm of tech-driven consulting and strategy for clients who are expected to be drawn ever closer to the firm.

Headed up by Nicholas Adamo, Ernst & Youngâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s former Asia-Pacific enterprise intelligence head and strategic growth and acquisitions leader, it is envisioned that Bright Sparke will leverage new and emerging technology, professional service expertise, data analytics, best-of-breed legal processes, outsourcing and thought leadership to address client challenges as diverse as emerging competition, supply and demand, lateral markets, mergers, and delivery models.

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PROFILE

LAWYERS ON DEMAND

THE RISE OF THE FREELANCE LAWYER Having recently merged with AdventBalance in Australia, Lawyers On Demand has become one of the world’s largest companies offering lawyers the opportunity to freelance globally.

Samantha Woodhill reports

company for six months. It’s really helping people, lawyers and clients.”

It’s a model that suits lawyers seeking a sixfigure salary, as well as flexibility. But it’s also a model that is attracting clients.

“We have a strong belief that clients are sophisticated enough to buy best of breed, not one-stop shop,” Hartley says.

Gibson adds that “all clients have become more sophisticated, more demanding about what they want their providers to do”.

“And equally, they’ve got shrinking teams, so they are looking for other solutions that are cost-effective,” she says.

“I don’t see that changing.”

Hartley and Gibson don’t just see the more-for-less challenge as permanent; they can hardly believe it’s taken the industry so long to adapt to the changing market.

“We’re a big part of a solution for a whole set of problems that are out there in the legal market,” Hartley says.

“It’s not new any more; it’s a fundamental part of the legal mix.”

The merger LIKENING HIS role to “being in a big, robust ship with a massively rising tide”, UK-based Lawyers On Demand managing director Tom Hartley is still entirely bored by the idea that, nearly a decade after launching, the

clear that ‘disruption’ is not the reason they get out of bed each morning.

“I’ve taken people who didn’t like what they were doing, thought they didn’t want to be lawyers any more, and I’ve found an

“We have a strong belief that clients are sophisticated enough to buy best of breed, not one-stop shop” Tom Hartley lawyer-secondment business model could be considered ‘new’.

His colleague and Australia managing director Sandra Gibson politely answers questions about the disruptive nature of the legal business they are at the helm of, but it’s

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opportunity for them to actually come back into loving what they do,” Gibson says. “[We] give people such great opportunities to try different things, so they get to work in this company for three months and then they get to work in a completely different

Lawyers On Demand merged with AdventBalance earlier this year, creating the world’s first global alternative legal business.

Hartley and Gibson say it was a strategic move to be able to partner with global companies that have a desire to implement one solution internationally.

“For an Australian company and an Australian law firm to try and persuade the rest of their company to use us was hard,” Gibson says.

Hartley adds that “it’s hard for people to source a solution that they know is going to be different when they go to a different geography”, but he thinks it’s often more about perception.

“I think that law firms and in-house teams like to think that they’re acting globally, but the number of global mandates is actually quite small,” he says.

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PROFILE

LAWYERS ON DEMAND

FEMALE FOCUS “We set up the whole business because there were these fantastic women who were leaving the law in droves because it couldn’t accommodate their need for flexibility, and that was a big part of the model,” Gibson says.

“Let’s find an opportunity that really makes use of the real depth of expertise.”

And though the lawyers at Lawyers On Demand are now 65% female, the business that eventuated turned out to benefit much more than just women. So when it comes to flexibility, the team at Lawyers On Demand practise what they preach.

“We think that that is supported by making sure we have the weekends we want, we will all be flexible wherever we can, if you don’t have to be in the office you’re not. We see no contradiction whatsoever,” Hartley says.

“We live it, because we believe it delivers successful results. And it does. We’re doing extremely well and we have extremely high loyalty from all of our clients.”

“I’ve taken people who didn’t like what they were doing, thought they didn’t want to be lawyers any more, and I’ve found an opportunity for them to actually come back into loving what they do” Sandra Gibson A ‘chicken and egg’ business “We’re fussy, but we’re always looking for lawyers,” Gibson says.

It’s the ultimate ‘chicken and egg’ business, making sure the firm has enough clients for lawyers and vice versa, though, admittedly, Hartley says there are times when Lawyers On Demand will leave a position unfilled if they don’t have the right candidate.

“It’s become an aspiration to be a freelancer or to be a contractor for a period of time,” Hartley says. “Top lawyers have more choices than they have ever had.”

The changing look of a legal career is a

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challenge for retention of staff in in-house teams, firms and even businesses like Lawyers On Demand.

“It makes it frankly hard for law firms to retain their talent, harder for in-house teams to recruit, harder for us to recruit the people we want,” Hartley says.

