Australasian Legal Business (OzLB) Issue 7.7

ISSUE 7.7

ALB Special Report: Adelaide 09 Is Adelaide the next Perth?

Salary review Legal salaries plateau – but for how long?

Environment law Busy waiting for that ETS boost

The gainers and losers in this year’s ranking by firm size n DEALS ROUNDUP n LATERAL MOVES n UK, US REPORTS n news analysis n MARKET STATS

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1

ISSUE 7.7

EDITORIAL >>

ALB Special Report: Adelaide 09 Is Adelaide the next Perth?

Salary review Legal salaries plateau – but for how long?

Environment law Busy waiting for that ETS boost

Sins of omission

T

he ALB 30, our annual guide to the largest firms in Australia and New Zealand is out and there are few surprises. Top-tier firms in both Australia and New Zealand continue to cast the largest shadows over their respective markets. Mid-tier firms, especially those who have struck mergers and alliances in the past 12 months, have also consolidated their market position and seem set in the years ahead to continue to battle with the big players for the most lucrative work.

This year, the task of supplying numbers for the ALB 30 has been unpleasant for some firms and, at some, the spin doctors have been busy. Backdating lawyer numbers to exclude layoffs and redundancies and refusing to release details of partner profitability and firm revenues has occurred.

But is all this fuss over figures warranted? Despite a tumultuous six months for all legal sectors across the globe, law firms in Australia and New Zealand, by our count, have laid off fewer staff than their counterparts in the US and Europe, have claimed their fair share of the world’s largest deals and have earned their places atop legal advisory league tables. They should have the revenue figures to prove it.

Comparing the results of the ALB 30 with the ALB 50, our sister publication ALB Asia’s guide to the largest law firms in the Asia-Pacific, substantiates such assertions. Where the ALB 50 shows that international firms in Asia are in places suffering badly, law firms in Australia and New Zealand (many can be loosely termed ‘international’ here as well) remain remarkably stable for their size, more diversified and greater beneficiaries of stable economies and governments.

One would think this is something that Aussie and Kiwi firms would want to shout from the rooftops.

The gainers and losers in this year’s ranking by firm size  DEALS ROUNDUP  LATERAL MOVES  UK, US REPORTS  NEWS ANALYSIS  MARKET STATS

www.legalbusinessonline.com cover.indd 1

14/07/2009 4:29:46 PM

IN THE FIRST PERSON “The pushing back of the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme by another year, to 2011, means that potentially for us there will be less immediate work, particularly if it is not passed by parliament” Charmian Barton, DLA Phillips Fox

“The local client base here in Adelaide is quite happy to go interstate if it feels that the expertise that is required isn’t available locally” Adrian Tembel, Thomson Playford Cutlers

“People who have international training are always going to add great value to mid-tier firms” Kellie-Jane McLean, GR Law

Backdating lawyer numbers to exclude layoffs and redundancies and refusing to release details of partner profitability and firm revenues has occurred

2

Australasian Legal Business ISSUE 7.7

contents >>

contents

ALB issue 7.7

48

28 COVER STORY 28 The ALB 30: Australasia’s largest firms ALB’s annual survey to identify the 30 largest firms in Australia and NZ. Did your firm make the cut?

ANALYSIS 10 Flatlining salaries Recruiters take a look into the crystal ball and share their predictions on lawyer salaries 12 Pro bono on the rise The GFC has allowed lawyers the time to hone their skills on pro bono cases – a trend that is set to continue

FEATURES 24 International Legal Association Legal associations are more than just networks for referring work. ALB investigates 36 ALB Guide: technology, media and

telecommunications 09 Fresh, independent, in-depth research into the best TMT firms and lawyers 44 ALB/LexisNexis Managing Partner Series:

John Chrisman, Dorsey & Whitney For this US firm, opening a Sydney office may not come as much of a surprise. But the role of this office may raise a few eyebrows

44

48 ALB Special Report: Adelaide 09 Will the rest of the top tier be following Blake Dawson into Adelaide?

COLUMNS

56 Environmental law A report on how the GFC has changed the drivers of environmental work, given the delay of the introduction of the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS)

17 US Report

62 In-house Perspective: Michele Sang,

McDonalds’ NZ senior counsel We find out how law firms can impress one of New Zealand’s top corporates

62

15 UK Report 70 Thomson Reuters Equity and Debt Market

Update 71 Mergermarket M&A Update 72 Sign Off

COMMENTARY 18 Buddle Findlay

REGULARS 6

DEALS

14 NEWS • Norton Rose-Deacons merger cuts ties to HK • 114 Allens staff volunteer for redundancy • Rio Tinto outsources to India to cut costs • Mallesons and Clutz complete record raising

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 Legal Business can accept no responsibility for loss.

4

australasian legal business ISSUE 7.7

NEWS | deals >>

deals in brief | BANKING/JOINT VENTURE | ►► Citi-Morgan Stanley joint venture US$2.7bn (A$3.4bn)

►► Silverton wind farm development A$2.2bn Firm: Maddocks Lead lawyer: Christopher Conolly Client: New South Wales Department of Lands

Firm: Freehills Lead lawyer: Fiona Gardiner-Hill Client: Morgan Stanley Firm: Mallesons Stephen Jaques Lead lawyer: Joshua Cole Client: Citi Group

| GOVERNMENT/ENERGY |

• Development to construct Australia's largest wind farm near Broken Hill, NSW involved Joshua Cole Mallesons

Firm: Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton Lead lawyers: Ed Rosen, Les Silverman Client: Morgan Stanley Firm: Davis Polk & Wardwell Lead lawyer: John Knight Client: Citi Group

• drafting of unique lease for crown land that was 'parallel' to existing leases, called a “parallel lease” • 18-month-long process also involved changes to legislation, multiple economic analyses and independently facilitated workshops

| TRANSPORT/EQUITY |

Firm: Weil, Gotshal & Manges Client: Morgan Stanley

►► Asciano capital raising

• Global deal, possibly the largest of its kind and involved joint venture in which Morgan Stanley acquires a 51% stake in Citi’s Australian, Asian, European and US retail wealth management business

Firm: Clayton Utz Lead lawyers: Greg James, Stuart Byrne Client: Asciano

• Involved coordination of legal teams across many jurisdictions – an emerging trend – transferring Citi’s margin lending business into the joint venture, implementing ongoing arrangements, regulatory advice and obtaining Foreign Investment Review Board approval

A$2bn

Firm: Mallesons Stephen Jaques Lead lawyers: Greg James Peter Cook, David Clayton Utz Friedlander, Meredith Paynter Clients: UBS, Royal Bank of Scotland (underwriters) • Deal required “extraordinary effort” to cope with “extreme” timing pressures

• Proceeded via low-doc offer structure, comprising one-for-one non-renounceable entitlement offer and both unconditional placement and conditional placements to investors • Clayton Utz team worked “around the clock for 72 hours” to complete the deal • Unconditional offers pending shareholder approval

| RESOURCES/M&A | ►► Gloucester-NobleWhitehaven competitive takeover A$1.6bn Firm: Clayton Utz Lead lawyers: John Elliott, Karen EvansCullen Client: Noble Group (successful bidder) Firm: Freehills Lead lawyer: Tony Damian Client: Gloucester Coal (bidder) Firm: McCullough Robertson Lead lawyer: Damien Clarke Client: Whitehaven Coal (target)

| GOVERNMENT/PPP | ►► South East Queensland schools PPP project A$1.1bn Firm: Allens Arthur Robinson Lead lawyers: Phillip Cornwell, Alan Millhouse Client: National Australia Bank (senior construction lender) Firm: Freehills Lead lawyer: Shaun McGushin Client: Queensland state government Firm: Minter Ellison Lead lawyers: Paul Paxton, Keith Rovers, Peter Block Clients: Aspire Schools (sponsor), Leighton Services (FM operator), National Australia Bank (project documents) • Deal involved project financing of initiative to build seven new state schools in South East Queensland

Tony Damian Freehills

Damien Clarke McCullough Robertson

• Deal involved merger between Gloucester and Whitehaven, and Hong Kong-based Noble’s subsequent takeover offer valued at A$570m • Noble required orders from the Takeovers Panel to subject Gloucester-Whitehaven merger to shareholder vote; Gloucester Coal required orders from Review Panel that overturned orders of initial Panel, meaning that Gloucester Coal board was free to choose any deal; and Gloucester defended the Noble bid until increased and shareholders accepted outright takeover offer • Freehills previously advised on Centennial Coal’s A$1.1bn sale of Anvil Hill and stake in Austral Coal to Xstrata, Peabody Energy on its A$2bn contest for control of Excel Coal via scheme of arrangement

• First use of 'supported debt model' developed by Queensland Treasury to lower overall debt cost for PPPs by having Queensland Treasury Corporation (QTC) agree to provide the 'risk free' portion of the funding for the operating phase of the project, which was assessed to be around 70% of the capital cost • Financial close after Aspire Schools consortium (Commonwealth Bank and Leighton Infrastructure Investment) awarded contract to develop project • Deal closed 29 May 2009

| CONSTRUCTION/EQUITY | ►► Fletcher Building capital raising NZ$525m (A$418m) Firm: Baker & McKenzie Lead lawyer: Andrew Reilly Client: Fletcher Building Firm: Bell Gully Lead lawyers: Brynn Gilbertson, Jayne Kirton Client: Fletcher Building

Andrew Reilly Baker & McKenzie

Firm: Gilbert + Tobin Lead lawyer: Philip Breden Client: Fletcher Building Firm: Russell McVeagh Lead lawyer: Garth Sinclair

6

Australasian Legal Business ISSUE 7.7

NEWS | deals >>

Client: Goldman Sachs, Macquarie Bank

►► Your month at a glance Firm

Jurisdiction

Deal name

Firm: Sidley Austin Lead lawyer: Robert L Meyers Client: Goldman Sachs, Macquarie Bank

Allens Arthur Robinson

Australia

Australasian Property Investments-Floreat Forum acquisition

100 Property, M&A

Australia, Thailand

Commonwealth Bank Thai debt markets bond issuance

145 Banking, debt

Australia, China

Goodman-China Investment partnership

Australia

South East Queensland schools PPP project

Allen & Overy

Australia, Thailand

Commonwealth Bank Thai debt markets bond issuance

145 Banking, debt

Baker & McKenzie

Australia, New Zealand

Fletcher Building capital raising

418 Construction, equity

Bell Gully

Australia, New Zealand

Fletcher Building capital raising

418 Construction, equity

New Zealand

RBS/ABN-ABN Amro Craigs stake sale

N/A Restructuring

Blake Dawson

Australia

Atlas Iron placement and share purchase plan

117 Resources, equity

Clayton Utz

Australia

Asciano capital raising

2,000 Transport, equity

Australia

Gloucester-Noble-Whitehaven competitive takeover

1,600 Resources, M&A

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton

Australia, Asia, Europe, US

Citi-Morgan Stanley joint venture

3,400 Banking, JV

Clarendon Lawyers

Australia

ANZ Cash Plus Fund redemption

136 Banking, superannuation

Corrs Chambers Westgarth

Australia

Australasian Property Investments-Floreat Forum acquisition

100 Property, M&A

Australia

Telstra office lease agreements

N/A Telco, property

Davis Polk & Wardwell

Australia, Asia, Europe, US

Citi-Morgan Stanley joint venture

DLA Phillips Fox

Australia

ANZ Cash Plus Fund redemption

136 Banking, superannuation

Fasken Martineau DuMoulin

Australia, Canada

Eldorado Gold-Sino Gold stake acquisition

258 Resources, M&A

Freehills

Australia, Asia, Europe, US

Citi-Morgan Stanley joint venture

Australia, Canada

Eldorado Gold-Sino Gold stake acquisition

258 Resources, M&A

Australia

Gloucester-Noble-Whitehaven competitive takeover

1,600 Resources, M&A

Australia, China

Goodman-China Investment partnership

200 Property, M&A

Australia

Real I.S.-Edmund Barton Building acquisition

186 Property, M&A

Australia

South East Queensland schools PPP project

Australia

Telstra office lease agreements

N/A Telco, property

Australia, New Zealand

Fletcher Building capital raising

418 Construction, equity

Australia

Sportsbet-International All Sports takeover bid

40 Manufacturing, M&A

Lavan Legal

Australia

Australasian Property Investments-Floreat Forum acquisition

100 Property, M&A

Maddocks

Australia

Silverton wind farm development

Philip Breden Gilbert + Tobin

• Raising comprises NZ$405m (A$322.4m) institutional placement, NZ$100m (A$79.6m) share purchase plan and NZ$20m (A$15.9m) “top-up” offer to eligible investors • Deal required obtaining various waivers and exemptions from the NZX, ASX and the NZ Securities Commission, and introducing “topup” offer to allow eligible investor participation on same basis as institutional offer participants • Fletcher Building shareholders voted in favour of the company’s strategy

| RESOURCES/M&A | ►► Eldorado Gold-Sino Gold stake acquisition US$280m (A$348m) Firm: Fasken Martineau DuMoulin Lead lawyer: Josh Lewis Client: Eldorado Gold Firm: Freehills Lead lawyer: Tony Damian Client: Eldorado Gold

Josh Lewis Fasken

Firm: Minter Ellison Lead lawyer: James Philips Client: Gold Fields • Cross-border (Australian/Canadian) deal saw Eldorado acquire 19.9% stake in Sino Gold from Gold Fields in exchange for Eldorado shares by way of a private placement • For 18 months Gold Fields will hold a “top-up right” that will apply if Eldorado purchases an additional 5% stake in Sino Gold, and the sellers receive consideration equivalent to a share consideration ratio more than the ratio received by Gold Fields • Agreement subject to regulatory and stock exchange approvals, and expected to close end of August 2009 www.legalbusinessonline.com

Gilbert + Tobin

A$m

Practice

200 Property, M&A 1,100 Government, PPP

3,400 Banking, JV

3,400 Banking, JV

1,100 Government, PPP

2,200 Government, energy

7

NEWS | deals >>

| BANKING/DEBT |

►► Your month at a glance (cont) Firm

Jurisdiction

Deal name

Mallesons Stephen Jaques

Australia

ANZ Cash Plus Fund redemption

Australia

Asciano capital raising

2,000 Transport, equity

Australia, Asia, Europe, US

Citi-Morgan Stanley joint venture

3,400 Banking, JV

Australia

Real I.S.-Edmund Barton Building acquisition

186 Property, M&A

Australia

Gloucester-Noble-Whitehaven competitive takeover

1,600 Resources, M&A

Australia

Hope Island Resort development

N/A Property, restructuring

Australia

ANZ Cash Plus Fund redemption

136 Banking, superannuation

Australia, Canada

Eldorado Gold-Sino Gold stake acquisition

258 Resources, M&A

Australia

Harbert Australia Private Equity-Solar Shop stake acquisition

50 PE, energy

Australia

South East Queensland schools PPP project

1,100 Government, PPP

Australia

Sportsbet-International All Sports takeover bid

40 Manufacturing, M&A

Norton Gledhill

Australia

Sportsbet-International All Sports takeover bid

40 Manufacturing, M&A

Russell McVeagh

Australia, New Zealand

Fletcher Building capital raising

418 Construction, equity

McCullough Robertson

Minter Ellison

A$m

Practice

136 Banking, superannuation

New Zealand

RBS/ABN-ABN Amro Craigs stake sale

N/A Restructuring

Sidley Austin

Australia, New Zealand

Fletcher Building capital raising

418 Construction, equity

Thomson Playford Cutlers

Australia

Harbert Australia Private Equity-Solar Shop stake acquisition

Weil, Gotshal & Manges

Australia, Asia, Europe, US

Citi-Morgan Stanley joint venture

50 PE, energy 3,400 Banking, JV

Does your firm’s deal information appear in this table?

Please contact

| PROPERTY/M&A | ►► Goodman-China Investment partnership A$200m Firm: Allens Arthur Robinson Lead lawyers: Stuart McCulloch, Nicky Andrews (Goodmans), Alex Ding (Macquarie) Client: Macquarie, Goodman Group

8

alb@keymedia.com.au

• Goodman has agreed to issue 255.3 million options over stapled securities to the facility providers

| PROPERTY/M&A | Stuart McCulloch AAR

►► Real I.S.-Edmund Barton Building acquisition A$186m

Firm: Freehills Lead lawyer: Fiona Smedley Client: China Investment Corporation

Firm: Freehills Lead lawyer: David Sinn Client: Real I.S. AG

• One of the first major partnerships between an Australian-listed property trust and Chinese interests

Firm: Mallesons Stephen Jaques Lead lawyer: Chris Wheeler Client: Stockland Trust Management

• German and Australian cross-border deal involved the purchase of “A-grade” historic office building with net lettable area of 44,000sqm and car park

A$145m Firm: Allens Arthur Robinson Lead lawyers: David Clifford, Jeffrey Sok, Marcus Clark, Nina Godoy Client: Commonwealth Bank (Australian law) Firm: Allen & Overy Lead lawyer: Stephen Jaggs Client: Hongkong and Shanghai Banking (bond distribution manager), Siam Commercial Bank Public Company (representative bondholder) • Australian-Thai cross-border deal involved Commonwealth Bank’s first issuance of bonds into Thai debt market • Transaction has two trenches of senior bonds: one with four-year maturity and the other with sevenyear maturity

| BANKING/ SUPERANNUATION | ►► ANZ Cash Plus Fund redemption A$136m Firm: Clarendon Lawyers (successful) Lead lawyer: Mark Bland Client: Professional Associations Superannuation (trustee) Firm: DLA Phillips Fox Lead lawyer: Claire Tait Client: ACIRT Counsel to non-redeeming scheme members body

61 2 8437 4700

• Cross-border partnership involved CIC committing A$200m to a finance facility alongside Macquarie Bank, bringing the overall finance facility to A$485m

►► Commonwealth Bank Thai debt markets bond issuance

Firm: Mallesons Stephen Jaques Lead lawyer: Ashley Black Client: ING Funds Management Counsel to the responsible entity of the scheme Chris Wheeler Mallesons

• Building is currently being refurbished by former owner Stockland and will be leased to the Australian Federal Police for 15 years • Sale closed on 16 June 2009

Firm: Minter Ellison Lead lawyer: Gary Ulman Client: The Emergency Services Superannuation Board Counsel to ESSB • Matter involved redemption of A$100m in frozen members’ investments in ANZ Cash Plus Fund, mostly commercial and residential mortgage-backed securities • As global financial crisis deepened and Federal Government announced bank deposits, guarantee fund managers including INGFM froze Australasian Legal Business ISSUE 7.7

NEWS | deals >>

“We have acted for API since establishment on obtaining financial services licenses, about one dozen acquisitions, for example Subiaco Square and West Leederville Shopping Centre. We know the business quite well and have a very good working relationship with API” Peter Beekink, Lavan Legal redemptions from those funds • Professional Associations Superannuation (PASL) and other unit holders lodged redemption requests to access its investment in the fund and procedural defect was found with INGFM • Court proceedings commenced

by INGFM, and judge decided the constitutional amendments were ineffective and ordered INGFM to pay PASL A$100m in redemption amounts and additional legal costs

| RESOURCES/EQUITY | ►► Atlas Iron placement and share purchase plan A$117m Firm: Blake Dawson Lead lawyers: Chadwick Poletti, Ben Secrett, Murray Wheater Client: Atlas Iron • Significant placement in “difficult” resource stock market • Deal includes A$105m placement to institutional investors with a share purchase plan to eligible shareholders of up to A$11.7m

| PROPERTY/M&A | ►► Australasian Property Investments-Floreat Forum acquisition A$100m Firm: Allens Arthur Robinson Lead lawyer: Nicholas Cowie Client: GPT RE (owner of Foreat Forum) Firm: Corrs Chambers Westgarth

Nicholas Cowie AAR

www.legalbusinessonline.com

Lead lawyer: Philip Wilson Client: Town of Cambridge Firm: Lavan Legal Lead lawyer: Peter Beekink Philip Wilson Client: Australasian Corrs Property Investments • Deal involved a major diversified property group’s sale of its Floreat Forum shopping centre to a property investment and development company • Sale is conditional on GPT Wholesale Shopping Centre Fund waiving its right to acquire the centre, and council consent to assign agreements over its property at the centre to purchaser • Allens previously acted for GPT on its recent A$1.7bn capital raising

| RESTRUCTURING | ►► RBS/ABN-ABN Amro Craigs stake sale Firm: Bell Gully Lead lawyers: David Boswell, David Craig Client: Royal Bank of Scotland, ABN Amro Firm: Russell McVeagh Lead lawyer: Joe Windmeyer Client: ABN Amro Craigs • International restructure involved sale of RBS and ABN’s stake in ABN Amro Craigs, unwinding or novation of contracts, consideration of Reserve Bank, regulatory matters and negotiating ongoing strategic alliance between RBS, ABN and the Craigs retail business • RBS and ABN’s withdrawal from about 30 countries they operate in will take five years • Deal closed April 2009

9

NEWS | analysis >>

Analysis >>

Salaries plateau in 2009

but for how long?