“I think it’s a buyers’ market, in the sense that lawyers have got more choice than they have ever had. We’d like to be part of providing that for them, but the competition for talent is red hot.”

Gibson, who hails from the HR team at Herbert Smith Freehills, is passionate about

the career development a freelance career can offer a lawyer at any career stage.

“Law firms can quite narrow skills because you end up in a particular practice group doing just that,” she says.

“A typical in-house role, or even a lawyer that has rotated through different law firms, will do different work, and so they broaden themselves. They go from being a narrow ‘X-type’ lawyer to a broader, different lawyer.”

Future focus “We are looking at opportunities to expand further,” Gibson says.

Lawyers On Demand is the oldest and largest alternative legal provider by a long shot, and they say it won’t be long before the business opens its doors in the US. “We serve a lot of US clients; a lot of US multinationals are being serviced here,” Hartley says. “We’re essentially being drawn into that market.

“The goal is to be able to serve the best companies anywhere.”

Hartley says the more-for-less challenge is driving international firms to open offices all over the world. “They want to keep the client in their orbit.”

But that’s not what the team at Lawyers On Demand are doing. What they are trying to achieve is the ability to partner with businesses and law firms wherever they venture.

“We quite deliberately thought we have to have the scale to meet the market,” Gibson says.

In Gibson’s opinion, there is likely to be some consolidation of the Australian legal market.

“I think some of the new players are too small to really survive,” she says.

A dream lifestyle “We have a woman who is a professional cake maker and she wants to focus on making cakes and work two days a week,” Hartley says.

“We have a guy who is a DJ in Ibiza and he goes out there for the season, then he comes back and earns some money.

“We’ve got a film producer. He makes short

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TIMELINE 2008 Ken Jagger and John Knox create Balance Legal (Perth) and Advent Lawyers (Sydney/Melbourne) respectively

2010 Advent Lawyers opens its first Asian office in Singapore 2012 Balance Legal and Advent Lawyers merge to create AdventBalance, Australasia’s largest and fastest-growing alternative legal services business

films and takes them to Cannes and if they take off he doesn’t work for us for a while; if they don’t he comes in.”

Ten years ago, if you were working as a contractor, the perception was that something was wrong with you.

“That’s why this industry didn’t exist,” Hartley says.

But now, Lawyers On Demand has a global lawyer pool of around 650 lawyers who are placed by the company when a position arises.

“Globally, it’s about one in 15 lawyers are accepted,” Hartley says of the stringent entry requirements.

“We spend a lot of time because we will meet them all, screen them all and test them for fit. It’s our goal not to have a bad fit.”

Being aligned with Lawyers On Demand, effectively as a freelancer, is much more valuable than flying solo.

“Getting paid, on time, just after you’ve finished work is wonderful for a freelancer,” Hartley says.

“We find that often the lawyers and the clients are very similar. What really surprised me was the collation in interest between the client, LOD and the lawyer that makes this want to work.”

The way Lawyers On Demand sees it, its business is out in the market, finding lawyers jobs.

“They don’t have to worry about billing … we have very minimal time-keeping,” Gibson says. “Life’s easy.”

But it does take a special kind of lawyer to be able to do this sort of work, she says.

“You’ve got to be able to drop into a business, be quite charming to everybody, fit in instantly, do whatever they want you to do.”

Traditionally, there was only one model for lawyers, and that was to go and work in a law firm or work as an employee in-house.

“We’ve provided a different model where people can work for a while, or not work for a while,” Gibson says.

AdventBalance opens its Hong Kong office

2014 AdventBalance opens Brisbane Office 2015 Launch of ‘On Call’ service offering 2016 AdventBalance merges with the UK’s Lawyers On Demand to create one of the world’s largest alternative legal services businesses with offices in seven locations and over 600 lawyers and consultants globally

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FEATURES

NEW ZEALAND REPORT

CHOOSING CHANGE New Zealandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s law firms have fundamentally shifted their approach to the future of legal business, with active efforts to embrace legal disruption and the challenges of change

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LEADING THE WAY NICK WELLS took over as chief executive partner at Chapman Tripp in July this year.

Armed with a five-year strategic plan aiming to push the firm further forward across all aspects of its business, he is leading a team of partners determined to look to the future, not stand still.

“The only consistency in the legal market in New Zealand, as well as globally, is change,” he says. “We’ve been talking for years about disruption – be it from emerging technologies, new innovations, changing client needs, a changing legal landscape or a challenging global environment. Now, we are starting to really see the tangible effects of that disruption.”

Across the management tier of New Zealand’s law firms, there is a sense that firms have now fundamentally shifted in their attitudes to change. Rather than talking about reacting, firms appear to be comfortable with actively adapting to new internal and external realities.

One symbol of this is Chapman Tripp’s involvement in artificial intelligence-related research, which is due to sweep through the legal services industry as much as the wider New Zealand economy.

“We recently collaborated with the Institute of Directors in calling on Government to establish a high-level working group to consider the impacts of AI on New Zealand.

AI technologies have been in use for many years in a wide range of sectors, but the area is developing rapidly, and we anticipate huge implications for the economy and wider society as whole,” Wells says.

Peter Chemis, Buddle Findlay

Kevin Jaffe, Simpson Grierson

Gary McDiarmid, Russell McVeagh

Mike Schubert, MinterEllisonRuddWatts

The big deals On top of his demanding role as chairman of Simpson Grierson over the past seven years, Kevin Jaffe has still found the time to maintain a robust practice. “I’m still very busy.

For example, I’ve been acting for state-owned enterprise Solid Energy on its restructuring over the last four to five years, and it’s now in a sale process under a creditors arrangement.”

Jaffe says his firm is also busy across the board, in a positive sign for the market as a

Nick Wells, Chapman Tripp

Martin Wiseman, DLA Piper

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FEATURES

NEW ZEALAND REPORT “Technology and AI will be huge and advance very quickly into law” Martin Wiseman, DLA PIPER

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whole. “Often, you have some areas that are patchy – there’s ups and downs in a big firm – but at the moment one thing we are noticing is it’s strong across the board.” That includes insolvency and restructuring, which had “dried up a bit” for law firms, but Simpson Grierson has recently been instructed on both the Pumpkin Patch and Wynyard Group insolvencies.

Simpson Grierson is not alone. In fact, Buddle Findlay’s work on several highprofile projects in 2016 provided the firm with what it calls its “busiest first six months ever”. M&A has driven much of the firm’s work. Its corporate team is advising Sky TV on the proposed merger with Vodafone New Zealand, in one of the biggest deals of the past decade. “The work done on that deal was only part of a very busy national landscape for us,” national chairman Peter Chemis says.

“For instance, among other M&A transactions our corporate team also handled the sale of Chevron New Zealand to New Zealand-based Z Energy during the same period.”

Chapman Tripp’s Wells says a “particularly strong” M&A market included NZME’s listing and its pending merger with Fairfax New Zealand, as well as Allnex’s takeover of Nuplex. “New Zealand’s takeovers market has been active – with the likes of Bapcor’s pending takeover offer for Hellaby and the partial takeover offer for Airwork by Chinese company RIFA – and we expect more major strategic transactions before the year-end,” Wells says.

Infrastructure is the other talking point.

“I think the big issue, particularly in Auckland, has been infrastructure and housing,” Jaffe says. “They are hot topics, and this year we picked up the legal role for Auckland City Rail Link, which is the biggest infrastructure project in New Zealand and is a great role for us given it will form a core part of Auckland’s growth going forward.”

Simpson Grierson is also involved in advising on the Auckland, Christchurch and Queenstown city plans, which are all driven by a need for housing infrastructure growth.

Buddle Findlay is benefiting from the infrastructure push as well. “We are very active

in the local government space all over the country as well as central government,” says Chemis. “By way of example, we are working closely with Auckland Council in relation to the Auckland Unitary Plan, advising NZTA on various significant roading projects, and have been advising the Electricity Authority on its review of the transmission pricing methodology.”

Wells says Chapman Tripp, which is advising on the country’s second public– private partnership for a state highway – the new Puhoi to Warkworth motorway – expects to see further flow-on effects for infrastructure practices after the devestating Kaikoura earthquake. “The ongoing work we have been doing with the Earthquake Commission for the past six years will continue, and we anticipate additional work following the Kaikoura earthquake.”

Firms also cite health and safety work as a key theme of 2016, thanks to the implications for directors and officers in the new iteration of the health and safety law, as well as cybersecurity, data protection and privacy, and ongoing legal issues from the Canterbury earthquakes.

Recipe for success DLA Piper’s Martin Wiseman says succession planning will soon become a consideration for him personally as he looks towards the future leadership of DLA’s team in New Zealand.

“Succession is an issue for me personally as country managing partner. I have more yesterdays than tomorrows in the New Zealand business, so the search is beginning.”

However, his enthusasim for what a global law firm like DLA Piper offers the local market is clear, after finishing off the best-ever financial year for the business in June 2016. “We now have access to global precedents, IT and know-how. As a corporate lawyer, for me, this is very exciting. We do more M&A transactions annually than any other firm, so in New Zealand we have access to a vast amount of M&A market insights and intelligence,” he says.

Firms now appear to be on the front foot when it comes to meeting changing client

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FEATURES

NEW ZEALAND REPORT needs, though in-house teams are still growing and being selective in what they brief out.