Will the ice ever thaw? ALB asks recruiters when we can expect salaries to start going up again

I

t was only a year ago when Australian firms were attempting to match exorbitant UK salaries, in a bid to retain talent and fill the gaps in their busy teams. A global financial crisis later, and the firms are seemingly off the hook.

Returning lawyers made redundant in the UK and elsewhere overseas has allowed Australian firms to steady salaries, with a plateau predicted over the next 12 months by most recruiters, except in the sectors of insolvency, litigation, insurance and employment.

Paul Burgess, from recruiter Burgess-Paluch, says pay reviews are likely to be flat and conservative.

“There might be selective payrises,” he says, “but … firms have indicated they’ll be implementing freezes.”

Icy days ahead

Firms to have introduced salary freezes include four of the top-tier – Mallesons, Clayton Utz, Freehills and Allens Arthur Robinson. According to recruitment firms such as HughesCastell, salary reviews which resulted in 10% increases are definitely a thing of the past. Maximum pay increases

“There might be selective payrises … but firms have indicated they’ll be implementing freezes” Paul Burgess, BPL Recruitment 10

were pegged by Hays Legal at 3–5%.

As well as redundancies and freezes, law firms have engaged in several creative practices to limit the carnage caused by the global financial crisis: deferred graduate intakes at Corrs Chambers Westgarth and Thomson Playford Cutlers; operational cutbacks at Macpherson+Kelley and Minter Ellison; and flexible work options at Maddocks and Herbert Greer.

Reactions to salary freezes

Salary freezes have been met with reactions of both relief and resentment from lawyers. “Fortunately, a majority of the redundancies have already taken place,” Burgess says. “[Future selective redundancies] will be targeted to specific areas which are underperforming within the firm.”

However, the need to retain talent without raising salaries continues. “If people are moving up from one level to the next, that will always give them a pay review because they deserve that – but in terms of general pay reviews, there are mainly freezes in place,” says Kellie-Jane McLean of GR Law. This concern has been noted by Mallesons, who maintain that their 12-month firm-wide salary freeze will not be applicable to graduates admitted as solicitors or lawyers promoted to senior associate level. Mallesons and Blake Dawson will both undertake policies of ‘focused recognition’ on a case-by-case basis. Blake Dawson is alone in the top-tier by not following its redundancies with a salary freeze.

Many lawyers are dissatisfied with the salary freezes in place. “It is fair to say that a percentage of lawyers in firms where salary freezes have been

implemented are now considering whether they should move laterally as a result,” said Burgess.

On the other hand, McLean claims that only in a “normal market” would such lateral movement occur. “A lot of people are aware of the GFC … I think people are being much more careful, they’re not moving as much, and they’re certainly looking at all the options before they make that decision.”

The moment for mid-tiers

The fact that teams in top-tier firms have been harder hit by the GFC has created an opportunity for smaller firms to attract quality partners that might ordinarily opt for the Big Six. “This market provides a number of opportunities for astute firms who have the necessary workflows and cash reserves to hire either talented partners or senior associates laterally,” Burgess says.

The market has also presented a prime opportunity for smaller firms to hire experienced lawyers returning from overseas. “People that have international training are always going to add great value to mid-tier firms,” said McLean.

Bucking the trend

The claim of recruiters that the entire market is suffering could be denied by certain firms, such as Hall & Wilcox.

This year’s ‘ALB Melbourne Law Firm of the Year’ anticipates pay increases this financial year, bucking the trend of salary freezes plaguing the market.

“There is no pay freeze, there have been no widespread departures, and our policy towards performance Australasian Legal Business ISSUE 7.7

NEWS | analysis >>

►► Australian average private-practice salary with max/min ranges (AUD) Experience

Sydney

Melbourne

Brisbane

Perth*

Law graduate

$60k (50–70k)

$50k (45–55k)

$60k (45–65k)

$60k(40–65k)

Lawyer 1-year PAE

$65k (55–75k)

$65k (55–75k)

$68k (55–80 k)

$63k (55–80k)

Lawyer 1–2-year PAE

$68k (56–80k)

$68k (55–80k)

$68k (55–80k)

$75k (55–75k)

Lawyer 2–3-year PAE

$83k (65–90k)

$79k (70–87k)

$80k (70–90k)

$80k (75–95k)

Lawyer 3–4-year PAE

$95k (75–105k)

$92k (75–110k)

$92k (75–100k)

$95k (80–115k)

Lawyer 4–5-year PAE

$105k (80–130k)

$95k (80–110k)

$105k (80–110k)

$105k (85–130k)

Lawyer 5–6-year PAE

$115k (98–140k)

$108k (80–130k)

$110k (85–115k)

$110k (85–135k)

Lawyer 6+ years PAE

$125k (105–150k)

$118k (87–150k)

$115k (90–125k)

$115k (95–140k)

Associate 1-year

$140k (130–165k)

$110k (90–130k)

$120k (100–130k)

$120k (100–130k)

Associate 1–2- years

$150k (130–170k)

$113k (95–130k)

$135k (105–145k)

$135k 105–145k)

Associate 2–3-years

$165k (135–185k)

$119k (93–145k)

$150k (110–160k)

$150k (110–160k)

Associate 3+ years

$180k (150–220k)

$146k (93–200k)

$160k (120–165k)

$160k (120–175k)

Source: Hughes-Castell 2009 Salary Survey

►► Australian average private-practice and in-house salary max/min ranges (AUD) Experience

Sydney

Melbourne

Brisbane

Perth*

0–3 years

$53–78k

$52–72k

$53–74k

$58–78k

3–6 years

$86–149k

$71–141k

$80–135k

$85–148k

7–10 years

$131–203k

$129–174k

$130–171k

$125–235k

10+ years

$165k+

$163k+

$161k+

$175k+

Source: Hughes-Castell 2009 Salary Survey *Perth methodology differed slightly from other city figures

►► New Zealand average PRIVATE-PRACTICE AND in-house salary max/min ranges (AUD) Experience

Private practice – top-tier

Private practice – mid-tier

Graduate

$35–45k

$38–46k

In-house

1 yr PAE

$42–55k

$45–55k

$45–65k

2 yr PAE

$53–70k

$53–70k

$60–80k

3 yr PAE

$62–85k

$65–82k

$70–95k

4 yr PAE

$75–105k

$75–88k

$80–115k

5 yr PAE

$85–125k

$85–105k

$90–130k

6 yr PAE

$90–130k

$95–115k

$100–140k

Senior associate

$100–140k

$105–150k

Legal counsel (6+PAE)

$110–155k

General counsel

$130k+

Source: Hays Legal 2009 Salary Survey

management hasn’t changed as a result of the GFC,” says managing partner Tony Macvean. “From our perspective, it’s business as usual.”

Hall & Wilcox is also one of the few firms seeking new recruits.

The former chief operating officer of Gadens also confirmed that his firm plans ongoing recruitment to boost its growing practices, although a decision about possibly implementing a salary freeze may be forthcoming. www.legalbusinessonline.com

While some firms may be recruiting, actual recruitment processes have lengthened and intensified. “The general trend is [clients] may meet five or even eight candidates, whereas before they would struggle to get one or two,” says McLean. “Clients are being very particular about who they recruit.”

Future movement

There are significant differences between the reaction of the legal

►► Spotlight on New Zealand

The outlook for recruitment in New Zealand is a mixed tale. On the one hand, Hays Legal has identified strong demand for lawyers across the country, especially in Auckland. But large city firms have been behaving in a ‘conservative’ manner, according to Damian Hanna, managing director of Simply Legal in New Zealand. “There is still quite a bit of recruitment happening in the provincial settings, as opposed to Auckland and Wellington,” he said.

Hays Legal reported a 3% increase in privatepractice salaries for lawyers with two to five years’ PAE. Other salaries in the market held steady.

Hanna maintains that the market has not avoided the global impairment of “lots of candidates, not that many jobs.” However, New Zealand lawyers have not experienced the same extent of layoffs and redundancies which occurred in Australia. The reliance of New Zealand firms upon alumni programs is also filling vacancies: “the firms do bring those candidates back once they’ve done their big ‘overseas experience,’” says Kellie-Jane McLean at GR Law. The traditional tendency of New Zealand lawyers to head overseas has been slightly curbed by the crisis. Marcus Rudkin, senior associate at Simpson Grierson, advises Kiwis to stay put.

“I have friends who are playing cricket in the corridors at some UK law firms,” he says. “… the first sign of the economy picking up would be a better time to consider going abroad.”

Delaying this ‘rite of passage’ for New Zealand lawyers may be a sound recommendation, but only temporarily. “As soon as there is any sign of the market overseas picking up, there will be a lot of lawyers exiting the country,” said Hanna. “That will create demand locally again.”

industry to the current financial crisis and a similar, if not less serious, situation in 2001 and 2002. “In 2001 and 2002, the firms were very slow to react, they did very little and they did it very late,” explained Burgess.

“They have been very quick to react this time.”

When the elusive upswing in the market occurs, firms may find themselves significantly underresourced. But McLean believes that signs of an upturn will simply prompt firms into recruiting.

Candidate shortages are unlikely to be a problem, since the current employment situation has left many valuable applicants on the market.

Burgess agrees. “Maybe I’m optimistic as a recruiter, but I’m hoping that the market will pick up more quickly because they’ve cut harder this time and cut earlier,” he says. ALB 11

NEWS | analysis >>

Analysis >>

Pro bono:

a positive side-effect of the GFC? With the global financial crisis reducing demand across many practice areas, firms have found that they have more time and resources to dedicate to pro bono work. Ralph Grayden reports

F

rom a business perspective, an increase in the proportion of non-fee paying work may not look great on the balance sheet; but on the flip-side, pro bono work can give a long-term lift to staff morale and push younger lawyers to acquire skills they would not normally have until much later in their careers.

New Zealand-based Russell McVeagh is one law firm that has been using pro bono work to boost its lawyers’ skill set – particularly among younger lawyers – during the global financial crisis (GFC). “My own view – but I think it is one shared by others – is that the general work we are currently getting is even more complex and more high-end than usual,” the firm’s pro bono partner Mike Heron told ALB. “That means that it requires the more senior people and there is less work flowing down to the very junior level. As a result, some people may not be developing their skills as quickly as they might. So we’ve been encouraging people to do pro bono work.”

And while other leading firms are guarded on the subject of decreased workflow, the situation seems to be that more lawyers have more time for

more pro bono work. Committee chair and senior partner Phillip Cornwell at Allens Arthur Robinson says, “the GFC hasn’t prompted us to tell staff to do more pro bono work but there has been more capacity for staff to take it on.” Clayton Utz’s pro bono partner David Hillard gives a similar impression. “The increased capacity has coincided with the economic crisis and a number of firms have increased their capability,” he says.

The GFC does seem to have increased the pool of lawyers with the ability to take on pro bono work.

“The downturn has helped increase our firm’s pro bono capacity,” says McCullough Robertson non-profit group head Heather Watson. “We’ve been able to spread the work across a

broader group of lawyers with people more capable of responding, since pro bono work has been part of the reallocation of lawyers from quieter practices to busier areas.” This means that law firms are experiencing record participation rates in pro bono programs, with several reporting as much as 80% of junior solicitors engaging in at least some form of nonfee paying work.

The consensus amongst firms is that pro bono work can expose lawyers to essential long-term skills at an earlier stage in their careers than billed work would. “On a professional level, the [pro bono] work is often interesting and quite complex. There are opportunities to gain experience you would not get from working in

“There are opportunities to gain experience you would not get from working in your regular practice group” Mitchell Mathas, Deacons 12

Each year Russell McVeagh summer clerks, as part of their induction to the firm, volunteer at Sunshine lodge in Taupo, a residence for the families of children with cancer

Australasian Legal Business ISSUE 7.7

NEWS | analysis >>

your regular practice group, which is important as a junior lawyer,” says Mitchell Mathas, Deacons partner and national pro bono coordinator.

Blake Dawson’s pro bono partner, Anne Cregan, says that pro bono work can help forge better lawyers by helping them truly understand legal issues, and consider how issues are communicated. “It makes them think about law and understand concepts,” she says, “because the clients’ understanding of the law is often less sophisticated than that of clients solicitors would normally deal with – they have to break down concepts and communicate very well.”

Like the overwhelming majority of lawyers who ALB interviewed, Cregan says the advantage of pro

bono work is not only the skill set it provides, but also – as a Blake Dawson firm-wide survey discovered – the fact that it leads to greater staff retention. “We had always assumed our pro bono program was an important factor in why people came to the firm,” she says. “But when we conducted our internal survey we found that it was much more important as a reason why people stay at the firm.”

The closing remark went to Russell McVeagh’s Mike Heron. “Lawyers always want to be giving of themselves and their skills and it probably doesn’t matter fundamentally to them whether they are making money from it,” he says. “It probably matters a lot more to partners.” ALB

►► In-house view: From high-tech to High Court

Pro bono work is not something one would often associate with in-house lawyers. However, ACN Pacific senior counsel, Andrew Hamilton, recently found himself involved in a pro bono family law matter that went to the High Court of Australia and eventually changed common law over cross-border custodial disputes, when the court followed decisions made in New Zealand instead of earlier Australian decisions.

The “commercial” and “high-tech” lawyer had heard of a dispute through a friend of the family. It involved a father-of-three’s fight for custody of his four children to Israel under The Hague Convention on Child Abduction. The children had been living with their mother in Australia for some time. The mother lost an initial Family Court hearing, could not afford to pay legal fees and was faced with appealing unrepresented. Meanwhile, the “child abduction” provisions of The Hague Convention had been invoked, meaning that the father was supported by both the Israeli government and the federal Department of Community Services.

After researching the area, Hamilton found the mother had a very strong case but did not have a means to finance “sophisticated” legal representation. With an imminent order for the children’s removal and return to Israel, and an initial refusal from Legal Aid to assist on the matter, Hamilton’s employer allowed him to take on the mother’s cause. And so the corporate lawyer argued an appeal before the Family Court.

Although Hamilton lost at that hearing, he still believed that there were important legal principles arising out of recent Kiwi law that had not been addressed. With just three days to prepare, he found himself again arguing before the Family Court for an imminent return order and special leave to appeal in the High Court.

Legal Aid had initially rejected the mother’s claim on the grounds that she had limited prospects of success, but eventually agreed to fund the matter – with the grounds that Hamilton be the solicitor on record.

When the matter went before the High Court, Hamilton was vindicated in his belief that the mother had a strong legal argument. The High Court bench unanimously chose to follow recent Kiwi decisions on adoption he had previously argued for. In doing so, it fundamentally changed important aspects of Australia’s law on cross-border custodial disputes. The mother and children were permitted to stay in Australia after the threeyear legal battle, and Andrew Hamilton went back to being an in-house counsel. www.legalbusinessonline.com

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NEWS | news >>

news in brief >> Allens, Blakes, Freehills in Rio Tinto deals Following the cancellation of the US$19bn deal, Rio will now enter into two deals worth over US$20bn–a proposed US$15bn rights issue commencing around mid-July and a 50:50 JV with former merger partner BHP Billiton, valued at more than US$10bn.

This will be the world’s largest non-financial rights issue this year. Allens Arthur Robinson partner Wendy Rae, who is acting as Australian counsel to Rio, believes it is one of the most complex the firm has undertaken, given the dual listed company structure of the issuers and the cross jurisdictional issues.

Allens partner Richard Spurio is working alongside Rae with Linklaters as UK and US counsel, while Freehills partner Philippa Stone is representing the underwriters. Herbert Smith’s Will Pearce and James Palmer, and Davis Polk & Wardwell’s Nigel Wilson are acting as the underwriters’ UK counsel and US counsel respectively. Blake Dawson partners Leigh Warnick and David Williamson are leading the team for BHP, with Rio represented by Allens partners Nic Tole and Scott Langford.

BHP Billiton will pay Rio Tinto US$5.8bn to raise its interest in the JV to 50%.

Aussie-Gadens legal battle “ordinary” Aussie founder and executive chairman John Symond is suing Gadens Lawyers for A$11m.

The home loan services company accuses the national law firm of providing “negligent, misleading or deceptive tax advice” during the 2003-04 restructuring of parent company AHL Holdings.

Aussie’s lead lawyer in the case, Baker & McKenzie partner Bruce Hambrett, said that Gadens had incorrectly advised that redeemable preference shares issued to – and redeemed by – Symond would not be subject to tax. The matter was put to rest after a lengthy 2007 Australian Tax Office (ATO) investigation, where Aussie paid a “substantial” confidential settlement.

Gadens, which has acted for Aussie since inception in 1992, played down the claim as an “ordinary incident”. Despite the action, Gadens has continued to advise Aussie on other matters.

Simpson Grierson supplier to Kiwi Crown Simpson Grierson has recently been appointed, for the first time, as an accredited legal services supplier to the Kiwi Crown.

This came following Kiwi government agency Land Information New Zealand’s lengthy selection process, including statutory requirements for acquisition, management and disposal of Crown property. Partner Michael Wood said the firm had experience in public works, Crown acquisitions, public body-related disposals and land, acting on the Tauranga Harbour Link Project (NZ$225m), Penlink Project (NZ$183m), Transpower’s North Island Grid Upgrade (NZ$824m), and NZ Transport’s road projects.

Wood plans to work with other accredited partners from Simpson Grierson, including Duncan Laing and Philip Merfield, to provide “enhanced service” to NZ Transport and other Crown agencies.

14

industry >>

Norton Rose-Deacons merger cuts ties to Hong Kong office

T

he merger of UK international law firm Norton Rose and Deacons will see the two firms work more closely in Asia, and end the Australian firm’s ties to sister firm Deacons Hong Kong.

Deacons Australia chief Don Boyd confirmed the firm is currently terminating its formal 17-year relationship with Deacons Hong Kong. “Deacons is joining Norton Rose, so the general thrust of the work will be within the group. However, there are existing relationships between Norton Rose and Deacons Hong Kong, so collaborative work and referrals could happen,” he said.

Deacons Hong Kong chief Lindsay Esler confirmed receiving notification of the break away but said the relationship would remain “amicable”. “They did not surprise us. Basically, we were two large associated firms and we were heading in different strategic directions. It’s very much suited for Deacons Australia to merge with Norton Rose, and to be honest we’re quite comfortable with our position here because we’re by far the largest independent firm in Hong Kong,” he said.

The Australian office will be rebranded as Norton Rose, while the Hong Kong and China offices will remain as Deacons. Boyd was attracted to Norton Rose because of its global presence. “In the past decade Australian corporations have increasingly moved offshore and their needs have transcended borders, so we had a lot of pressure to do more crossborder work. We also have clients like China Sci-Tech, Sinosteel and PTT, so we wanted to operate a lot more offshore, specifically in Asia, and found a compatible direction and vision in Norton Rose,” he said.

Norton Rose chief Peter Martyr, meanwhile, said a large number of the firm’s clients are attracted to the Asia-Pacific region. “Deacons gives us a much bigger footprint on this side of the world, with a similar group of

Don Boyd, Deacons and Peter Martyr, Norton Rose

clients – financial institutions and companies in transport, infrastructure and technology – and a similar kind of business, so our clients know they will get quality legal advice and knowledge of the business they are in. They have reacted extremely positively,” he said.

The new firm will retain the existing Norton Rose chief Peter Martyr as CEO, and the chief of Deacons, Don Boyd, as deputy. It will boast revenues over A$860m, and 1,800 lawyers scattered throughout Europe, the Middle East, Australia, China, Indonesia, Singapore and Japan.

The move is hoped to make the firms part of the largest group in the Asia-Pacific, and could be part of a new trend. “There is simply no other major US or UK firm presence in Australia with the exception of Baker & McKenzie. Dorsey & Whitney recently moved into the Australian market, but only have a couple of people who work on US securities-type work. This merger could very well lead to further linkages like this,” Boyd argued.