MinterEllisonRuddWatts CEO Mike Schubert says in-house teams are becoming stretched as organisations seek more from those teams and guidance in managing growth.

“We’re partnering with clients by providing muscle for the big stuff or simply to free

“We are investing [in] technology that gives you the ability to be more efficient and focused with particular clients and to relate with them more” Kevin Jaffe, SIMPSON GRIERSON up in-house teams so they can tackle other matters,” he says. “We’re essentially helping them to focus on what matters most and we see this continuing as a trend next year.”

Buddle Findlay’s Chemis says, “The majority of the teams we work with strike a careful balance between what work they do themselves, what they brief and to whom.

“Our individual experts continue to be targeted, as do groups of lawyers who work very well alongside in-house teams. The challenges to the more traditional leverage model of large law firms continue.”

This means that, at times, price is a consideration. “Pricing continues to be an important discussion point, but our experience over the past few years has been that the pricing is not the primary focus for many of our clients – it’s the expertise, the knowledge of their business or industry, the team and the quality and timeliness of the service,” Chemis says.

Large law firms are responding by ensuring they can provide high levels of specialisation, service and support, and by demonstrating that they can work collaboratively. “Most large firms are more focused than ever on their key costs, being staff and premises,” Chemis says. “This has resulted in some shedding of space, and lower staff leverage ratios. At Buddle Findlay this has involved better sharing of work and utilisation of capacity across our three offices.”

Chapman Tripp’s Nick Wells says firms

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are responding to the rise in the number of boutique law firms opening in recent years and a trend towards accounting firms taking up more and more legal work. “This means law firms have to come up with innovative ways to adapt to best service their clients.

Our strategies to tackle these new challenges include looking at exciting new pricing models, as well as ensuring we have a diverse workforce,” Wells says.

It’s expected that technology will be a key differentiator among firms in the future.

“We are having to be a lot more productive and smart with how we work. The big thing for us is trying to get our head around how technology can help us,” Jaffe says. “We are investing a lot more in technology, and that means the right sort of technology that gives you the ability to be more efficient and focused with particular clients and to relate with them more,” he says.

Wiseman says as trends like overcapacity in the market and the rise and growth of strong senior in-house teams accelerate “almost exponentially”, technology in the law will be an important area of response for firms. “Technology and AI will be huge and advance very quickly into law,” Wiseman says. “Take Kira Systems’ machine learning contract search which is supported by and used by DLA Piper. That will change how due diligence is done. And, only large firms with access to substantial capital will be able to able to invest in developing such IT, which will increasingly be demanded by clients,” Wiseman says.

Russell McVeagh’s Gary McDiarmid says firms in general need to adapt to an environment in which they no longer have the monopoly of law. “As the cost of legal services continues to rise, new legal delivery models will continue to emerge and gain momentum in the coming years,” he says. “There are significant technology developments, including smart contracts, AI, blockchain and a lot of other fancy words. Clients are becoming increasingly tech-savvy, which means law firms need to do the same.”

Social media could also play a role. “Social media is changing how legal professionals

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FEATURES

NEW ZEALAND REPORT

SERIOUS ABOUT CULTURE Mike Schubert has been in “full immersion mode” since he took over as CEO at MinterEllisonRuddWatts in May of this year. After an intense period focusing on the business, its drivers and its obstacles, he has one important conclusion to make.

“As with any business, it boils down to people.”

It’s a lesson New Zealand’s law firms are taking more seriously than ever. In a competitive environment demanding out-of-the-box thinking, diversity is no longer a marketing ploy for recruitment and branding. Instead, it’s seen as critical to firm survival and success.

For MinterEllisonRuddWatts, encouraging better diversity and promoting flexible working arrangements that support changing lifestyles is becoming key to the talent equation.

“We can’t say we have it totally right, but we do have some partners who are leading the way and attracting top talent through their willingness to flex, support and retain capable staff and particularly capable women,” Schubert says.

“Being recognised for our leadership in this area at the New Zealand Diversity Awards was another 2016 highlight for me.”

Russell McVeagh CEO Gary McDiarmid believes cultural issues are critical. “Diversity, wellbeing and work-life balance will need to be embraced in

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order to develop a law firm which will attract and keep top talent,” he says. “The firms which adapt to these changes will be stronger, more profitable and better equipped to deal with the future environment.”

The firm recently achieved the Rainbow Tick Award, a 30% female full equity partnership, and hosted the launch of TupuToa, supporting Maori and Pasifika tertiary students.

Island and Asian partners and we need to work on that. I think we are better than most, but we need to do more,” he says.

Flexibility and quality leadership become a particular focus in busy times when lawyers are stretched, Buddle Findlay’s Peter Chemis says.