The Clifford Chance-Mallesons Stephen Jacques potential merger broke down several months ago, at which time many thought a large-scale international firm/Australian firm merger was unworkable. The Norton Rose-Deacons merger may prove the impossible can happen. ALB Australasian Legal Business ISSUE 7.7

NEWS | news >>

industry >>

114 Allens staff volunteer for redundancy

A

llens Arthur Robinson has confirmed that 114 staff have recently opted for the voluntary redundancy program announced earlier in April.

A spokesperson from the firm said that the redundancies occurred across a range of practice areas, but about one third of them were lawyers, another third were from corporate services and the remainder were legal secretaries.

The firm maintains that it had not anticipated the number of redundancies which would eventuate from the program. “There certainly hasn’t been a program like this that I can recall in the legal sector in the last 20 years, so there was no anticipation or expectation around numbers,” the spokesperson continued.

According to the firm, some of the 114 staff members are taking early retirement or a career break, while others are opting to start new businesses or commence study.

A slowing down of workflow was not mentioned. “It was structured as a quite generous program,” the spokesperson emphasised. “The feedback we’ve had from people was basically that this has made them think about their next step, as opposed to people not having enough work to do.” ALB

uk report US firms hold their ground US firms seem to be staying afloat despite the pressures of the downturn.

Skadden recently extended employment to 100% of its newly-qualified trainee lawyers in London, while Weil, Gotshal & Manges gave jobs to 85% of its trainees, keeping on 11 out of 13.

Shearman & Sterling is said to be retaining 64% of its London trainees, who are due to qualify in September, and Latham & Watkins, which only launched its trainee program in the City in 2007, has kept on 78% of newly-qualified practitioners.

UK firm layoffs continue The worst of the economic crisis seems far from over for UK firms, as a new wave of redundancy consultations hits the market.

Berwin Leighton Paisner recently completed its redundancy consultation, with 85 members of staff affected across the firm’s corporate, finance and real estate practices as well as support functions including IT, accounts, marketing and human resources.

Meanwhile, Barlow Lyde & Gilbert also recently laid off 49 staff, along with an undisclosed number of fee-earners – despite the firm’s plans to open an office in Manchester.

Hammonds desperate to cut costs In a bid to cut costs, Hammonds has introduced mandatory sabbaticals for all associates in its corporate department.

Earlier this year, the firm cut 77 staff in a redundancy consultation and reports indicate that

other cost-reduction measures, including a fourday week for some departments, are also being considered. Hammonds’ partnership also recently completed the multi-million-pound sell-off of debt litigation practice Drydens to insolvency practitioner Philip Holden.

Quintet depart DLA DLA Piper has seen another five partners exit the partnership as the firm continues to reshape its practice. The exits follow the recent redundancy consultation that left 124 staff members, including 24 lawyers, jobless.

Three earn CR top spot DLA Piper, Eversheds and Linklaters all recently enjoyed a silver rating in the Business in the Community 2008 CR index for their commitment to corporate responsibility (CR).

The firms were granted the award despite all three launching major cost-cutting drives in the past six months.

UK firms look at mergers Wragge & Co is the latest UK firm to suggest a merger could be on the cards should the opportunity present itself. Although Wragges stressed it is not actively pursuing a merger, the firm confirmed that it would consider a union to boost its presence in London. Denton Wilde Sapte also recently held discussions with US practice Squire, Sanders & Dempsey about the possibility of a merger.

the latest legal news For all the breaking legal news and opinion go to our website at www.legalbusinessonline.com

“The feedback we’ve had from people was basically that this has made them think about their next step, as opposed to people not having enough work to do” Spokesperson, Allens arthur robinson www.legalbusinessonline.com

 ROUNDUP

• Pinsent Masons may be the next firm to launch redundancy talks after reporting a turnover rise of only 1% in the last financial year • City firm Macfarlanes has launched a second redundancy consultation, putting 14 support staff and one professional support lawyer under review. It says market conditions are to blame • Herbert Smith has won a place alongside regular advisors on Rio Tinto’s joint venture with rival BHP Billiton and its related US$15.2bn rights issue • Peter Hogstrom, Linklaters’ Sweden managing partner, has denied the office’s future is under threat despite a wave of departures in the past year. However, he admits the firm is undergoing a restructure and will now focus mainly on core practice areas including M&A, banking, capital markets and tax • Lovells and De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek have been axed from the global panel of financial group ING. Following a review of its legal roster, ING appointed Baker & McKenzie and Norton Rose alongside existing members Allen & Overy, Clifford Chance, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Linklaters and Sullivan & Cromwell

15

NEWS | news >>

news in brief >> Hall & Wilcox denies pay freeze, gives staff pay rise Hall & Wilcox, the winner of this year’s ALB Melbourne Law Firm of the Year Award, has dismissed rumours that accused it of implementing a firmwide salary freeze. At a recent annual meeting the full-service Melbourne firm not only decided against implementing the freeze, but even promised salary increases for certain legal and non-legal staff.

The raises are expected to come after the firm’s salary reviews finish at the end of June. Managing Partner Tony Macvean also plans to internally appoint one commercial partner, some special counsel and senior associates. The firm is now looking to hire senior talent in a number of practice areas.

Macvean said the firm’s forecasted revenue for the 2009 financial year would be 15% higher than the 2008 financial year. He is currently searching for senior talent.

Keddies Lawyers insider confirms layoff rumour Workers compensation firm Keddies Lawyers recently retrenched a number of lawyers and support staff.

Forty staff were rumoured to have been laid off, but an anonymous source from Keddies claimed the figure was incorrect. There were a number of support staff and lawyer redundancies in recent months and the week ending 26 June, but the firm has also hired new staff, the source said.

The firm has offices in Wollongong, Brisbane, and in Sydney suburbs Ashfield, Liverpool and Redfern.

Michael Jackson death sparks A$1.2bn wills and estate dispute The recent death of US pop singer Michael Jackson and his US$1bn (A$1.2bn) estate could give rise to one of the largest legal disputes of its kind ever.

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge recently awarded Jackson’s mother, Katherine, temporary guardianship of the singer’s children and title of ‘special administrator’ of her son’s estate until the 6 July hearing. However, she is not permitted to take possession of money or property unless court approval is granted.

According to Phillip McGowan, a partner at Brisbane firm De Groots Wills & Estate Lawyers, the case could have “unexpected outcomes” and take many years to resolve, as it involves his parents, siblings, children, surrogate mother, minders and major creditors – creating scenarios that could be the “world’s largest ever will dispute.”

McGowan said that the advising lawyers will need to consider whether Jackson set up private trusts to distribute his assets – namely his own music catalogue and share in Sony/ATV Music Publishing – to his children and relatives. Jackson’s stake is controlled by a trust but the identity of beneficiaries remains unclear. The music star had an estimated US$500m (A$620m) debt when he died.

16

RESOURCES >>

Rio Tinto outsources to India to cut legal costs

M

ining giant Rio Tinto recently announced that it would outsource legal work to India in a bid to slash its annual legal costs by 20%.

In a deal with outsourcing firm CPA Global, Rio Tinto has formed a 12-person team of low-cost lawyers in India to work on tasks, such as contract and document review, drafting and legal research.

Rio’s external legal advisors, Allens Arthur Robinson and Linklaters, will be required to pass on low-end work to these lawyers. Allens declined to comment on the move but in May, Allens chief executive Michael Rose told the Australian Financial Review that the downturn had meant that clients were now shifting focus from “absolute dollars to value” in legal fees.

Rio’s London-based managing attorney Leah Cooper said that the deal will amount to “tremendous savings” for the company. “We took a long hard look at our internal costs and the amount we were spending with outside counsel and saw an opportunity to make significant

changes to the way we deliver legal services to the group,” he said. “Our internal team will be freed up to get involved in some of the more complex and challenging legal matters, which in the past might have been sent to outside counsel at significant cost.”

In May, Rio chief counsel Phil Edmands hinted at the company’s plans. “We haven’t been pushing for fixed quotes, but have been focusing on cutting out legal costs to suit our requirements,” he said. “You don’t always need a perfect product or something that has been engineered to the nth degree. You don’t always need a Rolls-Royce when a bicycle will do.”

Rio reportedly has fees in excess of US$625m (A$776.9m) associated in its US$15bn (A$18.6bn) rights issue – US$420m (A$522m) of which is said to be paid to the banks managing the offering.

CPA Global’s Asia-Pacific manager, Eve Johnson is currently in Perth working with Rio on the deal. ALB

TAX/GOVERNMENT >>

Proposed tax changes to hit short-term overseas law firm placements

P

roposed tax changes in the 2009 Federal Budget have brought bad news to lawyers who have enjoyed working overseas short-term and earning tax-free income.

Tax exemption 23AG for Australians working overseas from 90 days up to two years will end from 1 July 2009 for those who remain Australian residents for tax purposes. The move means that overseas Australian lawyers would have tax amounts withheld as per the Pay As You Go (PAYG) system. Proof of foreign tax payment would need to be retained as evidence if claiming foreign tax credit – a tax offset from the Federal Government to prevent paying double tax.

‘Trailing’ payments or bonuses paid after a lawyer’s return to Australia would also be subjected to tax, according to KPMG international executive services partner Rosheen Garnon. “Payments to non-residents after their return to Australia would

previously have been tax-free, but under the new changes they would be subjected to tax. Lawyers would need to ensure that all payments were wrapped up before returning to Australia to avoid paying tax,” she said.

The changes also mean that lawyers taxed in Australia would be eligible for company-paid fringe benefits, such as private health insurance, in both Australian and overseas jurisdictions.

“Right across the legal profession, from mid-tiers all the way up, they see the tax changes as an issue for them.

The real concern is not just being subjected to tax, but the additional administrative burden and cost placed on employers,” Garnon said.

Firms could counter the tax changes by terminating short-term overseas assignments or extending placements to long-term, so that staff would have to be considered as a non-resident for tax purposes and avoid Australian taxes. ALB Australasian Legal Business ISSUE 7.7

NEWS | news >>

us report

DEALS NEWS >>

Mallesons and Clayton Utz complete snappy Asciano raising in record time

M

allesons Stephen Jaques and Clayton Utz recently completed Asciano’s A$2bn capital raising within just 72 hours.

The Mallesons team, led by Peter Cook, David Friedlander and Meredith Paynter, acted for underwriters UBS and Royal Bank of Scotland. Paynter told ALB there was “lean” staffing, with just three partners, one senior associate and two solicitors.

“There wasn’t much sleep to be had on either side. Two solicitors worked on due diligence documents, while two partners and a senior associate worked on the underwriting agreement. It made sense to have a lean team, as there was no time for delay or miscommunication – it was easier to manage,” said Paynter.

The Clayton Utz team, led by Stuart Byrne and Greg James, advised Asciano, an infrastructure company focused on transport. The pair was contacted on 11 June, and worked around-the-clock for 72 hours before the raising was announced on 15 June, and closed on 17 June.

Paynter believes Mallesons was chosen for its “strong relationships” with banks and previous work on a range of Asciano’s raisings. “It is possible to quickly raise funds from equity capital markets in the present market. There is a great degree of comfort among clients and investors to raise money within short timeframes,” he said.

Sidley Austin advised the underwriters on US aspects of the raising, while Sullivan & Cromwell advised Asciano on US law. ALB www.legalbusinessonline.com

Davis Polk to close Frankfurt base Davis Polk & Wardwell will close its 18-year-old Frankfurt office on August 31 following the imminent retirement of the office’s long-time resident partner, Patrick Kenadjian.

News of Kenadjian’s plans to retire coincided with the departure of the office’s designated successor, London-based partner Harald Halbhuber – who decided to leave the firm for personal reasons.

The Frankfurt office, which was launched in 1991, has long focused on cross-border securities and M&A work. The firm has offered alternative positions to the two associates and a counsel who are based at the Frankfurt office.

Credit crunch continues to bite US firms are still floundering as a result of the economic crisis, with both McDermott, Will & Emery and Weil, Gotshal & Manges the latest arrivals to the ever-increasing firm layoff list.

McDermott is cutting 25 lawyers and 47 staff members, while Weil Gotshal is laying off 79 support staff across its US offices.

Weil Gotshal has not yet made cuts in its international offices, but the firm’s management have reportedly suggested that another redundancy consultation could be under consideration.

McDermott has said it will offer a “comprehensive” severance package covering benefits, career counselling and the establishment of a fund to help those who face economic

hardships after they leave the firm. Kilpatrick Stockton also recently announced that the firm will cut associate salaries by 10%.

Cleary looks for London expansion US firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton has its sights set on London growth, particularly in regards to the firm’s City dispute resolution ­practice.

Having recently relocated New York partner Jon Blackman to the City office to build up the litigation practice, Cleary hopes to expand its new office through a combination of lateral hiring and organic growth.

Cleary confirmed that the new focus on London was partly due to client demand and follows in the footsteps of another US firm, Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy, which also recently boosted its commercial l­itigation ­practice in London.

Squire Sanders and Dentons mull alliance Squire, Sanders & Dempsey recently entered merger discussions with Denton Wilde Sapte, cementing its desire for a transatlantic tie-up.

Although the proposed union has not yet been discussed at partner level within Dentons, the two firms have held discussions regarding a merger at management level with hopes a deal could be put together this autumn if the talks proceed well. The merger would see Dentons broaden its coverage in emerging markets while Squire Sanders would be able to widen its UK and European capabilities.

ROUNDUP

• Gibson Dunn & Crutcher is set to launch an office in Sao Paulo. The firm will relocate New York corporate partner Lisa Alfaro to Brazil, along with one associate, but the move is yet to gain approval from the Brazilian Bar • Philadelphia-based employment partner John DiNome has decided he will no longer run against Reed Smith’s veteran chief, Greg Jordan, for the position of global managing partner and chairman of its executive team. This leaves Jordan free of competition to continue his nine-year run at the helm of the top-25 US firm • Baker & McKenzie has appointed Mark Carter (formerly of Allen & Overy) as the firm’s new chief financial office. Carter will join Bakers in September and takes over from Arthur Ferry, who is leaving the firm after two years in the role

17

Firm Profile NEWS | news >>

Buddle Findlay

NZ COMMENTARY

The National-led government’s regulatory agenda

A

fter seven months in office, it has become evident that one of the key areas where the National-led government differs from its Labour-led predecessor is in its attitude to regulation.

The most visible symbol of this attitude is the broad-based review of regulation, started as part of National’s confidence and supply arrangement with ACT, and Rodney Hide’s elevation to Minister for Regulatory Reform, a Ministerial position that did not exist under Labour. In his first speech in this capacity, Mr Hide stated that “a whole raft of excessive charges, and unnecessary restrictions, is having the combined effect of killing businesses. For the country, it has the effect of lowering the productivity on which our standard of living relies. It’s death by a thousand cuts. Regulatory reform is urgently needed.”

This sentiment was not restricted to Mr Hide. The Minister of Finance, Bill English, submitted a paper to cabinet stressing the negative effects that regulatory compliance costs have on the economy and recommending several key areas to be reviewed. This paper provided the framework and direction for all the major regulatory reviews (discussed further below) which the government is undertaking. Other Ministers have similarly and consistently repeated the themes of increasing productivity and reducing compliance costs.

Streamline and simplify regulations The solution offered to these problems was twofold – remove unnecessary regulation and, where possible, streamline and simplify regulation that is necessary. The process of weeding out and streamlining regulation has already begun. Part of this has simply involved cancelling regulatory reviews started by the previous government, such as a competition review of the broadcasting sector and a review of franchising laws.

National has also begun to roll back a number of minor regulatory measures.

For example, the Labour government’s effective ban on incandescent light bulbs has been revoked. The Regulatory Improvement Bill, developed by the previous government, has also been

18

progressed. This is currently before Parliament and is an omnibus bill which makes amendments to various pieces of legislation to reduce the compliance burden on business.

More major changes have also been made, particularly in the environmental area. The obligation to include 3% ethanol in petrol, introduced by the Labour government in 2008, has been repealed.

The previous government’s ban on building any new thermal power stations has also been removed. In addition, the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) is being reviewed by a Parliamentary Select Committee, also part of the confidence and supply agreement with ACT. The entry of various sectors into the scheme will be delayed, and serious consideration is being given to alignment with the proposed CPRS in Australia, in order to reduce the economic impact of the ETS on New Zealand. Possibly most significantly, the first stage of a review of the Resource Management Act (RMA) has resulted in a Bill before Parliament that would make significant changes to the way resource consents are dealt with.

Reviews of regulatory regimes The second stage of the RMA review has now commenced. It will consider a number of other work streams including infrastructure, fresh water, and the structure and functions of a new Environmental Protection Agency. This will happen alongside reviews of a number of other significant regulatory regimes which are happening this year. The governance regime for the electricity industry is being reviewed, both in terms of the roles of the different regulators (Electricity Commission and Commerce Commission) and general issues of market design. A review designed to simplify the regime under the Overseas Investment Act, designed to reduce unnecessary deterrents to foreign investment and compliance costs is underway. Various aspects of the Holidays Act, including calculation of holiday pay and whether employees should be allowed to cash some of their annual leave, are also being reviewed.

Several other regulatory regimes, including that under the Telecommunications Act, are being reviewed this year, and further regulatory

reviews are planned for 2010. All of the reviews that have had terms of reference released so far show a commitment to the government’s general principles of reducing and streamlining regulation.

The Regulatory Responsibility Bill Finally, a general Bill dealing with regulatory processes is currently being progressed. The Regulatory Responsibility Bill, started as a Member’s Bill of Rodney Hide’s, and progressed to the stage of being considered by the Commerce Select Committee. Mr Hide stated that the Bill is intended to “provide a proper framework to law making that will ensure transparency and accountability, so that citizens will know how a proposed law will affect them.” It has now been referred to a ‘Regulatory Taskforce’ chaired by Graham Scott, former Secretary of the Treasury, for consideration. The Taskforce will report back by September this year with recommendations on the Bill.

Ultimately, the National-led government has expressed a clear and consistent intention to reduce the amount of regulation in New Zealand and, to the extent possible, simplify that which remains. It has started down that path in its first months. The outcomes are keenly awaited.

This article was written by Alastair Hercus a partner, and Eddie Clark a senior solicitor, in the Wellington office of Buddle Findlay, one of New Zealand’s leading law firms.

Alastair practises in both public and commercial law and advises corporates, industry organisations, government departments and Crown entities on a wide range of contract, corporate and public law issues. Alastair can be contacted by phone +64 4 498 7318 or email: alastair.hercus@buddlefindlay.com.

Eddie is a member of Buddle Findlay’s public law team and has expertise in public and administrative law, local government, and contract law. Eddie can be contacted by phone +64 4 462 0452 or email: eddie.clark@buddlefindlay.com.

Alastair Hercus, Buddle Findlay

Eddie Clark, Buddle Findlay

Australasian Legal Business ISSUE 7.7

NEWS | news >>

010 0 010 0111010 01101010 0101010 0101011 01010111010111010 0 01011010 0110101010 1001 0100010011101001101010010101001 IT report 0101101010111010111010 0 01011010 01101 Office 2010 beta in the wild Microsoft has released the first beta of Office 2010 and, as usual, screenshots are floating around the internet. The images do not reveal any huge surprises, with most interfaces looking pretty much the same as Office 2007.

The inclusion, and in many cases expansion, of the ribbon “Office Fluent” interface means that many firms who were putting off an upgrade to Office 2007 in the hope that the ribbon would disappear are left with no further excuses.

Autonomy release iPhone app for Worksite Autonomy have once again led the pack in the legal document management world with the release of a native iPhone application for Worksite (or whatever it is called now). The new application allows iPhone users to manage documents and e-mails on the go, and includes all of the funky iPhone abilities like multi-touch zooming, scroll wheels and all of the cool slide and spin transitions.

Once lawyers get a whiff of the impressive demo video, the Blackberry is in serious trouble in the law firm environment. For now, RIM will just have to rely on law firms blocking access to all video streams and hope that lawyers do not have home internet connections.

Open Text talking up interoperability standard John Shackleton, the CEO of Open Text has been talking up the upcoming CMIS standard in recent interviews and believes that the standard will in time be a requirement for inclusion in government tenders.

The standard, short for Content Management Interoperability Services, is designed to provide a single API that can be used to access any content repository. While each vendor will retain their full featured APIs, the CMIS standard specifies a baseline of functionality such as check-out, check-in and search.