“The largest transactions in the market require teams to work very long hours, and with several

“We see the importance of investing in a team that will be able to adapt to – as well as thrive on – change, and part of that is ensuring a diversified firm” Nick Wells, CHAPMAN TRIPP As time goes on, DLA Piper’s Martin Wiseman says workplaces that contain a melting pot of different generations – as well as strong diversity – will spur law firm success. “I think firms will have to work out how to get baby boomers, Generations X and Y and millennials to work together effectively as they are different,” he says. “Diversity is already a huge topic.

A firm like ours is naturally very diverse culturally because it exists in so many different places. But in New Zealand we don’t have that many Maori, Pacific

large transactions over the past two years, that has been the case for a number of our people for an extended period,” he says.

As for Chapman Tripp, Nick Wells says the firm is already focusing on diversity and leadership as a key part of its five-year strategic plan. “We see the importance of investing in a team that will be able to adapt to – as well as thrive on – change, and part of that is ensuring a diversified firm, including lawyers and business support staff,” he says.

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recruit, job-hunt and network, manage their careers and interact with clients. It has the potential to transform the business and practice of law in the coming years,” McDiarmid says.

the old guard and the political machine, and it’s hard to believe New Zealand is going to be immune to that totally, so we will see how that pans out in our election.”

Lawyers agree that, regardless of the outcome, the economic foundations are

direct investment stock in New Zealand almost doubled since 2001 from $55bn to $100bn in March 2015.”

The only thing lawyers need to make sure of is they stay open to change, particularly as digital disruption flows through the

Facing forward The impact of a US President-elect Donald Trump is an unknown in New Zealand, though lawyers point to potential impacts on trade if the “rhetoric matches reality”. However, with a federal election looming in New Zealand next year, lawyers say that Trump and Brexit together show that the process should never be seen as predictable in today’s world.

Kevin Jaffe says elections usually result in a slightly less busy period, and that lawyers will be watching the outcome. “The rest of the world has had all this change, a push against

“As the cost of legal services continues to rise, new legal delivery models will continue to emerge and gain momentum” Gary McDiarmid, RUSSELL MCVEAGH strong. Wells points to a doubling in direct investment from China from 0.7% to 1.4% in the five years to 2016, and an increase in FDI in general. “The amount of total foreign

economy. “As with every industry and sector, digital disruption means firms are going to have to keep continually evolving,” Wells says.

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PEOPLE

NEW ZEALAND

A lawyer’s pathway to governance Cathy Quinn is one of New Zealand’s leading lawyers and businesswomen

SHE’S RECOGNISED nationally and internationally for her work and is ranked by independent international research as one of New Zealand’s top corporate lawyers. For the past eight years, she has chaired one of New Zealand’s largest and most prominent law firms – MinterEllisonRuddWatts – and recently announced her intention to step down from this leadership role to focus more on other governance roles and her corporate and M&A practice.

Full circle Cathy’s journey as a high-flying corporate lawyer began when she joined MinterEllisonRuddWatts (Rudd Watts & Stone as it was known then) as a fresh-faced law clerk in Wellington. She was interviewed by none other than Dame Patsy Reddy, now Governor General of New Zealand, and Justice Robert Dobson, who sits in the High Court. She has also had the privilege of career mentoring by Sir David Gascoigne, an acclaimed corporate lawyer and former chair of the firm. These are just some of the esteemed legal minds that taught and inspired her throughout her career to date.

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No one would likely have predicted that when Cathy was named an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2016 Queen’s Birthday Honours, for services to law and women, that her honour would be presented by Dame Patsy Reddy, and her Vice Regal Companion Sir David Gascoigne would have been watching on.

This award is arguably the highest to date, but it joins a collection of prestigious awards that Cathy has accumulated over the years, such as being named New Zealand’s Veuve Clicquot Business Woman of the Year in 2010, and winner of Euromoney’s Australasian Woman in Business Law Award in 2013 for her work in Mergers & Acquisitions and Private Equity.

Perhaps one of the most touching awards was when she returned to Central Hawke’s Bay College, her former high school, to be inducted into its Hall of Honour (coincidentally the day after her investiture ceremony at Government House in Wellington).

New challenges The decision to step down as Chair from what is a highly successful and prominent firm was not made lightly – particularly since it has been her professional home for more than 30 years.

“I feel that the time is right. Much has been achieved in the past eight years, and the firm has made significant strides since I accepted the role late in 2008. We have enhanced our brand in the market, the best people want to work here, we’re moving our Auckland office into the newest and best commercial building in the country, and our client list has never been stronger, which has grown our revenue and profitability significantly.”

Cathy’s experience as a corporate lawyer, advising on major M&A and capital market transactions, taught her that periods of change provide the biggest opportunities.