As Shackleton states, unlike previous standardisation attempts the standard has the support of most of the big players in the industry including EMC, IBM, Microsoft, Oracle and SAP. For law firms, the notable exclusion is Automony/ Interwoven/Worksite. Once the standard is finalised it will be interesting to see whether Worksite joins the party or whether it will be up to third party developers to provide “CMIS to Worksite” interoperability.

www.legalbusinessonline.com

LegalCloud and Rackspace join forces LegalCloud is a company with a really interesting business model: establishing a network of data centres with hosting packages specifically aimed at the legal market.

Essentially, the company will provide the same type of service as Amazon’s EC2 cloud, but tailor it specifically for the legal market. An example is that the data centres won’t be “accessible over the public internet” which will ease the minds of paranoid managing partners, but perhaps limit the choice of connectivity options.

To add grunt to their offering, LegalCloud has teamed up with RackSpace and will now be able to provide “business continuity services, replication of data and systems, unlimited storage, snapshots recovery points and other features through Rackspace Hosting”. Although it’s unlikely that firms will rush to outsource their entire data systems to LegalCloud, we can see a huge initial demand for warm/hot recovery sites, and over the next few years will probably see a number of firms move to a fully hosted solution.

LexisNexis InterAction Hires Product Champion It’s been pretty quiet on the LexisNexis front for a while, particularly in the world of their InterAction product. The company is looking to change all that with the hire of Brad Sidwell as the IA “Product Champion”. Sidwell is formally a CIO of three large US law firms and more recently came from the legal consulting world.

We’ll be keen to see what Sidwell can do to re-vitalise the InterAction brand, particularly in a market that is wary of non-core spending.

NZ Crown Law goes live with 3E New Zealand’s Crown Law Office has gone live with the Elite 3E practice management system. The government law firm has 200 staff (half of whom are lawyers) and is based in Wellington.

It’s a good win for Elite, although we’re wondering what a government legal department is going to do with all that billing and invoicing power.

Chris McLean is a specialist in legal technology, having worked for numerous law firms both as a lawyer and support services director. You can find his website here: www.auslegal.com and contact him on: chris.mclean@auslegal.com

19

NEWS | appointments >>

Minter Ellison

appointments ►► LATERAL HIRES Name

Area of law

Organisation coming from

Organisation going to

Anthony Brearley

Property

Nakheel

Mills Oakley

Daniel Clay

Environment, liquor licensing

DLA Phillips Fox

Minter Ellison Rudd Watts

Ian Dardis

Finance

Proudfoot Consulting

Gadens

Patrick Gallagher

Insurance

Davidson Gerathy

Curwoods

Duncan Hart

IP, Professional services

Duncan Hart Consulting

FB Rice & Co

Kiley Hodges

Insurance

Wotton + Kearney

Curwoods

Davyd Lewis

Property, M&A

Mallesons Stephen Jaques

Netwealth

►► Promotions

20

Name

Area of law

Organisation

Aaron Anderson

Workplace relations

Deacons

Nick Anson

Dispute resolution

Minter Ellison

Simon Ball

Real estate, environment

Minter Ellison

Stephanie Barnes

Tax

Deacons

Rechelle Brost

Construction & engineering

Deacons

Fai-Peng Chen

Corporate, capital markets, energy & resources

Minter Ellison

Jennifer Chih

Corporate

Deacons

Brendan Clark

Corporate, energy & resources

Minter Ellison

Richard Crawford

Construction, engineering, infrastructure

Minter Ellison

Katherine Czoch

Insurance

Deacons

Tyneil Flaherty

Dispute resolution, insolvency

Minter Ellison

Andrew Gill

Dispute resolution

Minter Ellison

Kevin Jaffe

Corporate/commercial

Simpson Grierson

Bruce Legorburu

Corporate & commercial

Minter Ellison

Brett Lunn

Medical technology

FB Rice & Co

Dan Marks

M&A

Minter Ellison

James Morgan-Payler

Construction & engineering

Deacons

Ganga Narayanan

Insurance

Deacons

Beverley Newbold

Dispute resolution, insurance

Minter Ellison

Edward Nusbaum

Finance

Grant Thornton

David O'Farrell

Dispute resolution, corporate, insolvency

Minter Ellison

Marnie Robinson

Corporate, energy & resources

Minter Ellison

Andrew Spalding

Tax

Deacons

Margie Tannock

Real estate, environment & planning

Minter Ellison

Matthew Tripodi

Tax, superannuation, estates

Minter Ellison

Metiria Turei

Natural resources

NZ Green Party

Adrian Varrasso

Tax

Minter Ellison

Andrew Willder

Property, planning & environment

Lander & Rogers

Simon Ball

Nick Anson

Bruce Legorburu

Dan Marks

David O’Farrell

Fai-Peng Chen

Mass promotions at Minter Ellison Minter Ellison recently appointed 15 partners, eight special counsel and 22 senior associates.

The move sees the firm bolster its restructuring and dispute resolution teams, which are currently experiencing strong demand. Staff numbers at the tax, energy & resources, and environment & planning practices have also increased.

The new partners are Simon Ball (real estate, environment), Richard Crawford (construction, engineering & infrastructure) and Beverley Newbold (dispute resolution, insurance) in Sydney; Nick Anson (dispute resolution) and Adrian Varrasso (tax) in Melbourne; Brendan Clark (corporate, energy & resources) and David O’Farrell (dispute resolution, corporate, insolvency) in Brisbane; Fai-Peng Chen (corporate, capital markets, energy & resources), Tyneil Flaherty (dispute resolution, insolvency), Dan Marks (M&A), Marnie Robinson (corporate, energy & resources) and Matthew Tripodi (tax, superannuation, estates) in Adelaide; Bruce Legorburu (corporate & commercial) and Margie Tannock (real estate, environment & planning) in Perth; and Andrew Gill (dispute resolution) in Canberra.

Deacons

Eight new partners at Deacons Deacons recently promoted eight lawyers to partnership at the firm’s Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane offices.

One of the new appointees, construction & engineering partner James MorganPayler James Morgan-Payler, believed he was promoted because of his long service and “strong” practice. As a senior associate, he acted on the Adelaide Desalination Plant Project (A$1.4bn), Bogong Power Station (A$230m) and Singapore’s Changi Motorsports Hub. He wanted to be a partner to take more of a lead in attracting clients.

Other new partner appointees are Aaron Anderson (workplace relations) and Rechelle Brost (construction Australasian Legal Business ISSUE 7.7

NEWS | appointments >>

& engineering) in Brisbane; Stephanie Barnes (tax) and Katherine Czoch (insurance) in Sydney; Ganga Narayanan (insurance) and Andrew Spalding (tax) in Melbourne; and Jennifer Chih (corporate) in Singapore.

Minter Ellison

‘Passionate’ Minters boss unanimously reappointed Minter Ellison’s Adelaide office recently reappointed the firm’s South Australian chief executive partner Nigel McBride.

McBride was selected after Nigel McBride a unanimous vote to extend his contract from the end of the 2011 to 2013 financial year. His new term started on 1 July and is hoped to give the firm certainty in an “uncertain economic climate”.

Having worked at Minters for nine years, McBride has a “passion” to boost the firm’s reputation in the Adelaide and Darwin markets and advocate better value service. He said he was “here for the long haul” and would continue to push for better value propositions, more efficient billing and better understanding of client businesses and their strategic needs.

www.legalbusinessonline.com

FB Rice & Co

FB Rice gets new managing partner and chairman Patent & trademark firm FB Rice & Co recently appointed Brett Lunn as its new managing partner, and Duncan Hart as its first chair.

Lunn’s appointment, effective Brett Lunn 1 July, came as Paul Whenman moved to head the Sydney office’s chemistry practice after ten years in the managing partner role. Lunn was chosen for his outstanding work in leading the firm’s recognised medical technology practice for the past nine years.

Hart, on the other hand, has Duncan Hart formerly been managing partner of Adelaide firm Ross & Mccarthy, southern regional managing director of DLA Phillips Fox, and most recently principal of professional services management firm Duncan Hart Consulting.

He believes he was appointed mainly due to his management expertise and IP knowledge.

This year, two new partners and three new senior associates were appointed to the firm’s Sydney and Melbourne technology practices.

Lander & Rogers

Lander & Rogers head of property moves to chief executive office Lander & Rogers’ head of property, planning & environment, Andrew Willder, has been promoted as the firm’s new chief Andrew Willder executive partner (CEP).

Willder was chosen for his “competence”, “leadership” and “idealistic” vision.

The appointment comes following outgoing CEP David Fitch’s decision to step down from the role and the firm’s board effective 30 June 2009. He said change was good for the organisation, after spending five years in the role and 13 years as managing partner.

During his time at the helm, Fitch’s individualist approach saw the firm grow, maintain high staff retention levels and keep its “down-to-earth” culture.

He said that he would stay at the firm as a consultant, but consider opportunities in both the commercial and not-for-profit sectors – particularly in coaching senior management and partners in various industries.

21

NEWS | appointments >>

Proudfoot Consulting

Gadens

Proudfoot Consulting president nabs Gadens COO role Gadens Lawyers has appointed Ian Dardis, the recently departed president of Proudfoot Consulting’s Pacific unit, as the law firm’s new chief operating officer (COO).

The move comes following outgoing COO Jon Denovan’s decision to move into a banking & finance partner role and pursue additional work in radio announcing. He said the firm wanted someone with general industry knowledge who had not been a lawyer, to “be different”.

Dardis brings 20 years’ experience in information and communication technology and consulting on the Financial System Inquiry, government, utilities and telecommunications. He has previously been the Asia Pacific vice president of applications business development at EDS, a global technology services provider, and has managed Deloitte & Touche’s Central European Consulting practice. He commenced his new role on 19 June 2009.

Simpson Grierson

Simpson Grierson names new chairman The Simpson Grierson partnership recently appointed corporate/commercial head Kevin Jaffe as the firm’s

22

new chairman. When nominated for the role, Jaffe received overwhelming support from his colleagues.

He believes his appointment reflects the firm’s focus on corporate/commercial law, and his Kevin Jaffe own involvement in the leadership team – a five-member board with a chairman.

Jaffe believes there is still business confidence in the Kiwi economic climate, pointing to an increase in overseas enquiries and opportunities to pitch for work. He said it was a good time to build on relationships and “make connections” to showcase the firm’s skills to the “right people”.

The appointment, effective 1 July, came after Rob Fisher’s ten year tenure as chairman ended. He left the partnership for other work in the development space.

DGL

Davidson Gerathy founder moves to Curwoods Lawyers Patrick Gallagher, one of the founders of Sydney insurance boutique firm Davidson Gerathy, has recently been appointed to partnership at Sydney firm Curwoods Lawyers’ insurance

Curwoods

Patrick Gallagher

practice. Gallagher had established the then ‘Davidson Gallagher Gerathy’ July 2008 with two other colleagues formerly of DLA Phillips Fox. Although the boutique firm had enjoyed success, he felt that Curwoods had better depth of Kiley Hodges resources and breadth.

His clients, including Constellation Hotels Group and Australian Health Insurance, have moved with him to Curwoods.

Wotton + Kearney insurance senior associate Kiley Hodges has also recently joined Curwoods as a special counsel. She has advised corporate clients, insurers and government entities on property damage, public and products liability, professional indemnity, construction litigation and personal injury.

Nakheel

Mills Oakley

Former Bakers property partner moves office to Mills Oakley Baker & McKenzie’s former property partner Anthony Brearley has moved to Mills Oakley.

After spending ten years at Bakers, and some years as senior legal counsel of Dubai-based property developer Nakheel, Brearley had been searching for a medium-sized firm. He wanted to find a firm with a “young and progressive” leadership, corporate, construction and litigation capabilities, with offices

Australasian Legal Business ISSUE 7.7

NEWS | appointments >>

across the Eastern Seaboard. To this end, Mills Oakley was a “natural choice”.

Brearley’s regular contact with Mills Oakley property practice head James Price helped him understand how joining the firm would make his offering more competitive. Brearley has acted on Dubai’s US$363m (A$451m) Almas Tower and Palm Jebel Ali property developments, and hopes to grow the firm’s client base by offering more competitively priced advice.

Dla Phillips Fox

Minters

Minter Ellison Rudd Watts poaches DLA Phillips Fox partner Minter Ellison Rudd Watts recently appointed DLA Phillips Fox’s Daniel Clay to its environmental law partnership.

Daniel Clay Clay said he was excited by the work and practice that partner Rachel Devine offered. He also found the firm’s culture and reputation impressive.

Foodstuffs, agricultural companies and other clients of his have moved with him to Minter Ellison Rudd Watts. Clay brings more than 10 years’ experience in advising on environmental aspects of development, planning, infrastructure and projects.

He has also acted on liquor licensing and Maori land/ treaty issues.

www.legalbusinessonline.com

Mallesons

Netwealth

Mallesons partner makes fresh start at Netwealth Mallesons Stephen Jaques partner Davyd Lewis has been appointed as a legal and regulatory consultant at financial services company Netwealth.

After working at Mallesons for 25 years, Lewis decided that he wanted a fresh start. “I was looking to work part-time in all aspects of a business instead of just giving legal advice. Netwealth was a client of mine for many years and I regularly met with managing director Michael Heine, who eventually invited me to join,” he said.

Lewis brings vast experience in property, M&A and environment law. He has acted on the Woolworths/ Metcash-Foodland takeover (A$2.5bn), real estate investment trusts, Netwealth’s first property trust and subsequent acquisition from ING. Grant Thornton

‘Principled’ CEO takes Grant Thornton international CEO role Grant Thornton’s US CEO, Edward Nusbaum, has been promoted as the global accounting and consulting firm’s next international CEO. The Hong Kong-based appointment, which will take effect on 1 January 2010, comes after current global CEO David McDonnell’s decision to retire after

spending eight years in the role. Nusbaum was chosen after a rigorous selection process. As US CEO of Grant Thornton LLP since 2001, he oversaw the firm’s annual revenue growth from US$400m to US$1.2bn.

Nusbaum plans to focus on leadership, speaking out on important issues and build on the firm’s existing image of “principled people”.

NZ Green Party

Ex-Simpson Grierson lawyer chosen as Kiwi Green Party co-leader Former Simpson Grierson natural resources lawyer Metiria Turei has been appointed as co-leader of New Zealand’s Green Party.

Turei, who is currently a New Zealand Parliament member (MP), was chosen after an election process at the political party’s recent annual meeting in Dunedin. She believes her diverse background is “incredibly helpful” – not from just the legislative perspective, but also for understanding the process in what makes good law and who it should benefit.

Working alongside fellow co-leader Russel Norman, Turei intends to “tackle economic and environmental crises” with “Green New Deal” programs, including the NZ$323m (A$257m) home insulation fund, among others. As a lawyer, she undertook enforcement work on the Waiheke Islands, and acted on resource consent hearings at the Kiwi Environment Court.

23

FEATURE | legal associations >>

Joining the alliance As the GFC continues to take hold in Asia, many law firms are reaping the benefits of being part of something bigger

I

t’s no secret that legal markets in the Asia-Pacific are among the world’s fastest growing. It seems like every day legal presses are thrown into overdrive, reporting on the birth of new law firms, en-masse partner moves, alliances, mergers and joint ventures.

But despite their growth, legal sectors in the region are still viewed by some as the most underdeveloped and isolated, and firms here as the least capable of dealing with the increasingly complex demands of multi-national clients.

All are problems with one clear solution, according to some: a policy of expansion by planting one’s flag in each corner of the globe by establishing branch offices. This policy has worked well for some firms in the Asia-Pacific region.

From Australia to Singapore and China countless domestic firms have followed their clients into new jurisdictions. But in the face of rising operational costs, a worsening global financial crisis and general economic uncertainty, expansion plans have been put on ice, shelved for more favourable or at least more stable home markets. Enter international legal 24

associations. These networks of law firms (and other professional services providers in some cases) offer law firms a viable alternative.

More than just referrals

Ask most lawyers about the utility of being a member of an international legal association and there is a good chance they will tell you it’s all about increasing the amount of inbound referrals. True, according to the legal associations ALB spoke to. Richard Hetke, CEO of ALFA International, goes as far as to say that first and foremost his association serves as a referral network. “Our members expect to receive, and do receive, business referrals from the other 135 member law firms,” he says. But even Hetke stresses there is much more to international legal associations. Today these organisations represent a vital part of the rapidly developing Asian legal services market. In many respects they act as a gateway between East and West, a means by which knowledge, know-how and business development skills can be transferred between developed and

developing markets. International legal associations provide member firms with a wealth of shared resources, the costs of which would normally be prohibitively expensive for smaller firms to bear on their own.

“We serve as a resource pooling channel whereby members can tap into the resources of other members,” says Hetke. “We combine to shoulder the cost of large-scale seminars and marketing efforts that would be beyond the financial wherewithal of most individual members.” These resources can range from non-privileged legal research to expert references and client referees, depending on the particular association.

For Lex Mundi, membership is about helping firms be the best they can be and practice development is instrumental in this process, says its president Carl E Anduri Jnr. “One of the most important components of Lex Mundi’s strategic plan is professional development. It is unique in this area as it is the only legal network to actually have an in-house professional development team,” Anduri says. “The professional development function has organised programs in the Lex Mundi Institute for four years now and delivers week-long programs aimed at senior associates and junior partners. This year’s programs include a Foundation Management Program for new partners, and two cross-border programs: one for transactions and one for labour and employment. There will be around 70 lawyers participating in the three programs offered through the institute.”

Making connections

While cost minimisation is always an important factor for smaller-sized firms, generating revenues is just as important. Here, international legal association members support each other by offering guidance on optimising organisational structures as well as making the all important introductions to potential clients.

“Our network helps member firms manage their own legal businesses,” says Hetke. “We have working groups of managing partners, marketing directors, event planners, and business managers from many of the firms, and they exchange advice, data and experiences on a variety of subjects.”

Australasian Legal Business ISSUE 7.7

FEATURE | legal associations >>

Association membership is an invaluable business development resource for the mid-size firm that is looking to increase its regional and international client base, says James Mendelssohn, chief executive of MSI Network. In Mendelssohn’s experience international legal associations also give that extra edge to law firms’ pitches. “Access to global resources provided by an international association opens the door to new business opportunities that would previously have been out of the firm’s reach and enables firms to project a stronger marketing proposition when pitching for work from new clients and when trying to win more business from existing clients,” he asserts.

They also provide firms, many of which are in a nascent stage of development, with a ready-made set of contacts who are only a phone call away. “The benefit for Asian firms – many of whom are newer and have fewer contacts than their counterparts in Europe – is that association membership will provide a network of ‘guaranteed’ contacts where none existed in the past. [This is different from the case in] the US or Europe, where many professionals have some historic contacts and simply use a network or association to supplement them,” Mendelssohn says.

Member firms substantiate the associations’ claims. Steven Jerrard, a principal with M+K Lawyers, says his firm’s membership of Multilaw has been pivotal to practice development, allowing him to, among other things, generate new business and keep abreast of the latest developments in practice management.

“For the lawyers within M+K there are ongoing opportunities to participate in practice groups around the world, which enables them to exchange ideas on best practice, keep up to date with developments in their specific areas of practice and generate further business opportunities for the firm,” Jerrard says.

“It means the opportunity to meet new challenges by working for international clients with their different needs from domestic clients, and by participating in the publication of legal material under the Multilaw banner.”