“In 2009 the GFC of course had a massive impact on business confidence – they were worrying times and lots of businesses struggled.

My view was that we could use the GFC as an opportunity – an opportunity to effect cultural change, an opportunity to hire top talent when others would be cautious about hiring. We used that period of change to come out the other side stronger and better than when we entered it.

We had a group of committed partners and I set

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Government’s Capital Markets Development Taskforce. Cathy is also a member of the Executive Board of the New Zealand China Council and is one of Global Women’s Champions for Change – a group of CEOs and Chairs who are committed to raising the value of diversity.

Helping blaze a trail

my sights on helping MinterEllisonRuddWatts to become one of the top firms in the country.”

Professional services firms aren’t known for being nimble, but Cathy’s view is that with clear goals and the right allocation of resources you can effect change.

“The firm determinedly went about achieving goals, focusing on our clients, people and processes. There’s no quick way to create lasting change, but we set about growing our skills and capability, building towards having world-class systems that provide efficiency for our staff and our clients, and focused on our client’s needs, and how we could better add value to their business. We looked at ways to better communicate with our clients, and provide them with clear advice that cuts to the heart of the business need. We called this concept LCD – We Listen, We Care, We Deliver.

It’s a mantra that permeates our business.”

There’s a sense of pride for what the firm has achieved in recent times and successfully safeguarding the firm’s legacy, a continuation of over 130 years of history.

“I’m proud to have contributed in some way to that legacy and success. It’s now time to give someone else the opportunity to take the firm forward from here.”

Top table focus Governance is not new for Cathy. She’s been an adviser to the Director and the Governance community for a long time, advising on legal and governance issues. She’s the principal author of the firm’s White Paper on Corporate Governance, first published in 2003. She’s organised and chaired the panel for the annual MinterEllisonRuddWatts Corporate Governance Symposium for over a decade, which has now grown into the premier governance event in the country.

Her experience is not just academic. Aside from chairing one of the most successful law firms in New Zealand for nearly a decade, she’s served as a member of the Commercial Operations Advisory Board of the New Zealand Treasury, was a member of the Securities Commission for nine years and the

Diversity is a topic close to Cathy’s heart, and as the only female Chair of a large law firm she knows that the ratio of women on boards needs improving better than anyone.

“I think we are on the right path; we have some very good organisations and some great leaders – men and women – who are vocal supporters and also leading through action. Yes, there is still more work to do. People need to earn their right to sit around the boardroom table.

Shareholders deserve the best people (which will involve a range of skills and attributes) to represent their interests.

“As leaders though we have a responsibility to give good people, of all backgrounds, race and gender, the opportunity to learn and grow.

We need to create pathways for other leaders, whether that be in a professional services firm like MinterEllisonRuddWatts, in corporates or in boardrooms.”

Her latest governance appointment is to the New Zealand Treasury Board, which has Cathy excited about entering the next stage of her career.

“I’m looking forward to the next phase of my career – to having more time to concentrate on advising clients, which I love, as well as building, over time, a director portfolio. I’ve enjoyed advising boards for many years across a range of sectors. I think the experiences I’ve had leading a firm like ours during a period of significant change, along with contributing to various governance bodies, will allow me to make a positive impact around the boardroom table.”

It’s obvious that she’s relishing the new challenge.

www.australasianlawyer.com.au

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FEATURES

DISPUTE RESOLUTION

What science can teach us about lawyers’ negligence claims

By Lawyer Stephanie Barclay, Senior Associate Jonathan Tyne and Partner Malcolm Cameron at Sparke Helmore Lawyers SOLICITORS AND barristers deal with risk every day. As professionals, our focus is always our clients’ risk; for instance, the prospect of an adverse outcome in litigation or the consequences of a transaction going off the rails.

But sometimes, when things go wrong for our clients, we can also be exposed to another risk – a professional negligence claim.

A claim by a client can be a stressful and embarrassing experience. As lawyers, we always aim to assess risks objectively and find solutions to our clients’ legal problems. But that discipline can be hard to apply to a claim made against you or your firm.

To maintain objectivity, it might be helpful to draw on the problem-solving approach used in a completely different field: science.

The scientific method involves creating a hypothesis, testing that hypothesis through a controlled experiment, interpreting the results

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and formulating a conclusion. In some ways, a professional negligence claim involves a similar process of testing a proposition, reviewing the results and making a decision.

What a professional negligence claim looks like For a plaintiff to be successful in a claim against a lawyer for professional negligence, they must establish that the lawyer owed them a duty of care, breached that duty and the breach caused them to suffer a loss.