►► major legal associations and their members

No time like the present

Vietnam

For those firms considering joining www.legalbusinessonline.com

Country

Lex Mundi

Meritas

MSI Global Alliance

Australia

Clayton Utz

Downings Legal (WA), MacDonnells Law (QLD), Madgwicks (Vic), Snedden Hall & Gallop (ACT), Swaab Attorneys (NSW), Rudkin HItchcock (QLD)

Aitken Partners Clayton Utz (VIC), Johnston Withers (SA), Patterson Houen & Commins (NSW), Taylor Smart (WA), Tucker & Cowen (QLD)

Middletons

China

Jun He

Grandfield

Lehman Lee & Xu

King & Wood

Hylands Law Firm; Liu, Shen & Associates; AllBright Law Offices; Wang Jing & Co

Hong Kong

Deacons

Gallant YT Ho & Co

ONC Lawyers

Lovells

Boughton Peterson Yang Anderson

India

Amarchand & Mangaldas

Khaitan & Co

Chandan Associates; Rajinder Narain & Co

Kochhar & Co; Mulla & Mulla & Craigie Blunt & Caroe

Singhania & Partners

Indonesia

Ali Budiardjo, Nugroho, Reksodiputro

Hanafiah Ponggawa & Partners

Lubis, Santosa & Maulana

Ali Budiardjo, Nugroho, Reksodiputro

Kartini Muljadi & Rekan

Japan

Nishimura & Asahi

Kojima Law Offices

Kojima Law Offices

Nishimura & Asahi

Yuasa and Hara; Kikkawa

Korea

Hwang Mok Park

Lee & Ko

Kim, Chang & Lee

Yoon Yang Kim Shin & Yu

Kuwait

Abdullah Kh Al-Ayoub & Associates

Malaysia

Skrine

Zain & Co

Chooi & Company

Skrine

Azmi & Associates

New Zealand

Simpson Grierson

Martelli McKegg; Wells & Cormack

n/a

Simpson Grierson

n/a

Philippines

Romulo Mabanta Buenaventura Sayoc & De Los Angeles

Accra Law

Sycip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan

Accra Law

Singapore

Joyce A Tan & Partners

Sri Lanka

F. J. & G. De Saram

Taiwan

Tsar & Tsai Law Firm

Russin & Vecchi

Thailand

Tilleke & Gibbins

Russin & Vecchi

Pacific Rim Advisory Council

Low Yeap Toh & Rodyk & Goon Davidson

Terralex

Kelvin Chia Partnership

John Wilson Partners

Hutter & Dhira

Lee and Li

Pamir Law Group

Tilleke & Gibbins International

Seri Manop & Doyle

Russin & Vecchi

* This table does not purport to be exhaustive

25

FEATURE | legal associations >>

an international legal association, all lawyers interviewed by ALB agree that there is no time like the present. Whether a firm is actively seeking out alternative streams of instructions, looking to bolster its regional and international profile in a depressed market or encouraging avenues of growth that do not come with the costly and onerous overheads associated with opening branch offices, legal associations may hold the solution.

“Having this vast network of topquality legal resources is a phenomenal resource for a law firm and its clients,” says Anduri. “It reduces the need to open foreign offices, which can be a very costly investment in terms of time, money and human resources. Overall, it’s a winwin situation: law firms do not have to support a multi-office structure, and that can translate into more efficient rates for clients and, more importantly, clients get access to the best local legal resources.”

For clients it’s about service and global reach, says Jerrard. “M+K lawyers’ client base is heavily weighted in the manufacturing sector where owners of these companies have varying international needs. Our affiliation with law firms through the Multilaw network allows us to assist our clients at an international level in referring them to lawyers that we know will provide the same standard of service as M+K, and afford them the local knowledge and expertise they require.

“That service, in addition to legal services, can also be to assist in our clients’ commercial endeavours by, for example, sourcing possible acquisitions or purchasers,” Jerrard continues. “Indeed, having some form of presence outside one’s home market is a necessity for all law firms at the moment, regardless of their size.” This value-added service is the key for mid-market firms that are looking to increase the amount of highend work they handle.

Membership of an international legal network is becoming more of a necessity for firms that want to compete for the major work of global companies, according to Hetke. “These companies want seamless legal coverage or at least want access to local firms in distant countries without the risks associated with selecting lawyers in unfamiliar jurisdictions … network membership provides a prudent alternative to the expensive and problematic opening 26

of offices in far-flung places.” The growing importance of legal association membership in serving these needs runs parallel to a number of attitudinal shifts in legal sectors across the region, shifts that Mendelssohn believes will benefit firms that are part of global legal networks.

“We are seeing two interesting trends emerge,” he says. “Firstly, in-house counsel are under huge pressure to control costs and are looking at the role that can be played by mid-size firms that offer not only more competitive and flexible rates, but also better services.” Mendelssohn also sees more movement at the lateral level, with midmarket firms likely to be the biggest beneficiaries of the big-firm exodus.

“Good opportunities for mid-size firms to make lateral hires from larger firms are emerging as partners running successful practices at big law firms become disillusioned with the overheads inherent in the larger firm structure,” he says. “[These partners] are attracted by the opportunities offered by the mid-size firms, particularly those that are members of international associations, and are in a strong position to capitalise on these exciting growth opportunities.”

The global financial crisis

Despite the worsening global economic crisis, international legal associations remain optimistic about the future and are all too well aware that the AsiaPacific region has a huge role to play in ensuring stability returns to world markets. So it should come as no surprise that each of the legal associations interviewed by ALB for this article are redoubling their efforts to attract new Asia-Pacific members, particularly from emerging markets.

“There are a number of emerging markets in the Asian region whose firms will benefit greatly from improved access to quality firms (and their clients) overseas, for example, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos,” says Mendelssohn. And while he acknowledges that MSI still continues to receive a steady stream of cold enquiries or recommendations from existing law firm members in the region, he says that the flow of these has certainly slowed compared with the past few years. Nonetheless, Mendelssohn says MSI is looking

►► International law firm networks: quick facts on the major players Lex Mundi • Established 1989 • 160 firms in 99 countries • Members are prominent local law firms recognised for breadth and depth of legal expertise and reputations in jurisdictions • All members are full-service commercial law firms Meritas • Established 1990 • 170 firms in 60 countries • Firms practise in all business areas, both transactional and litigation MSI Global Alliance • Established 1990 • 250 firms in 100 countries • Membership includes accounting firms • Caters for full-service, commercial firms that are independent and medium-sized in their market and focused on one specific geographic region TerraLex • 158 firms in 100 countries • Members are full-service law firms • Typically has single member in each market, however, some jurisdictions have multiple distinct markets ALFA International • 132 firms in 37 countries • Members are full-service corporate law firms • Each metropolitan area, state, or country served by one member

to fill vacancies in a number of key jurisdictions. “We anticipate a surge of enquiries later this year and throughout 2010 and are advising firms that are pondering association membership to come forward sooner rather than later as territorial vacancies with the larger, more prestigious associations are limited. We are currently seeking members in Brunei, Cambodia, Fiji, Laos, New Zealand, South Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam.”

Hetke’s ALFA International is also looking for members. It recently welcomed New Zealand firm Anthony Harper, Beijing-based Gaopeng & Partners and Vietnamese firm DFDL Mekong into its fold. “Our recruiting efforts in the Pacific rim are focused on Japan, South Korea, Indonesia and Malaysia,” he says. “We are also looking for a second Chinese firm due to the size and importance of that country.” Lex Mundi is also currently inviting select firms in Singapore to join its fold. ALB Australasian Legal Business ISSUE 7.7

FEATURE | legal associations >>

www.legalbusinessonline.com

27

FEATURE | ALB 30 >>

A financial crisis in full swing has adversely affected law firms in all corners of the globe. From lay-offs and redundancies to decreased revenues and partner profit figures, it has been tough going for most over the past 18 months. But while Australasian legal markets have seen their fair share of discomfort, they’re in much better shape than others

W

hat started as the smallest of tremors in the US banking system some 24 months ago has developed into what we now know variously as the ‘global financial crisis,’ ‘the financial tsunami,’ and the ‘worldwide recession/depression.’ It has claimed paragons of free-market capitalism, forced the collapse of well-respected financial institutions and decimated the personal savings of billions of people across the globe. It has destroyed legal markets as well.

Heller Ehrman and Thelen are two of the highest-profile casualties – that we know of – but it certainly wouldn’t be far-fetched to say that there are a number of other law firms teetering on the brink of oblivion.

The Australasian legal market has not escaped the wrath of the global financial crisis either and ALB has reported no less than 53 instances over the past five months alone where the GFC effect – a downturn in staple M&A, banking & finance and capital markets work – has 28

Australasian Legal Business ISSUE 7.7

FEATURE | ALB 30 >>

►► Australasia’s 30 largest firms – by lawyer numbers* Rank

Firm

Total lawyers and partners

Managing partner/ CEO/chairman

▲ 1.

Mallesons

1,221 Robert Milliner

▼ 2.

Minter Ellison

=

Clayton Utz

▲ 4. ▼ 5. =

6.

DLA Phillips Fox

=

7.

Blake Dawson

=

8.

Corrs Chambers Westgarth

=

9.

=

3.

Total lawyers

Total partners

Country of origin

Number of offices (Australasia)

Rank (2008)

1,030

191

AUS

5

2

1,196 John Weber

899

297

AUS

10

1

986 David Fagan

769

217

AUS

6

3

Allens Arthur Robinson

870 Michael Rose

698

172

AUS

4

5

Freehills

858 Gavin Bell, Mark Rigotti, Peter Butler

648

210

AUS

4

4

735 Tony Crawford

576

159

AUS

8

6

664 John Carrington

488

176

AUS

7

7

516 John Denton

400

116

AUS

4

8

Deacons

461 Don Boyd

324

137

AUS

5

9

10.

Gadens Lawyers

385 Ian Clarke

275

110

AUS

6

11

▲ 11.

Sparke Helmore

302 John Davis

246

56

AUS

8

13

▼ 12

Baker & McKenzie

276 Poh Lee Tan

185

91

US

2

12

▲ 13.

HWL Ebsworth**

274 Juan Martinez

165

109

AUS

4

16

▼ 14.

Middletons

255 Nick Nichola

189

66

AUS

3

14

▼ 15.

Russell McVeagh

242 Gary McDiarmid, Grant Kemble

201

41

NZ

2

15

▲ 16.

Chapman Tripp

227 Andrew Poole, Mark Reese

155

54

NZ

3

20

▼ 17.

Simpson Grierson

222 Rob Fisher

175

47

NZ

3

17

=

Bell Gully

220 Roger Partridge

174

46

NZ

2

19

▲ 19.

Gilbert + Tobin

211 Danny Gilbert

157

54

AUS

1

25

▲ 20.

Maddocks

202 David Rennick

148

54

AUS

2

22

▲ 21.

McCullough Robertson

199 Brett Heading, David Goener

157

42

AUS

3

24

=

Henry Davis York

189 Sharon Cook

141

48

AUS

1

23

▲ 23.

Moray & Agnew

186 Michael Pitt

129

57

AUS

5

29

▲ 24.

Buddle Findlay

173 Peter Chemis

130

43

NZ

3

28

▲ 25.

Thomson Playford Cutlers

166 Adrian Tembel

118

46

AUS

3

n/a

▼ 26.

Holding Redlich

159 Chris Lovell

108

51

AUS

3

26

▼ 27.

Kensington Swan

150 Clayton Kimpton Chris Heilbronn

110

40

NZ

2

27

▼ 28.

DibbsBarker

148 Alan McArthur

95

53

AUS

4

n/a

▼ 29.

Hunt & Hunt

144 Maureen Peatman

89

55

AUS

10

18

▲ 30.

Herbert Geer

144 William Fazio

95

49

AUS

3

n/a

18.

22.

*Data supplied by firms themselves. ALB made all efforts to ensure the accuracy of data. Australian Government Solicitor omitted and rankings ajusted accordingly. **2008 figure used as estimate of total lawyer numbers.

www.legalbusinessonline.com

29

FEATURE | ALB 30 >>

►► Revenue leaders^ Rank

Firm

1

Mallesons

2 3

Revenues FY08/09 (A$m)

Revenues FY07/08 (A$m)

Change (%)^^

551

550

▲

0.18

Freehills

491

509

▼

-3.50

Clayton Utz

490

470

▲

4.25

4

Blake Dawson

365

375

▼

-2.66

5

DLA Philips Fox

218

221

▼

-1.35

6

Gilbert + Tobin

114

111

▲

2.70

7

Henry Davis York

85

47

▲

82.2

8

McCullough Robertson

74

71

▲

4.22

9

Holding Redlich

62

59

▲

5.08

10

Moray & Agnew

62

59

▲

4.23

^ Figures supplied by the firms themselves. Not all law firms supplied revenue data. Some figures supplied by firms are based on forward estimates ^^ R evenue figures are given to the nearest A$1m and refer to pre-audit total revenue forecast for the financial year 2008/09

forced firms into action. Lay-offs, voluntary redundancies, partnership restructurings, new practice areas/ groups, re-branding, strategic alliances, mergers and ententes all serve as manifestations of an inexorable economic slowdown.

But a little perspective is needed.

For while things may not be looking as rosy as they have in years past, law firms here are travelling better than firms of like size in the US, Europe and Asia; even the most cursory of glances at the empirical data presented herein will support such a claim. Reported revenues have, on average, remained stable and headcounts have increased marginally; the market is almost a carbon copy of last year. But not all remains the same. There is movement in the mid-tier market in both Australia and New Zealand.

Now more than ever, it seems, midtier firms are showing that the welldefined hierarchies within the market – constructs such as ‘top-tier,’ ‘big six’ or ‘big three’ – are inadequate to the stormy present. From what we have seen of their actions over the past 12 months – their consolidation, growth and expansion – it is clear that they are rising to the GFC challenge and thinking and acting anew.

Ellison – and also continued its dominance of the revenue board. The firm’s total revenue was A$551m, more than A$50m more than its nearest rival, Freehills. Clayton Utz occupies third position with around A$490m for the financial year. This represents just a 4% improvement compounded by the fact that it also slid down the headcount rankings from fourth to fifth place.

Blake Dawson held onto its position as the region’s seventh largest law firm despite highly publicised rounds of redundancies, but couldn’t stay in growth territory on the revenue front, posting a 2.6% decline.

It was the performance of the mid-section of the market that really stood out this year. Gilbert + Tobin followed up its 15% 07/08 revenue growth with an increase of 3% over the past year and climbed up eight places on the headcount leaderboard, with growth of 30%. Similarly, Holding Redlich, Moray & Agnew and McCullough Robertson all revealed impressive revenue gains despite the inclement economic conditions. But the best performer here was Henry Davis York, which registered a phenomenal 82% increase in its topline revenue, no doubt due to an increase in work in its staple areas – insolvency.

Firms and figures

Across the Tasman

Mallesons came out on top this year on two counts. It was the largest law firm in the region by headcount – pipping last year’s largest firm Minter 30

New Zealand firms are reticent on revenue figures and profits-perpartner figures. Even so, there is a widely held perception in the market

Asia holds the key to further growth of Australasia’s legal services market

that revenues will be down this year, probably across the board. Simpson Grierson’s chairman Rob Fisher told ALB earlier this year that his firm’s revenues would be down by 3%, for example.

The past year, even without discussing revenue figures, may be rightly termed something of an annus horribilis. Most of the major NZ players in the market shrunk in size, slipping down the headcount leaderboard after work in areas such as M&A dried up and forced firms to think about issues of shape and resourcing more closely.

The hardest hit were Russell McVeagh and Simpson Grierson, which saw their headcounts decrease by around 10% in this period. Two of the country’s ‘big three’ also saw their ranks shrink: Bell Gully by just over 1% and Chapman Tripp by 7.5%.

Kensington Swan’s roster stayed more or less static, decreasing by only 1%.

As was the case in Australia, midtier firms proved to be the largest source of good news. Buddle Findlay saw its headcount swell by over 20%.

Australasian Legal Business ISSUE 7.7

Company Profile FEATURE | ALB 30 >>

LitSupport.

Insourcing: The Way of the Future?

I

n the current economic climate, the delivery of support services in top-tier law firms confronts a daily dilemma: the conflicting requirements to improve efficiency of support services while limiting investment and spending on additional staff or updated equipment.

Efficiency and productivity of support services will decline if processes that are non-productive and non-billable are not kept in check. The examination of such processes that add no value to the business and its clients makes good business sense, and will: • Remove overhead from support functions of the business; • Improve the quality of service of internal business units; • Impact positively on the firm’s profit margin; • Remove geographical differences from processes.

Staffing and infrastructure not only need to meet lawyers’ and clients’ expectations, they need to make good business sense.

Photocopying and print services are a classic example. Client expectations are changing; they are placing pressure on firms to absorb the costs of matterrelated photocopying. With fewer opportunities to recover print costs and in the face of other pressures on operating budgets, firms need to explore more innovative strategies to continue to deliver these essential services while containing costs.

Outsourcing has traditionally provided the answer and has been the solution embraced by middle-tier law firms that use third-party suppliers to make cost recovery easier.

►► Align Insourcing with Sustainability Goals LitSupport has taken the initiative in the legal copying industry to establish a carbon offset program. We recently commissioned an audit by the Carbon Reduction Institute (CRI - see www. noco2.com.au) which has measured all inputs into our production process and have built a “carbon calculator” that determines the amount of carbon produced from a single photocopy/print. This calculator has been integrated into JOTA.

www.legalbusinessonline.com

For larger law firms however, a fully outsourced arrangement is not practical.

An onsite copy centre is essential in an environment where responsiveness and confidentiality are key requirements. For these firms “insourcing” provides a more appropriate solution.

LitSupport’s insourcing model provides law firms with staff, equipment and consumables to deliver specialist legal copying and printing services onsite.

Time savings Of all the benefits of insourcing, saving time is the second most compelling to any legal company focused on maximising overall efficiency.

By handing over the management of the print and copy functions, a firm frees its staff to focus on its core business – delivering legal services to clients. This means seamless and consistent backup to cover staff development breaks as well as absences due to illness or planned leave and peak demand periods.

Cost recovery The tools to enable BPM change are as important as the procedural changes.

To obtain savings and best results from preferential rates and agreed terms of service, firms must enforce standardisation and avoid leakage by channelling all printing and copying requests through the centralised copy centre. A sophisticated solution is required to place, track and manage the job requests generated across the firm.

LitSupport’s proprietary Job Ordering & Tracking Application system – JOTA – ensures that every request is captured and that nothing slips through the cracks. It allows job orders to be placed online, tracked, invoices generated and costs flowed through to the firm’s practice management system. JOTA can be configured so that all job requests are placed to the copy centre in the first instance to provide a seamless onsite/ offsite solution.

The bottom line advantage of insourcing is that it constantly exceeds and adjusts performance and budgetary expectations to reflect new realities.

LitSupport +61 2 9222 1771 brad_gabriel@litsupport.com.au http://www.litsupport.com.au

31

FEATURE | ALB 30 >>

The importance of being international

In legal sectors as mature as those in iAustralia and New Zealand, new avenues for further revenue growth are often limited or already reaching saturation, sometimes leaving international expansion as the only alternative. Australian firms have always led the pack here; each of the top tier (with the notable exception of Clayton Utz) have at least one international office, with more office openings tipped to be announced in the near future. New Zealand’s Duncan Cotterill, remains to this day, the only major Kiwi firm to have an international presence through its Sydney office.

That Asia holds the key to further growth of Australasia’s legal services market has long been known. A recent report by the International Legal Services Advisory Council (ILSAC) states that for the period 2006–07 Australia’s exported legal services to Asia grew by 56.4% – almost twice as fast as a year earlier.

32

►► Kiwi kings: New Zealand’s largest law firms† Firm Russell McVeagh

Total Partners & Lawyers

Partners

Lawyers*

242

Offices

41

201

Auckland, Wellington

Simpson Grierson

222

47

175

Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch

Bell Gully

220

46

174

Auckland, Wellington

Chapman Tripp

209

54

155

Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch

Minter Ellison Rudd Watts

181

43

138

Auckland, Wellington

Buddle Findlay

173

43

130

Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch

Kensington Swan

150

40

110

Auckland, Wellington

Duncan Cotterill

118

33

85

Sydney, Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Nelson

DLA Phillips Fox

92

26

66

Auckland, Wellington

†Data supplied by the firms themselves * (excluding partners and paralegals)

Australasian Legal Business ISSUE 7.7

FEATURE | ALB 30 >>

►► alb 50: asia’s largest firms Rank Firm

Total lawyers and partners

Managing partner/ CEO/chairman

Country of origin

Total lawyers

Total partners

Number of offices in Asia

1.

Dacheng

835

Wang Zhongde

China

503

332

2.

Baker & McKenzie

821

Poh Lee Tan

US

574

247

14

3.

King & Wood

800

Wang Ling, Wang Junfeng

China

610

190

16

4.

DeHeng

675

Wang Li

China

590

85

14

5.

FoxMandal Little

450

Som Mandal

India

400

50

14

6.

Nishimura & Asahi

440

Akira Kosugi

Japan

358

82

1

7.

Kim & Chang

430

Young Moo Kim

Korea

310

120

1

8.

Grandall

419

Multiple

China

317

102

10

9.

Amarchand & Mangaldas

410

Shardul S Shroff, Cyril S Shroff

India

374

36

5

10.

Jun He

338

Xiao Wei

China

260

78

7

11.

Mayer Brown JSM

336

Elaine Lo

Hong Kong/ US

257

79

7

12.

Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu

332

Kenichi Fujinawa

Japan

265

67

1

13.