In most circumstances, a lawyer will owe their client a duty of care, so this element is not often in issue. Similarly, plaintiffs are usually able to demonstrate loss because a claim is seldom brought where there is not some form of measurable loss.

Two of the most contentious elements in professional negligence claims against lawyers

are whether a lawyer has breached his or her duty and whether the breach caused the loss.

These elements are factual questions that often require us to imagine what would have happened but for the lawyer’s alleged negligence – in other words, what the counterfactual would have been. A counterfactual is, in some ways, similar to a scientific hypothesis as it can be tested and confirmed (or not) through litigation.

Let’s have a look at how a scientific approach can provide a practitioner with some clarity when dealing with a negligence claim, by considering a hypothetical scenario where a solicitor’s omission causes a loss.

The scenario A plaintiff advances a loan to a borrower, which is to be secured by a mortgage over one of the borrower’s assets. The defendant (the lawyer) has been instructed to advise the plaintiff on the loan. Before receiving the loan from the plaintiff, the borrower gave another mortgage over the same asset, which was registered. The plaintiff’s mortgage ranks lower in priority than the prior registered mortgage. But the lawyer omits to check the register. The plaintiff alleges that the lawyer was negligent in forgetting to check and failing to advise them of the prior mortgage.

Hypothesis The plaintiff’s hypothesis in this scenario would be that they would not have made the loan if the lawyer had advised them of the prior mortgage, given their loan would be subordinate to the prior mortgage. It will be up to the defendant, its lawyers and the court to test the likelihood that this counterfactual would have occurred without the lawyer’s negligence.

The defendant lawyer may well have his or her own competing hypothesis, which would most likely be that the lawyer’s failure to advise of the prior mortgage made no difference to the overall outcome. This is because the plaintiff was independently aware that the other mortgage existed and they still chose to advance the money.

www.australasianlawyer.com.au

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Stephanie Barclay

Jonathan Tyne

Malcolm Cameron

Method

resolving a matter through litigation, even if you believe your side of the case is correct.

provided appropriate advice. Alternatively, the judgment could be in favour of the defendant if the Court is not convinced the lawyer’s failure to provide the appropriate advice changed the plaintiff’s conduct.

So which side is correct? In reaching a conclusion, science might apply the principle of Occam’s Razor. This principle states that the preferable conclusion is the one that requires the lowest number of new assumptions or, to put it differently, the simplest conclusion is probably the correct one.

In circumstances where the plaintiff has prior lending experience and discovered the mortgage by performing its own independent searches, the simplest answer would be that the plaintiff understood what the mortgage meant and that the lawyer’s failure to provide advice about it had no impact on the plaintiff’s conduct. The plaintiff would have advanced the funds regardless of the advice provided, so the claim would fail on causation grounds.

Of course, the analogy only goes so far. The simplest answer is not always the right one and courts are often required to resolve problems that have no straightforward answer.

Ultimately, claims against lawyers – as with any legal work – require practitioners to do the best they can to arrive at an objective assessment of their own risk and, if they can, to resolve problems before they escalate.

The litigation and evidence collection process is the ‘experiment’ through which the hypotheses are tested. Both parties will serve evidence and submissions that support their hypotheses and may participate in a hearing. The evidence could be challenged in a number of ways, including through cross-examination.

Almost all claims benefit from mediation or other settlement discussions and the court expects practitioners to consider these methods of resolving disputes as alternatives to a litigated outcome. However, in some cases, a party so strongly believes in their hypothesis that they fail to appreciate weaknesses in their own case and are unwilling to compromise.

Once again, we can draw on science to illustrate the dangers with this approach.

Schrödinger’s cat is a famous scientific thought experiment, in which a cat is placed into a box with a vial of lethal poison. It is unknown when the vial of poison will break and so it is also unknown whether the cat is alive or dead until the box is opened. Therefore, the cat can be thought of as being simultaneously alive and dead before the box is opened.

Similarly, until a judgment is delivered in litigation, a plaintiff ’s counterfactual can be thought of as being both true and untrue – and that they could win or lose. It is important not to lose sight of the real risks and uncertainties of

Results In science, the results are the data obtained from conducting an experiment. In litigation, the results are what is revealed by the evidence throughout the litigation process.

In our example, a hearing has now occurred and the results are in. The plaintiff ’s evidence was that they did not properly understand the implications of the prior mortgage. The plaintiff says they would not have advanced the money if they had appreciated that their mortgage was subordinate to the prior mortgage.

However, the defendant’s evidence revealed that the plaintiff was an experienced lender and had performed its own search of the relevant security and, in doing so, had identified the existence of the prior mortgage.

Discussion The final stage of the scientific method is the interpretation of the results and formulation of a conclusion. Similarly, the final stage of a professional negligence claim is the court’s analysis of the evidence and its formulation of a judgment.