Allen & Overy

315

Thomas Brown

UK

249

66

9

13.

AllBright

315

Multiple

China

244

71

5

15.

Lee & Ko

312

Yong Suk Yoon

Korea

211

101

2

16.

Allen & Gledhill

310

Lucien Wong

Singapore

196

114

1

17.

Linklaters

300

Zili Shao

UK

249

51

6

17.

Longan

300

Xu Jiali

China

250

50

5

19.

Zhong Lun

296

Zhang XueBing

China

208

88

5

20.

Clifford Chance

292

Peter Charlton

UK

236

56

6

21.

Mori Hamada & Matsumoto

286

Multiple

Japan

205

81

3

22.

Yoon Yang Kim Shin & Yu

282

Dong-Geul Byun

Korea

204

78

3

22.

Kangda

282

Fu Yang

China

227

55

11

24.

Anderson Mori & Tomotsune

263

Multiple

Japan

197

66

2

25.

Zhongyin

262

Zhao Zenghai

China

226

36

16

26.

Drew & Napier

250

Davinder Singh

Singapore

167

83

1

27.

Guanghe

248

Tong Xin

China

166

82

3

28.

Rajah & Tann

243

Steven Chong

Singapore

126

117

2

29.

Bae, Kim & Lee

242

Y. S. Oh

Korea

242

73

3

30.

WongPartnership

241

Dilhan Pillay Sandrasegara

Singapore

170

71

2

31.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

234

Simon Marchant

UK & Germany

206

28

6

32.

Jones Day

223

Multiple

US

169

54

7

33.

Shin & Kim

215

Doo-Sik Kim

Korea

155

60

2

33.

Zhonglun W & D

215

Zhang Derong

China

180

35

11

35.

DLA Piper

204

Alastair Da Costa

UK

154

50

14

36.

AZB & Partners

200

Multiple

India

185

19

4

37.

Guantao

199

Cui Liguo

China

156

43

10

37.

Herbert Smith

195

Multiple

UK

151

44

6

39.

White & Case

195

Barrye Wall

US

150

45

7

40.

Lovells

189

Crispin Rapinet

UK

157

32

7

40.

Luthra & Luthra

186

Rajiv Luthra

India

160

26

3

42.

Morrison & Foerster

186

Multiple

US

135

51

5

43.

Deacons

180

Lindsay Esler

Hong Kong

133

47

4

43.

Khaitan & Co

178

Haigreve Khaitan

India

144

34

4

45.

Jincheng Tongda & Neal

178

Tian Yu

China

123

55

7

46.

Yulchon

167

Woo, Chang Rok

Korea

125

42

2

47.

Paul Hastings Janofsky & Walker

157

Multiple

US

118

39

4

47.

Global Law Offices

150

Liu Jinrong

China

110

40

2

47.

Tian Yuan

150

Wang Lihua

China

114

36

2

50.

SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan

148

Llewellyn Llanillo

Philippines

104

44

4

www.legalbusinessonline.com

28

33

FEATURE | ALB 30 >>

For the first time ever, the report said, China overtook the UK as the second largest market for Australian exported legal work, accounting for 16% of the total revenue generated.

This trend is expected to continue in the mid-term, despite the global financial crisis, and will see more and more Asian companies reaching out to law firms in Australia and New Zealand in search of the sophisticated legal counsel to aid their own growth.

Asian expansion

If the current state of the market is any indicator, then the model pursued

by Australian and New Zealand law firms that are eager to capture their share of this work will come largely through the opening of Asian offices However, the financial crisis may have put a hold on this and driven firms to explore alternative means of penetrating Asian markets with JVs, alliances, best-friend agreements and international legal association

34

membership all on the cards.

In fact, the latter may well be preferred, not only because of the financial crisis, but because it presents a cost-effective way for midtier firms to enter lucrative overseas markets. Certainly, highly developed (sometimes clandestine) webs of exclusive and non-exclusive referral agreements have already been spun with firms throughout Asia by most of the ALB 30 firms. These webs will only serve to heighten the levels of competition between international and domestic law firms in Australia and New Zealand. What implications this holds for established hierarchies in both markets is still unclear, but it is clear that mid-tier firms are rising to the challenge.

With the GFC wounding larger players in the market more so than most, now may be a once-ina-lifetime opportunity for mid-tier firms to eat into their market share.

ALB

Australasian Legal Business ISSUE 7.7

FEATURE | ALB 30 >>

www.legalbusinessonline.com

35

alb guide: TMT law 2009

technology, media & telecommunications state of the market INTRODUCTION ALB Guide: Technology, Media & Telecommunications Law 2009 is the latest in an exciting series of detailed insights into specific practice areas and the leading firms and lawyers operating within them. By combining specific new research (among client companies, peers and other sources) with the ALB database and third-party market information, ALB Guides arrive at lists of ‘leading firms’ and ‘recommended firms’ as well as ‘leading lawyers’ in each practice area covered.

METHODOLOGY In the preparation of this report, ALB conducted telephone interviews with Australian and New Zealand companies and law firms. In addition, ALB sought opinions from Australian and New Zealand partners. Please note that in the state of the market local firms are listed first followed by national firms, arranged according to feedback received. Interviews were mainly conducted in the two-week period from 13 May to 28 May 2009.

CONTENTS 36.

State of the market

37.

Leading and recommended firms

38.

Leading lawyers

36

Since news spread of the Australian Federal Government’s National Broadband Network’s (NBN) u-turn, many full-service Australian law firms have begun turning an increasing amount of attention to it.

Neil Carabine is one of the Mallesons partners currently advising Telstra on the A$43bn plan that will see the establishment of governmentowned enterprise NBN Co to build a fibre optic network covering 90% of the Australian population, and wireless and satellite internet access for the remainder. He says the Federal Government’s move to scrap NBN’s tendering process is a “reversal” of decades of government policy to privatise Telstra and leave technology risk to the private sector. “It is turning the clock back to when the key driver for projects was the government. In the past year we have advised Telstra on its China investments and on significant roaming and consolidation issues in the Australian mobiles market, but NBN is the biggest industry development by far,” he adds.

Not only technology, media & telecommunications (TMT) lawyers, but also those specialising in M&A, IT, planning, PPPs, banking & finance and tax can expect to be busier for the next 12 months. There is high demand for regulatory lawyers as well, since the establishment of NBN Co represents significant changes to telecommunications industry regulations. Some firms have been busy working on regulatory analysis and other forms of due diligence, to help set up the new venture. “There

may be a large volume of fibre and other assets tipped into NBN Co by existing telcos and that would make it quite complex, as accommodating all of the vendors would be a challenge,” Carabine says.

Given the magnitude of the NBN task, Carabine believes that full service firms, spearheaded by their TMT lawyers, will have an advantage.

“There are so many aspects involved... you need input on local and state planning laws, corporate structuring, financing of NBN Co, PPPs, tax effectiveness, IT, broadcasting, content – it’s a very long list,” he says.

The regulatory response for NBN was due in June this year, while the implementation study will be finished

by February 2010. In the meantime, network sharing could be the next biggest venture for firms, according to Corrs Chambers Westgarth partner Andrew Messenger. In recent months there has been a global trend of increased cooperation, collaboration and consolidation between mobile broadband providers.

“We have a new wave of technology coming, namely HSPA Plus (3G plus) and LTE (4G), which is going to need legal support. As mobile operators face increased costs associated with exponential growth in data traffic there are going to be more network sharing announcements, not unlike that seen in the alliance of Hutchison, 3 and T Mobile in the UK, Vodafone’s site sharing arrangements in Europe, and most recently the Vodafone and Hutchison merger in Australia,” Messenger says.

There would possibly be an increase in demand for legal advice, particularly on strategic alliances and commercial drivers. “It will also require work on dealing with regulatory authorities, such as the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). As we have seen with the Vodafone-Optus 3G network sharing alliance, the commission is particularly concerned about the risk of competitively sensitive information being exchanged across a shared network. This includes core information about billing, mobile applications used and customer data,” he says.

There are some ways to navigate through the regulatory maze. When Corrs previously acted on sharing arrangements between Vodafone and Optus, its legal team was able to gain regulatory clearance after agreeing to a series of protocols that restricted access to each of the participant’s core network to just technical staff.

In some jurisdictions, such as the UK, sharing of the radio access network is not allowed but sharing base stations and antennae was permitted.

Apart from this, there will continue to be work on the federal government’s proposed approach to the expiration of 2G licenses in 2013 and 3G licences in 2017. The move means that a myriad of stakeholders will require legal assistance to prepare a response. There would be similar work resulting from the “digital dividend”, which sees the end of analogue broadcasting and the dawn of digital-only broadcasting.

Australasian Legal Business ISSUE 7.7

20 09

leading firms MELBOURNE

sydney

• CORRS CHAMBERS WESTGARTH • HERBERT GEER • HOLDING REDLICH • NICHOLLS LEGAL • TRESSCOX LAWYERS

• CORRS CHAMBERS WESTGARTH • DEACONS • DLA PHILLIPS FOX • GILBERT + TOBIN • MIDDLETONS • THOMSON PLAYFORD CUTLERS • truman hoyle

adelaide Anti-siphoning regulations will also be reviewed before the end of 2009, meaning that free-to-air TV broadcasters that want to put sport on their digital TV multi-channels may need legal advice on how to push for regulatory protection and lighter restrictions on showing sports via digital TV that are acquired under the anti-siphoning regime. “Initially there would be lobbying, consultation, and assisting stakeholders to formulate a response to the government,” Messenger says.

As for New Zealand, Kiwi firms have been busily preparing for the John Key government’s proposed fibre initiative. The move will see the fibre optic cable rolled out to 75% of Kiwi residents at a cost of about NZ$1.5bn (A$1.2bn) and follows a public-private partnership model similar to that seen in the NBN’s initial model, before the Australian Federal Government scrapped it for a government-owned enterprise plan.

Kensington Swan partner Ross Johnston believes that the initiative will create a range of work opportunities for firms. “The various suppliers will need transactional advice, and the public and private sectors will need legal advice on their investments. Apart from purely involving traditional telco clients, there is an opportunity for power line companies to get involved as well,” he says.

ALB has learnt that Chapman Tripp’s Mark Reese and Andy Nicholls are acting for New Zealand Telecom, MGF Webb’s Malcolm www.legalbusinessonline.com

Webb is advising Vodafone, and the Kiwi Ministry of Economic Development (MED) is using in-house lead lawyers Gaye Searancke and Chris Mathieson.

However, it is unclear as to whether Buddle Findlay’s Philip Wood will advise Vector, or Bell Gully’s Dean Oppenhuis or Simon Watt will act for TelstraClear.

No external law firms were advising the MED when ALB went to print, but firms may still have a chance to participate. “Most of the legal work is currently being done by internal government lawyers and Crown Law. There is a chance we may need to prepare complex agreements and establish entities for the initiative.

It’s quite possible that we will need some ongoing external legal advice,” says the initiative’s newly appointed program manager Ralph Chivers.

Kiwi TMT practices are likely to scramble for a role in the fibre initiative, because the global financial crisis has placed greater strain on firms. Johnston says that there are fewer NZ$100m (A$79m) TMT deals.

“IT managers have less to spend and transactions need to deliver value in driving down costs,” he says.

For now, Johnston expects to see demand for advice on cost efficiency strategies and cost saving technologies, such as remote application hosting. “I have recently advised a large educational institution on the implementation of a student management system that is remotely hosted via the internet – it’s a growing trend,” he says.

f l

NB: Firms are listed alphabetically under each subheading

• DLA PHILLIPS FOX • JOHNSON WINTER & SLATTERY • PIPER ALDERMAN • THOMSON PLAYFORD CUTLERS

perth • DLA PHILLIPS FOX • MIDDLETONS • STEINEPREIS PAGANIN

BRISBANE • CORRS CHAMBERS WESTGARTH • DLA PHILLIPS FOX • MCCULLOUGH ROBERTSON

canberra • DEACONS • DLA PHILLIPS FOX

NATIONAL TOP-TIER FIRMS • ALLENS ARTHUR ROBINSON • BLAKE DAWSON • CLAYTON UTZ • FREEHILLS • MALLESONS STEPHEN JAQUES

NEW ZEALAND • BELL GULLY • CHAPMAN TRIPP • KENSINGTON SWAN • MINTER ELLISON RUDD WATTS • mgf webb • RUSSELL MCVEAGH • SIMPSON GRIERSON

other recommended firms

NB: Firms are listed alphabetically under each subheading

f r

SYDNEY

adelaide

• BAKER & MCKENZIE • HENRY DAVIS YORK • HOLDING REDLICH • JOHNSON WINTER & SLATTERY • TRESSCOX LAWYERS • WATSON MANGIONI

• GADENS LAWYERS

MELBOURNE • ANISIMOFF DAVENPORT • ANZARUT & PARTNERS • DEACONS • DLA PHILLIPS FOX • MARSHALLS & DENT • MIDDLETONS

brisbane • GADENS LAWYERS

NEW ZEALAND • BUDDLE FINDLAY • DLA PHILLIPS FOX • HUDSON GAVIN MARTIN • LOWNDES JORDAN • WIGLEY & CO

37

alb guide: TMT law 2009 SYDNEY

leading lawyers NB: Lawyers are listed alphabetically by surname

NICK ABRAHAMS Firm: Deacons Location: Sydney • Practice areas: media, telco, technology, IP, corporate, M&A • Regularly advises on IT/IP issues, outsourcing, regulated telecommunications matters, M&A • Memberships: Australian Communications & Media Law Association President, American Bar Association Cyberspace Committee

NEIL ANDERSON Firm: Chapman Tripp Location: Wellington • Practice areas: media, telco, technology, competition, regulatory, corporate, environment • Advised Telecom NZ on competition and regulatory implications of pricing, bundling, and broadband strategy, NZ Post on strategic competition law and regulatory matters

DONNA BARTLETT Firm: Holding Redlich Location: Sydney • Practice areas: IT, IP, corporate • Experienced in all phases of preparation and negotiation of IT and IP licensing and commercial agreements, general procurement transactions • Acted for clients in telco, manufacturing, government and major international software companies

NEIL CARABINE Firm: Mallesons Stephen Jaques Location: Melbourne • Practice areas: telco, competition, M&A, privatisation • Advised Telstra on A$15.5bn T3, the final stage of Telstra’s privatisation, regulatory aspects of the launch of the NEXT G network and fibre-to-the-node negotiations with the ACCC • Lead advisory team to the Singapore carrier StarHub on its regulatory and commercial matters

DAVID CLARKE Firm: Russell McVeagh Location: Wellington • Practice areas: e-business, IT, media, entertainment, outsourcing, technology, telco, M&A • Advised Telecom NZ on disposal of Yellow Pages (NZ$2.24bn), acquisition of 3.5GHz spectrum, and partnership with Alcatel for its next generation network, and advised Ministry of Defence on Project Definition Study for IT systems for joint command and control

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cont. ►

Full service firms generally left clients with a positive experience and tended to offer the kind of exposure that they needed for large and complex matters. However, staff turnover was one area that clients would have liked firms to improve on, because they disliked having to brief the new replacement.

Clients that ALB spoke to never doubted Thomson Playford Cutlers’ (TPC) quality legal advice and service.

Some felt no need to look elsewhere for their day-to-day issues and were pleased with the firm’s success in a range of matters from advertising clearances to “major run-ins” with the Australian Competition Consumer Commission (ACCC). Peter Le Guay was professional and excellent, particularly in advising small sized clients, who appreciated that he never gave them the impression they were small or not as important as larger clients. He also provided good advice on advertising, competition and intellectual property (IP), and never hesitated to provide his firm opinion.

Overall he was prompt, personal and clear in his service. Special counsel Catherine Chant was mentioned for her high level of expertise in trademark, and regulatory work on advertising copy review, claims and ACCC investigations. John Howard was singled out for his trade practices work, with a specialty in advertising, marketing and litigation. Dan Kramer was mentioned for his work on software-related matters. Craig Powell was chosen for his media and defamation work, and Adam Pope was praised for media litigation.

Corrs Chambers Westgarth was a competitive national firm for complex contractual arrangements, notably involving the exchange of network capacity and services.

Clients appreciated the firm’s staff retention and also favoured its expertise in IP, trademarks and patent issues. Andrew Messenger had a long history in the industry and was well known, respected and knowledgeable. He not only brought significant domestic experience, but also international experience, and was generally considered to be professional and client-focused.

James North impressed clients with his very deep and long knowledge of the telco industry and how it worked

Initial legal advisors on National Broadband Network Firm: Mallesons Stephen Jaques Lead lawyer: Neil Carabine Client: Telstra Firm: Clayton Utz Lead lawyers: Caroline Lovell, Michael Reede Client: Optus Firm: Holding Redlich Lead lawyer: Chris Lovell Client: Acacia consortium Firm: Allens Arthur Robinson Lead lawyer: Ian McGill Client: Axia NetMedia Firm: Corrs Chambers Westgarth Lead lawyer: Andrew Messenger Client: Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy’s independent expert panel Firm: Australian Government Solicitor Lead lawyers: John Scala, Garth Cooke Client: Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy’s independent expert panel

Key legal advisors in Kiwi government’s fibre initiative Firm: Chapman Tripp Lead lawyers: Mark Reese, Andy Nicholls Client: New Zealand Telecom Firm: MGF Webb Lead lawyer: Malcolm Webb Client: Vodafone Firm: NZ Ministry of Economic Development Legal Lead lawyers: Gaye Searancke, Chris Mathieson Client: NZ Ministry of Economic Development Firm: NZ Telecom Legal Lead lawyers: Tristan Gilbertson, Vanessa Oakley Client: NZ Telecom

Australasian Legal Business ISSUE 7.7

together. Eugenia Kolivos was an expert at sponsorship and media, copyright and IP matters. Odette Gourley was highly commended for her specialty in marketing & advertising, IP and patents law.

Melissa McGrath was a strong legal advisor on trademarks and patents issues. John Gray was also mentioned and commended.

Gilbert + Tobin was strong at defamation, but had a wide range of expertise that earned praise as the “foremost” Sydney firm. It stood out because of its focus on business requirements, schedules and detail.

One client said that many firms are strong in preparing front-end agreements, but commended G+T for its attention to detail to the client’s actual business requirements.

Angus Henderson was strong at competition and regulatory matters, and mentioned for his professional handling of ACCC regulatory issues, particularly in the telco industry.

Sheila McGregor, Bernadette Jew and Peter Jones were noted for being proactive, knowledgeable and hardworking. Peter Waters, Richard Pascoe and Moya Dodd left clients impressed with their telco and technology work. Rob Nicholls was well known for his telco engineering expertise. Peter Leonard and Bill Spain were both predominantly chosen for technology, and Deborah Johns was mentioned for corporate technology work.

DLA Phillips Fox was one of the firms that clients kept retaining due to its great working relationship, cost-effective approach and ability to lead significant telco agreements.

Alec Christie was the primary partner mentioned for IT work, and was highly regarded for allowing his senior associates and junior lawyers to bear the brunt of the work. Judith Miller was singled out for IP. Senior associate Richard Smith was predominantly chosen for IT-related service contracts, and considered “great” for his ability to make several personal sacrifices to assist clients through the process. Mark Worsman, who recently joined the firm from Mallesons, was considered an excellent choice for IT, IP, pharmaceutical and medical matters.

Clients described Deacons as an “emerging firm”, because they increasingly turned to it for www.legalbusinessonline.com

commercial and general day-today matters. The firm gave “great” advice and reasonably priced hourly rates for the “non-Rolls Royce”-type matters. Nick Abrahams was clearly a well-established and recognised name, notably for his former role as an in-house lawyer at a US-based IT company. He was mentioned for his numerous seconded lawyers of high calibre, and was commercially savvy with a good practical knowledge.

Andrew Sorensen was chosen for technology and media-related IP matters.

Henry Davis York was responsive, easy to communicate with and very reasonable with its fees. Its legal practitioners did not over-engineer matters or involve too much staff.

One client found the firm to be reliable in keeping an eye on legal costs and said they provided useful information at roundtable discussions and staff meetings. Robert Neely, Peter Mulligan and Matthew McMillan worked tirelessly at keeping clients informed about the latest developments. Glenn Hughes was mentioned for his telco and media corporate work, while Bob Jordan was highly commended for his IT contracting work.

Tresscox Lawyers was predominantly chosen for its significant experience in entertainment-related matters.