A judgment could be entered for the plaintiff if the court is satisfied that they would not have entered the transaction if the solicitor had

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PEOPLE

CAREER PATH

PACIFIC IN FOCUS

It’s been a steady rise for Paul Toua, the lawyer whose gaze has long been firmly fixed on the Pacific After spending his schooldays in Fiji when his father was the high commissioner for Papua New Guinea, Paul Toua returned to PNG where he sat the Australian HSC at Port Moresby International High School. This was followed by a law degree with honours at the University of PNG, where he finished near the top of his class.

1970– 80s

A PACIFIC CHILDHOOD

1992

BEGINS LEGAL CAREER

2000

SECONDMENT SPARKS NEW INTEREST A secondment to the Carter Newell offices in Brisbane, where he worked in the commercial Asia-Pacific practice, led to project work with a bias towards energy and resources. It is the experience he acquired during this time that sparked Paul’s later interest in energy and resources.

“I realised my greatest interest lay in energy and resources. I decided that that was what I wanted to do.”

Toua’s first professional job was as an associate at Carter Newell/Pacific Legal Group in Port Moresby, where he set his course for a career in corporate commercial law.

“For the first couple of years, I wanted to learn as much as I could; I was mentored by some excellent lawyers at the firm. The biggest influence was the fact I always had Australian mentors who worked in PNG, and they influenced the direction I wanted to take.”

“I always had Australian mentors” 2001

MOVES INTO FINANCE

2005

POACHED

BY INTEROIL CORPORATION A move back to Australia to oversee the operations of the Canadian exploration company with licences to explore for oil and gas in PNG led to almost a decade with the company, during which time Toua was promoted to senior counsel.

Discoveries on those PNG licences raised InterOil’s worth to $3bn.

“I looked after the legal, operational, contracts and insurance issues for the company. It was a very broad role.”

2016

APPOINTED SPECIAL COUNSEL A spot of Web-surfing led Toua to the Pacific Legal Network and contact with its head of legal services, John Ridgway. Once he had nearly finished his master’s degree, PLN made him an offer and he joined the Sydney-based firm.

“My practice has always been focused on the Pacific and doing work in the Pacific; PLN was in that space, focused on the Pacific.”

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Recruited by the Bank of South Pacific Limited, Toua spent four years rising through the ranks before his final promotion to chief legal officer, one of the seven general managers reporting to the CEO. However, when InterOil headhunters came calling, Toua’s experience working on energy and resource projects during his Carter Newell days made the move all the more attractive.

2014

STARTS MASTER’S DEGREE His wife’s transfer to Brisbane dovetailed with InterOil’s move to Singapore, and Toua took the opportunity to start a master’s degree. A program specialising in energy and resources law at the University of Melbourne was the perfect fit, and one-week on-campus intensives allowed him to meet students from all over the world.

“It was very refreshing to go back and be a student again and rekindle my desire in energy and resources. It’s one of the best things I’ve ever done”

www.australasianlawyer.com.au

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PEOPLE

OTHER LIFE

TELL US WHAT YOU GET UP TO! E: paul ferris@keymedia.com.au

MAKING MOVIES When he’s not practising law, you can find Greg Duffy telling Australian stories on screen FRANKEL LAWYERS partner Greg Duffy is also a film producer who traces his love of filmmaking to his stint as a child actor. While appearing on various kids TV shows, he says he spent his on-set downtime investigating such behind-the-scenes activities as “script-writing, directing, producing – what brought it all together”.

Having a brother in film school also brought Greg many opportunities to work on short films during his student days, but pivotal to pursuing his ambitions in filmmaking was reconnecting with a friend from his university days in Perth, Jeremy Sims, who later directed Greg’s two major films when they both relocated to Sydney.

In contrast to his first film, which was adapted from a single-set theatrical play, Greg’s second, 2015’s Last Cab to Darwin, included a 3,000km road trip across Australia’s central heartland, an undertaking that, among other things, involved Greg and his filmmaking cohorts becoming qualified traffic controllers to save roughly $50,000.

The effort has more than paid off. The film’s considerable box office success, complemented by its DVD, made it the distribution company’s highest seller ever.

Greg’s next film, already in its early stages, concerns the clash of cultures in the outback wilderness of the 19th century. “We’re really interested in telling Australian stories, and particularly stories that say something about our history and culture.”

$8m

Box office takings from Last Cab to Darwin 52

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Days of active shooting on the film

25,000km

Distance covered in the course of prepping and filming

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Nominations open 11 January Event partner

Philippa Stone Herbert Smith Freehills Australian Dealmaker of the Year 2016

Thursday 18 May 2017 | The Star Sydney auslawawards.com.au

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