The firm has forged long-standing relationships and was strong in contracts, licensing and the production side of law. Clare Mirabello and Jennifer Huby were highly regarded for media, and Stephen James was mentioned for technology. Mark Bamford was chosen for both media and technology, and Robert McCormack was also singled out for praise.

Johnson Winter & Slattery’s legal practitioners were well regarded as leading lawyers. Mark O’Brien was mentioned for defamation and litigation, John Kench was predominantly chosen for competition and trade practices, and Kate Fitzgerald was impressive in her expertise in regulatory matters. Paul Reidy was considered highly for media, and both Christine Ecob and Tania Juric were mentioned and commended for IP. Holding Redlich also received a good mention and was highly

leading lawyers Tony Conaghan Firm: DLA Phillips Fox Location: Brisbane • Brisbane head of IP & technology practice • Practice areas: telco, IT, e-business, biosciences & pharmaceuticals, competition corporate, dispute resolution, IP, franchising • Clients: Queensland state government, University of Queensland, Uniquest, Copyright Collecting Societies, manufacturers, venture capitalists and inventors, among others

MARK FEETHAM Firm: Middletons Location: Sydney • Practice areas: telco, competition, IT technology, internet, e-commerce, IP, M&A • Advised on telco disputes & consolidation, integration contracts, satellite contracts, network rollouts, and smart card systems • Memberships: TSA, ATUG CAMLA, and NSW Society for Computers and the Law

FIONA GARDINER-HILL Firm: Freehills Location: Sydney • Practice areas: media & broadcasting, corporate, M&A, financial services, capital markets • Acted on Telstra’s acquisition of Kaz Group via scheme of arrangement, Seven Network’s hybrid (TELYS and TELYS2) offerings, and 2002 tender buy-back • Advised on ownership and control restrictions in media industry

PETER LE GUAY Firm: Thomson Playford Cutlers Location: Sydney • Practice areas: advertising & marketing, technology, biotechnology & pharmaceutical, IP • Specialised in IP (trade marks and copyright), IT, internet trade promotions. Experienced litigator in IP and unfair trade practices • Membership: Global Advertising Lawyers Alliance

KAREN NGAN Firm: Simpson Grierson Location: Auckland • Co-leader of information & communications technology group • Practice areas: IT, e-business, telco, events & sponsorship, commercial • Memberships: New Zealand Computer Society, Women in Technology

cont. ►

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alb guide: TMT law 2009

leading lawyers ROSS JOHNSTON Firm: Kensington Swan Location: Wellington • Head of IP & technology team • Practice areas: IT, telco, e-commerce, IP • Often engaged as a contract negotiator in IT transactions and led significant transactions for suppliers and purchasers of technology products and services

JOHN MCCAY Firm: Minter Ellison Rudd Watts Location: Wellington • Practice areas: film & entertainment, government, IT & communications, IP, M&A, securities • Advised film financiers and producers on feature films and television series, and the Fly Buys loyalty scheme on all aspects of its activities • Clients: Fly Buys, International Festival of the Arts, New Zealand Film Commission, New Zealand On Air

ANDREW MESSENGER Firm: Corrs Chambers Westgarth Location: Sydney • Practice areas: IT, telco • Advised on Vodafone’s 3G Network rollout in Australia/New Zealand, alliance with Singtel Optus for 3G Network infrastructure sharing, outsourcing operation and maintenance of Vodafone’s 2G and 3G networks to Nokia, and advised Australian Federal Government’s independent expert panel on proposed National Broadband Network

MATTHEW NICHOLLS Firm: Nicholls Legal Location: Melbourne • Practice areas: technology, communications, e-media, IP, trade practices, commercial • Earned reputation as lateral thinker, commercial lawyer and achieved industry firsts in e-commerce transactions and telco regulatory work • Also director of boutique communications advisory law firm Mergents

DEAN OPPENHUIS Firm: Bell Gully Location: Wellington • Practice areas: telco, technology, IP, corporate & commercial, M&A, securities, capital markets, PE • Advised TelstraClear on telco outsourcing arrangements with Kiwi Inland Revenue Department • Formerly in-house lawyer at Fujitsu Services in London

40

cont. ►

regarded. Managing partner Ian Robertson was strong at sharing conventions and pleasant to with work with. Donna Bartlett was mentioned for her technology, telco and IT specialist advice. Clients couldn’t fault her, since she was fast, accurate, friendly and “knew her stuff”. Sonia Borella was mentioned for media and entertainment.

Middletons’ Mark Feetham stood out from the crowd for his extensive telco background and also for his versatility in IP and content work.

He understood the industry well and provided a valuable perspective to clients. Special counsel Jim Lennon was mentioned for telco and IP, while Tim Webster, was a “gun litigator” who was very commercial and practical.

Baker & McKenzie was strong at defamation, and offered wide expertise and breadth of staff.

Andrew Stewart left clients impressed with his commercial litigation work, and was particularly noted for his experience as an inhouse lawyer and extensive work in the online media space. He also had a solid understanding of the industry.

Truman Hoyle’s Shane Barber was considered highly for media, e-commerce and IT, Lyle Abel was mentioned for IT contracts, and Hamish Fraser was commended by clients for technology and telco.

Steven Goodman was singled out for biotechnology, while Alex Ninis was mentioned for both IT and IP. Mark Vincent was predominantly chosen for his work in media, technology and IP. Watson Mangioni’s Robert Mangioni was well regarded for media and entertainment, while David McGuiness was chosen for media, technology, IT and IP. Herbert Geer’s Graham Hodginson was mentioned for IP and entertainment, while Dan Brush was adept at both IP and IT. Atanaskovic Hartnell’s Mark Wilson was considered highly for telco, while John Atanaskovic was predominantly chosen for his work in both IT and telco.

Gadens Lawyers’ Vicki Grey was highly praised for technology.

Clayton Utz received the highest praise among national top-tier firms for its wealth of experience in TMT

work. The firm’s solid reputation kept bringing clients back again and again.

“Some of the other firms come and go, but for media corporate or capital work Clutz is the best,” one client said.

Michael Reede had in possession a long history in the industry, was well known, respected and knowledgeable, and had a powerful combination of domestic and international experience.

Caroline Lovell was also among the ‘high flyers’ and highly regarded for her telco expertise. Doug Bishop was strong at defamation and had a wide expertise and breadth of knowledge.

Kate Jordan and Michael Parshall were both experts at media law, and Linda Evans was noted as a trade practice specialist. Kirsten Webb was highly praised for her work in competition, while John Collins handled a fair share of the telco litigation work. Jim Fitzsimons, John Fairbairn and Robert Cutler were also mentioned and well commended.

Mallesons Stephen Jaques was praised for a wide range of services, and more notably for its TPA expertise. Scott Bouviar was praised for his advertising & marketing and IP work. Patrick Gunning was highly regarded for his media, IT, IP and litigation work, and Justine Munsie was complimented for her IP, litigation and defamation work.

Anthony Borgese was chosen for his telco, IT and media work. Kristin Leece and Katrina Rathie were both mentioned for media, Luke Waterson was impressive in his media and telco work, while Morris Gonzales was singled out for praise for IP. Allens Arthur Robinson was generally competent and strong in a range of TMT work. Ian McGill and Fred Chilton were senior partners in media and well-regarded in the sector, and David Yates was an expert in the IP field.

Blake Dawson was a top contender for its media and privacy work. Clients found that the firm was excellent for procurement, outsourcing and defamation. Blakes was also attractive and impressive for its wide expertise and breadth of staff. Clients said that Robert Todd was brilliant at media matters and was able to understand how clients need one-line answers instead of pages of advice. Tim Brookes was an “excellent” lawyer who always impressed clients with his delivery of high-quality work. Both Australasian Legal Business ISSUE 7.7

Paul Mallam and Khai Dang were top legal advisors for privacy, strategic marketing and advertising matters.

Peter Armitage was also mentioned and highly commended.

Freehills had one of the largest TMT teams among Sydney-based national top-tier firms. Fiona GardinerHill was well regarded for media, commercial and corporate. Louise Capon was mentioned for her telco commercial arrangements and media regulatory expertise. Sarah Kenny was singled out for praise for her media and entertainment IP work, Tony Coburn was predominantly chosen for his IT outsourcing arrangements, Mark Crean impressed clients with his media joint venture work, and Rebecca Davies was found to be an excellent choice for her technology, media and telco litigation. Duncan Giles was mentioned for TMT regulatory, outsourcing and procurement, Paul Hughes was highly commended for telco competition, and Leanne Norman was noteworthy for her work in defamation. Lesley Sutton was mentioned for IT and media, and Jim Theodore was considered highly for IT and telco.

Minter Ellison was a firm well regarded and highly sought after for procurement and outsourcing.

Keith Robinson was mentioned for technology and telco, and “fantastic” at “getting to the heart” of complex issues, communicating with clients at all levels and finding a commercial solution. Anthony Lloyd was commended for media, technology and IP. He consistently delivered highquality work on budget, understood the need to get deals done on time and did not mind putting in long hours when required. Rhys Guild was considered highly for telco.

MELBOURNE Clients have increasingly sought legal general TMT advice from law firms, but have noticed that some claimed to be specialists when they clearly were not. They felt that firms could try to be more open about where their skills lie.

Herbert Geer in Melbourne was unrivalled at advising on expressions of interest, tenders, contractual arrangements and Commonwealth licence exemptions. Most of its legal practitioners had a good knowledge www.legalbusinessonline.com

of their clients’ businesses and their industries. Graham Phillips was rated as the “cream of the crop”, because he was “extremely” client-focused, comprehensive in his advice and able to achieve a fast turnaround. He provided addedvalue legal advice, and was able to put himself in the shoes of counter parties and highlight issues from a commercial perspective. He also had an exceptional understanding of commercial and regulatory issues, strategic considerations and litigation.

Paul Noonan was also praised for his specialty expertise in IT. Copyright and content licensing recognition went to senior associate Nathan Shepherd, while special counsel Tony Dooley excelled at all aspects of telco law.

Holding Redlich was chosen for its “decently sized team”, and particularly for trade clearance work.

Clients thought that the firm was a good choice for IT work and fantastic for service, and that the quality of work was “unreal and outstanding”.

Lawyers at the firm were appreciated for their ability to do things correctly from the very beginning. Dan Pearce was highly commended for his broadband work, while Helen Vine impressed clients with her media, IP and litigation work.

Corrs was chosen for its unrivalled strength in IP, trademarks and patents. Melbourne partner-in-charge Philip Catania was considered to be a pro in IT, IP and telco law. Peter Ickeringill was well regarded for media, broadcasting legislation and general corporate. Matthew Swinn was chosen for trademarks and patents issues, while both Stephen Stern and David Smith were commended for their work in IT and IP litigation.

Tresscox was often associated with widely publicised matters, more recently the handling of media enquiries for Victorian bushfire icon Sam the Koala. Nicholas Pullen was pre-eminent in copyright, trade practices, ACCC, advertising, talent negotiation and trade clearance work.

He ensured that all work met the requirements and was often the first point of contact.

Nicholls Legal’s Matthew Nicholls was just as highly regarded in Melbourne as partners at leading midtier firms. He was praised for his work

leading lawyers MICHAEL PATTISON Firm: Allens Arthur Robinson Location: Melbourne • Head of communications, media & technology practice • Practice areas: media & technology, communications, IP, litigation • Acted on US domain name litigation, development of Mondex electronic wallet, procurement of telco services, agreements between telco providers, IT outsourcing agreements

GRAHAM PHILLIPS Firm: Herbert Geer Location: Melbourne • Practice areas: telco, IT, IP, competition • Advised on construction arrangements, network rollout, wholesale arrangements, retail contracts, advertising & sales conduct, telco regulation • Significant experience in arbitration and litigation under Trade Practices Act’s telco-specific competition and access provisions

MICHAEL REEDE Firm: Clayton Utz Location: Sydney • Managing partner of national corporate group • Practice areas: media, telco, PE, M&A • Advised Optus on Australian Federal Government’s initially proposed National Broadband Network

ROBERT TODD Firm: Blake Dawson Location: Sydney • Practice areas: IT, communications, media • Recognised defamation and media lawyer, and accredited mediator • Acted for combined media on law reform, proposed legislation, as well as liaising with the Press Council and other peak bodies

MICHAEL WIGLEY Firm: Wigley & Co Location: Wellington • Practice areas: IT, telco, regulation, competition, public law, procurement • Advised telcos, ISPs, IT companies, ICT users, public sector agencies, regulators, NGOs • Memberships: Technology Law Society president, New Zealand Law Society’s e-Commerce Law Committee, New Zealand Software Association, English Society for Computers & the Law

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alb guide: TMT law 2009 on access disputes and sound advice to telco competition bodies. Han Xu was mentioned for his technology expertise and specialty in Singapore law.

DLA Phillips Fox’s Tim Lyons was the main person for IT, telco and outsourcing. Andrew Chalet was also mentioned.

Middletons’ Cameron Abbott and Dudley Kneller were both mentioned for technology and IT agreements.

Deacons’ Bernard O’Shea was known for his extensive representation of government in technology and IT matters.

TPC’s Michael Warren was an “attuned expert”.

Anisimoff Davenport Solicitors was a small-tier firm specialised in the field. Tony Anisimoff was experienced in trade clearance work, and considered to be the “main thrust of client spheres” who ensured that all advertising met ACCC requirements and copyright issues.

Marshalls & Dent Lawyers’ Bryce Menzies was a good choice for entertainment, film, TV, theatre, production and movies. Shaun Miller was mentioned for entertainment.

Gadens’ Ian Dixon was chosen for arts and entertainment and Antoine Pace was commended for IT. Anzarut & Partners’ Charlie Anzarut was a sole practitioner with notable expertise in the TMT space.

Allens was the premium pick for IT matters and major contractual work.

Michael Pattison was an “aggressive negotiator” and mentioned for his complex project work on technology development and EFTPOS outsourcing transactions. He was a “genius” with the capacity to understand business objectives and a terrific memory that clients found most useful. He was good at drafting contracts and even assisted with internal legal education requirements. Naranjan Arasaratnan was well regarded for IT commercial and had a wealth of Chinese market knowledge.

Mallesons was also among the very best national top-tier firms.

Neil Carabine was noted for his involvement in the highly confidential and sensitive government-backed National Broadband Network.

Caroline Coops was professional, worked well under pressure and was very commercial in her approach.

Agata Jarbin was good at regulatory

42

litigation and not afraid to pick a litigious fight. Rene Lattey was mentioned for telco, while both Cheng Lim and Mark Webber were chosen for technology. Amanda Bodger was also mentioned and commended.

Clayton Utz’s Kate Marshall was mentioned for IP, IT and litigation, while Chris McLeod was chosen for media, telco, marketing and litigation.

David Kreltszheim was commended for e-commerce and IT. Freehills was praised for a range of work, but singled out for litigation.

James Crowe was mentioned for telco transactional work, Selina Lightfoot was well regarded for telco and outsourcing, Irene Zeitler was chosen for patents and trademarks, Malcolm Cooke was mentioned for telco and IT, and Campbell Thompson was highly commended for IT, IP and litigation.

BRISBANE DLA Phillips Fox’s Tony Conaghan was the “head honcho” for technology, media and commercial matters, Ben Coogan was top choice for IT, IP and litigation, while Martin McEniery was mentioned for IT and telco. Fred Potgieter and Kathie Sadler were also commended.

McCullough Robertson’s Malcolm McBratney was mentioned for media, IT and IP, while David Downie was chosen for IT and IP. Corrs’ Eddie Scuderi was mentioned for technology, telco, IT and competition.

Gadens’ Lionel Hogg was well regarded for arts and entertainment, and Michael Owens was mentioned for IT. Mallesons excelled at IT and large contracts. Nicole Heller was a knowledgeable expert in telco, IT and outsourcing, John Swinson was mentioned for IT, while Matthew Austin was commended for telco.

Clayton Utz’s Simon Nuckeme and Robert Backstrom were both mentioned and commended.

Allens’ Peter James was singled out for praise for IT.

TPC’s Adrian Tembel was mentioned for technology, while David Gaszner was well regarded for advertising, IT, franchising and litigation.

DLA Phillips Fox’s Peter Buberis was highly commended for IT, IP and franchising.

JWS’ John Keeves and Paul Laity were both highly commended for IT. Gadens’ Karen Thomas was singled out for defamation and Julia Sweeney was considered highly for her work in technology.

PERTH Middletons’ Eric Fetgres was impressive in his IT work for numerous service providers.

Steinepreis Paganin’s Peter Wall was commended for his work in telco.

DLA Phillips Fox’s Brian Pass was highly regarded for IT, IP and franchising.

Clayton Utz’s Scott Crabbe was mentioned for a range of telco, technology and dispute work, while Keith Lewis was praised for telco and media acquisition work.

Mallesons’ Nicholas Creed was well regarded for telco, while Jeremy Wade was mentioned for both IT and telco.

CANBERRA DLA Phillips Fox’s Caroline Atkins and Anthony Willis were highly commended for their federal government-related technology and IT work. Stuart Imrie was well regarded for his work in telco, while Katherine Armytage was mentioned for IT and e-business.

Deacons’ Edwina Menzies was praised for her “big skill set” in technology procurement and IP licensing for government clients.

Clayton Utz’s Richard Morrison and Alexander Wattatenko were both mentioned for their work in government-related technology and communications outsourcing.

Mallesons’ Stephen Skehill was highly commended for telco.

ADELAIDE

NEW ZEALAND

Piper Alderman’s Tony Abbott was mentioned for technology, IP and litigation, Tim Clark was commended for IT contracts and IP, and both Tim O’Callaghan and George Raitt were well regarded for technology and IP.

Some clients thought that Kiwi firms were just as good as their Australian counterparts when it came to TMT. Not unlike some Australian firms, staff turnover was also a turn off among most Kiwi clients.

Simpson Grierson had a strong technology team that not only won clients in the private sector, but was often chosen by the public sector on the basis of price, IT work, telco contracts and IP. Karen Ngan had a relevant working knowledge of her clients’ business models, as well as a good corporate background.

She was noted for her work on IT contracts, technology projects and on the establishment of a radio network.

She also ensured that her work met budgets, details and contracts between parties. One client said that she had the advantage of being a “computer whiz” while also being a lawyer. She spoke the computer lingo which made her stand out. Michael Sage was mentioned for technology and infrastructure, Don Holborow was mentioned for outsourcing, Simon Vannini was mentioned for software and technology, Richard Watts was mentioned for IP, Tracey Walker was mentioned for media litigation, while senior associate Jacki Houtwipper was mentioned for her telco and IT knowledge.

Bell Gully was also a top dog, especially when it came to technology projects. TMT has previously been quite a unique and difficult space in the Kiwi market, but the firm proved to be a strong contender.

Dean Oppenhuis spanned a range of practice areas, and was highly competent at drafting IT service contracts and handling acquisitions. He was a good listener, and was quick, knowledgeable, practical, proactive, client-focused, commercially-focused and particularly pleasant to deal with. Clients could not recommend him more highly for technology and telco. Ralph Simpson was mentioned for regulatory advisory and litigation, while Jonathan Ross was mentioned for telco. Mark O’Brien and Alan Ringwood were mentioned for media litigation, while David Boswell was mentioned for telco and outsourcing. Senior associate Karl Vincent, who joined the firm in recent months, was praised for his IT work. He showed responsiveness and had a hands-on role.

Some of Chapman Tripp’s strength lied in IT- or network-supplier contracts and network procurement.

Neil Anderson was commended for his government and commercial telco Australasian Legal Business ISSUE 7.7

work because of his good process, understanding, and commerciallyfocused legal advice, and ability to negotiate and litigate without leaving any room for doubt. Hamish Foote, Helen Bowie and Bruce McLantock were commended for commercial telco. Robert Bycroft was chosen for media and telco, and Chris Dann was well regarded for telco and IT. Justin Graham was mentioned for IP, Jack Hodder was praised for defamation, Andrew Poole was chosen for IT and IP, while Matt Sumpter was a noteworthy choice for IT litigation.

Kensington Swan was the top choice for tender-related work. Ross Johnston was knowledgeable on IT matters and clients especially valued his system, design and build maintenance work. He was strong in the public sector and impressive in his ability to speak to vendors in computer lingo. One client said that he has a great reputation, excellent experience and a great deal of respect among his fellow TMT practitioners as the backbone of the firm’s practice. Neil Millar was commended for his media and marketing transactional work, Patrick Learmonth was mentioned for advertising and e-commerce, while John Land was a strong choice for media litigation. Quentin Lowcay was mentioned for IT, telco, outsourcing and government transactions.

Minter Ellison Rudd Watts’ John McCay was chosen for his long standing relationships and ability to produce the goods. Clients just seemed to stick by him no matter what, whether it was for sub contracts or for comprehensive IT contracts.

Graeme Crombie was the IT specialist who was timely, competent and knew the industry well. Andy Matthews had an exceptional knowledge of legal issues, understood economic elements, had a good network of contacts, provided good service, and was well-versed in the field. Richard Wells was often chosen for media and telco.

Russell McVeagh’s David Clarke was across-the-board, but was known as a specialist in IT and ICT matters for major clients. Pip Greenwood was commended for media transactions, James Every-Palmer was chosen for technology and e-commerce, Sally Fitzgerald was mentioned for telco litigation, and Joe Windmeyer was singled out for praise for IT. www.legalbusinessonline.com

Buddle Findlay’s Steve Nightingale was mentioned for technology, while Nick Crang, Tony Dellow and Philip Wood were commended for telco.

Dominic Lundon was top choice for outsourcing, while John Glengarry was mentioned for telco IP. Wigley & Co was one of the specialist ICT/telco firms that clients loved for its technical expertise and knowledge to match their legal skill.

The firm was well-known for its conferences and events, which gave clients a very “switched-on and niche” understanding. Michael Wigley effortlessly talked to technical staff as well as to in-house lawyers. He acted for major telco providers, drafted “excellent” IT contracts and had no trouble handling major matters. Senior associate Stuart van Rij was a “real talent” and was also competent.

MGF Webb was called a specialist firm that had a growing reputation as a “top-class” boutique technology and media firm. Malcolm Webb was well-experienced, specialised and client focused, and Mark Toner was mentioned for technology regulatory and competition. Corin Maberly was well regarded for technology transactions and outsourcing, and Douglas Webb was mentioned for his regulatory advice. Lowndes Jordan was a good choice for internet, new media and other TMT specialties. Rick Shera was known to handle policy development and copyright. He had a good understanding of how technology works and of copyright ownership. He understood all issues, and kept up to date with new developments and their potential impact on policy and laws.

Graham Jordan was mentioned for ICT and IP. Hudson Gavin Martin’s Simon Martin and Wayne Hudson were commended for technology and IP, while Mark Gavin was mentioned for IP and litigation.

DLA Phillips Fox’s Brian Bray and Martin Thomson were both mentioned for IT, and handled the bulk of the TMT work in New Zealand.

Dawson Harford & Partners’ Chris Linton was mentioned for technology and had a strong IT practice.

Anthony Harper’s Peter Woods was chosen for defamation, IP and litigation.

Wilson Harle’s Allison Ferguson was mentioned for media.

featured firm MGF Webb MGF Webb is a first-tier law firm specialising in technology and regulatory law, primarily operating in the telecommunications sector.

We provide expert support and advice to telecommunications clients in two key areas:

• telecommunications regulatory matters (including telecommunications wholesale transactions); and • network procurement transactions.

Our operations are international. Our telecommunications clients over the last two years have included Vector Communications, Google, SingTel Optus, Austar, PCCW-Hong Kong Telecom, Telekom Malaysia, Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore, Digicel, The World Bank and the International Telecommunications Union. Our experience has included advising clients in highly developed telecommunications markets, as well as in developing countries.

Examples of our recent work:

• advising Vector Communications on the New Zealand Government’s National Broadband Network project; • advising a mobile operator on regulatory proceedings relating to mobile termination rates and national roaming; • advising the Infocomm Development Authority on regulatory issues relating to Singapore’s Next Generation National Broadband Network; • advising Telekom Malaysia on the roll out of its High Speed Broadband Network; • advising a European telecommunications operator on a strategic business process outsourcing project; and • advising the Government of Solomon Islands on its agreement with Solomon Telekom for the surrender of their exclusive licence.

Our partners Malcolm Webb, Partner Malcolm advises telecommunications clients throughout the Asia Pacific region on the most important regulatory issues and commercial transactions that affect their businesses. Malcolm is the Co-Chair of the Communications Law Committee of the International Bar Association. t: +649 970 4101 e: malcolm.webb@mgfwebb.com Mark Toner, Partner Mark provides regulatory and competition law advice to telecommunications clients. He advises on regulatory design issues and represents clients before telecommunications regulators and competition authorities. t: +649 970 4108 e: mark.toner@mgfwebb.com Corin Maberly, Partner Corin’s practice focuses on advising telecommunications clients on complex services agreements for network management, business process outsourcing agreements, joint ventures and acquisitions, equipment procurement, transmission and mobile network infrastructure build agreements. t: +649 970 4410 e: corin.maberly@mgfwebb.com MGF Webb www.mgfwebb.com

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Photo: Thilo Pulch, www.pulchphotography.com

profile | managing partner >>

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Australasian Legal Business ISSUE 7.7

profile | managing partner >>

alb/LEXISNEXIS 2009 managing partnerS series

John Chrisman, Dorsey & Whitney

Aussie advantage

Asia via Australia? What may seem odd to some makes perfect sense to John Chrisman

U

S-based law firms have been using Australian offices as a hub from which to service American clients interested in accessing the lucrative market Down Under for some time. They are also used to working with Australian companies who need help navigating the thorny issue of US securities law.

Dorsey & Whitney chose to open an Australian office in Sydney earlier this year – becoming the sixth US firm to do so. Few were surprised – the firm had raised the possibility two years ago – but while the opening may not have come as a shock, the role that Dorsey’s Sydney office was to play in its global operations was certainly a break from the norm.

Regional outlook

The firm’s managing partner, John Chrisman, is clear about the role that Dorsey’s new Sydney office will play in the firm’s global strategy, although he concedes it is not what one would expect of an office in Australia.

“The Sydney office will serve as a base for the Asian market, with a specific focus on India and Greater China and, of course, Australia, where we will be looking to further develop our US capital markets, corporate, www.legalbusinessonline.com

M&A and litigation practices. I guess some may say this is a little unusual, but for us it’s natural and makes sense,” he says.

Sydney “makes sense” for Chrisman because, alongside the firm’s offices in Shanghai and Hong Kong, Australia adds balance to the firm’s regional offering. “Australia is a developed country with a robust, stable economy and this is a good counter-balance to what we have elsewhere in the region.

Things are a little slow at the moment, but Australia’s a slow-burning market: growth may slow from time to time but it will rarely cease,” he says.

Dorsey is aided by what Chrisman feels is one of the most developed and sophisticated legal services markets in the world. “For a relatively small country, the legal market in Australia is amazingly complex and this only

helps international firms. I have said before, we will not be practising, nor do we have plans to practise, local law and to have firms of the calibre of some of those here to call on is of immense benefit to clients,” he says.

“Lawyers here don’t follow so much as innovate in their advice, particularly in relation to capital markets work.

Things have often been done here before we do them in the US and that underlies the sophistication of the market we are in.”

This sophistication is something that Chrisman is keen to tap into as he goes about building Dorsey’s Sydney-based Asia practice. It also makes opening in the downturn worth the risk. “It has certainly been challenging to open an office when we did but the benefits are clear. Not only are business overheads, on average,

“Australia is a developed country with a robust, stable economy and this is a good counter-balance to what we have elsewhere in the region. Things are a little slow at the moment, but Australia’s a slow-burning market” 45

profile | managing partner >>

substantially cheaper than in Hong Kong or Singapore but the talent pool here is also a very exciting prospect,” he says. “Australian lawyers enjoy an excellent reputation for skill, technical knowledge and training around the world, and as the employment market returns to normal – where supply comes back to levels of demand – we will be looking locally to build our Asia practice.”

But just what separates Dorsey from other US-based firms operating in Australia? After all, any US firm can provide Rule 144A advice or counsel clients on the intricacies of New York law. This is true, Chrisman concedes, but Dorsey differs in its approach in that it focuses on the mid-tier.

“Most of the US-firms in Australia target the top-end of town and nothing else,” Chrisman says. “Our bread and butter work is with mid-market, mid-cap companies. This is not to say we don’t have top-end-of-town clients and we aren’t looking to pick more of their work up, but most of our focus is on this segment of the market and we won’t be abandoning that focus.”

Indian expertise

Photo: Thilo Pulch, www.pulchphotography.com

►► Dorsey & Whitney: Quick facts

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Offices International • Hong Kong • London • Shanghai US • Anchorage • Delaware • Denver • Des Moines • Fargo • Minneapolis • Missoula

• Sydney • Toronto • Vancouver • New York • Palo Alto • Salt Lake City • Seattle • Southern California • Washington DC

2008 Gross revenue: US$367m 2008 Profits per partner: US$661,000

Chrisman is considered something of an expert on the Subcontinent. In his stints at Jones Day, Freshfields and the ill-fated Coudert Brothers he was said to be the man to seek out for advice on India’s capital markets.

And, by all accounts, it is a reputation that has followed him to Dorsey. In 2007 and 2008, the firm worked on nearly 20% of all equity share offerings in India, helping Indian companies raise an aggregate of nearly US$2bn.

And despite the economic slowdown, Chrisman is confident about the amount of work on offer both on the country’s capital markets and elsewhere.

“The Indian markets are coming back very strongly. It’s probably one of only a few places in the world where the capital markets are still going,” he says, adding he expects this to continue in the coming months. “The election results were immensely positive for business in India and [they are] a big reason behind why the market has soared of late and some deals are back on track.”

Chrisman also believes that liberalisation is likely to have a similar effect – when, and if, it happens.

“Liberalisation will no doubt change the fabric of the legal market – it has done so in markets elsewhere and India will be no different. It will prove to be the spark for the further development of India’s corporate and business sectors,” he says.

But just what effect will this have on law firms? Will international players rush to establish Indian offices and will Dorsey be one of them? Chrisman is reticent about laying out a definitive timetable for Dorsey’s entry into India, believing it is more likely UK firms will enter the market first.

“Entering India as soon as the legal sector liberalises may not fit in the standard US law firm’s model of expansion, which is to set up offices in financial hubs across the globe,” he says. “This is different from the UK approach, which often seeks out more synergies and which would be geared, either over the mid- or longterm towards practising local law, thus meaning they would need to enter sooner rather than later. The type of work that US law firms tend to do for Indian clients or international clients entering India involves advice primarily on capital markets and cross-border transactions, among other things, and can be done just as effectively from Hong Kong, Singapore, London or Sydney.”

However, Chrisman doesn’t rule out the possibility of opening in India if client demand compels Dorsey to do so or its biggest rivals for work in the country – the likes of Jones Day, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and Baker & McKenzie – all venture down the India office path.

“If one US law firm enters India, will that open the floodgates for others?

It’s too early to tell, but many firms already have relationships, exclusive or otherwise, with domestic firms there,” he says. “We do not have an exclusive relationship in India but choose to work with the top domestic firms. Any decision to open an office in India will depend on what clients are saying we should do. I’d be lying if I said the movements of other law firms would have no effect, though.” ALB Australasian Legal Business ISSUE 7.7

ALB special report | Adelaide 09 >>

adelaide 09 Local vs national

With a legal market characterised by local firms when the rest of Australia has gone national, ALB’s Natasha Kassam asks key players what makes the resource-rich Adelaide different

S

ome of the leading law firms in Australia originated in the southern state, with Piper Alderman, Thomson Playford Cutlers and Johnson Winter & Slattery now all competing in the national market. And yet, the growth of Adelaide law firms has not been reciprocated; with the exception of Minter Ellison and DLA Phillips Fox, national firms have largely opted to service the Adelaide market from their eastern seaboard or Perth offices instead of developing a local presence.

Perhaps the tides are changing.

Earlier this year Blake Dawson relocated several partners and lawyers to capitalise on the resources sector in South Australia.

Firms may also be attracted to the stability that the southern state offers in times of economic uncertainty. “It is not a market which has had a big financial boom, it is not a market that has big financial services like Sydney,” says Nigel McBride, chief executive partner at Minter Ellison Adelaide. “It is not a market with critical mass like Melbourne, and we haven’t had the resources bubble like Brisbane, Perth or Darwin.”

Loyal and local

One of the reasons that Adelaide has bucked the ‘national’ trend of legal markets in Australia is that professional services in South Australia are heavily 48

relationship-driven. “It is building and maintaining those relationships that is the key aspect of doing business in Adelaide,” says Catherine Schultz, chief executive officer of Wallmans Lawyers.

“I think there is still a local Adelaide market. And there will always be a need for specific state expertise, so that makes it difficult for the national firms to come in.”

Many of the local firms in Adelaide consider the market to be fairly ‘closed’, which would explain the hesitancy of national firms to move south. “If the larger firms were to relocate and try to create a presence here, they would have some difficulty with the patriotic nature of the market,” says Brenton James, partner at Hunt & Hunt. “I think they would have some difficulty in generating the type of work which would be needed to sustain a vibrant office here in Adelaide.”

The way in which business is sought and won in Adelaide also seems slightly different to the rest of the country.

“There are certain peculiarities about the way business operates in Adelaide – it tends to be a fairly discerning and closed network,” says Tom Grace, partner at Fenwick Elliot Grace. Since word-of-mouth is such a significant way of gaining business in Adelaide, Grace recognises the difficulty for “people coming in from outside” to gain traction.

The abundance of successful local firms does not, however, indicate a

market that is closed to national firms.

“Local firms have been competing with national firms for the top-end work here for 20 years, and the big national firms headquartered in Sydney and Melbourne have consistently and successfully competed in Adelaide without the need to have an office here,” says Adrian Tembel, chief executive partner at Thomson Playford Cutlers. “The local client base here in Adelaide is quite happy to go interstate if it feels that the expertise that is required isn’t available locally.”

Tembel maintains that this ongoing competition for top-end work from national law firms – whether or not they have offices in Adelaide – ensures that Adelaide firms and offices alike remain competitive against “national standards”.

Towards a national market

It is unclear whether the entry of Blake Dawson signals a wave of national firms entering Adelaide, or if that movement is “the exception rather than the norm,” as Tembel describes it. National firms such as Clayton Utz and Corrs Chambers Westgarth have abandoned their Adelaide presence via closure or merger in the past.

“There is no question we will see national firms in this town if the deals are big enough. For example with the PPP projects, the prison and the hospitals, we have already seen Australasian Legal Business ISSUE 7.7

ALB special report | Adelaide 09 >>

interstate firms out of Melbourne and Sydney getting involved,” says McBride.

However, he believes that Minter Ellison has seen a split in the market between the local work, which would be “pretty unattractive” to an eastcoast firm, and the top-tier work, which national firms already compete for.

Tembel agrees. “I doubt there will be much more activity than the entry of Blakes, but that won’t change the competitive dynamic,” he says. “Having a local office isn’t a limit to a top-tier firm from Sydney working on a highlevel transaction or dispute.”

This certainly seems to be the case for Clayton Utz, who exited the Adelaide market promptly after opening a new office in 2003. Although McBride blames the “unforgiving, tough and price-conscious market” for that decision, Clayton Utz maintains that the closure was prompted by resourcing needs interstate. The business acumen of that decision has been proven by the ongoing relationship between Clayton Utz and the South Australian government. The top-tier firm’s Victorian operation was recently selected over local firms to provide advice on the Royal Adelaide Hospital project (formerly known as the Marjorie-Jackson Nelson Hospital) and the proposed Prisons PPP project.

Yet a relationship with a single client or a single valuable contract may not indicate lasting success for national firms in Adelaide. “A firm can make the effort to take one particular piece of work and succeed in doing so, but that may not necessarily reflect an ongoing commitment or likelihood that they will repeat that success in the future,” says Grace. James echoes this, noting that Hunt & Hunt believes a local presence is appreciated in the Adelaide market. “I don’t think interstate firms are able to succeed in the Adelaide market if they remain interstate,” he says. “They must have a presence and they must have a relationship here.”

This is what encouraged the entry of Blake Dawson, as the firm followed BHP and their Olympic Dam project to South Australia. “There are a number of large businesses and clients in South Australia who already use national law firms.

Often they cannot get the expertise they need in South Australia, so they go to Victoria, NSW, Perth or Brisbane,” says Blake Dawson partner Simon Fraser. www.legalbusinessonline.com

Simon Fraser, Blake Dawson

“We’re really competing for that work and we think that will be the future.

Other national law firms will follow.”

The effect upon local firms by a national influx may be limited by the structure of the Adelaide market, which appears to be split between top-tier work which is nationally serviced, and the locally-serviced work. “The market [Wallmans] operates in is different to the market that the national firms operate in,” says Schultz. Even national firms in Adelaide such as DLA Phillips Fox are unconcerned about the competition brought by top-tier firms such as Blake Dawson. “It will be interesting to see if [Blake Dawson] will make an impact on the market, but past experience says it doesn’t work very well,” says Joe DeRuvo, partner and Adelaide office leader at DLA. If Fraser has his way, Blake Dawson will lead the way for Adelaide to develop into the two-tier system that exists in Perth. “[In Perth] the local firms do what they are good at, and the national firms do what they are good at, and they refer between each other. So they are almost not in competition.”

Value for money

The cost-conscious nature of the Adelaide market is seen as an 49

ALB special report | Adelaide 09 >>

►► Law firms in Adelaide by number of partners Firm Minter Ellison

Total lawyers

Catherine Schultz, Wallmans

Partners Lawyers Year est. in Adelaide

121

45

76

1988

Piper Alderman

64

22

42

1988

Norman Waterhouse Lawyers

51

22

29

1920 1850

Finlaysons

88

21

67

Kelly & Co

72

17

55

1917

Mellor Olsson Lawyers

27

15

12

2001

Thomson Playford Cutlers

49

13

36

1885

Wallmans Lawyers

45

11

34

1908

Cowell Clarke

29

11

18

1989

O’Loughlins

22

10

12

1993

DMAW Lawyers

27

9

18

2001

DLA Phillips Fox

40

7

33

1888

Hunt & Hunt

19

7

12

2002

Lynch Meyer

19

7

12

1955

Madderns

18

7

11

1968

Andersons Solicitors

24

6

18

1966

Grope Hamilton Lawyers

7

6

1

1983

Fenwick Elliot Grace

7

4

3

2006

Hume Taylor & Co

16

3

13

1980

Blake Dawson

10

2

8

2009

Beger & Co

5

1

4

1997

Sparke Helmore

8

1

7

2001

Slater & Gordon

5

1

4

2004

* Johnson Winter & Slattery chose not to supply ALB with their numbers

impediment to national firms competing for clientele. “We would probably be the most value-driven Minter Ellison partners in Australasia, because there is a lot of cost pressure,” says McBride.

The Supreme Court scale of charges in South Australia is also a barrier, described as “ridiculously low” by McBride. “The rates that we can actually charge in Adelaide are really out of step with both the eastern and western seaboard in Australia.”

This cost-sensitivity in Adelaide has undoubtedly assisted the market in remaining resilient during difficult financial times. “In this day and age, there is no doubt that even the largest clients are becoming much more costsensitive,” explains Grace. “They’re prepared to go to the smaller firms if they can have the work done by senior lawyers with a specialist focus, rather than go to the larger firms as a onestop shop.”

Fraser would disagree, however, as he believes the specialised nature of lawyers within Blake Dawson can also 50

be cost effective. “They may have a slightly higher fee rate but they can do the work in half the time, they are very experienced and they know the answer straight away,” he says. “It is very difficult in a local market to have that many lawyers who are that specialised.”

The ‘next Perth’

The plentiful resources in Adelaide have led to expectations that the city will mimic the growth seen in Western Australia. The expansion of Olympic Dam by BHP will see Adelaide host the world’s largest uranium mine.

Furthermore, the state is in a valuable position since it possesses 40% of the world’s uranium reserves, a product of which demand is expected to outstrip supply in 2012.

Minter Ellison has responded to this by developing a Uranium Centre for Excellence in the Adelaide office. “I don’t know if the term is ‘boom’, but there is certainly potential in the next 10 years for this to be one of the most prospective resources states.”says McBride.

Blake Dawson has cited similar potential for their expansion in Adelaide.

“We think that there is going to be a mining boom. We thought it would be starting about now or next year, but that was before the global economic meltdown,” says Fraser. “That has probably slowed things down because there isn’t a lot of money available in the market for small mining companies to tap into. We still think it will happen; it’s just been delayed.”

Indeed, the resources sector throughout Australia has fallen prey to the ongoing fluctuations in the market, but Adelaide has fared relatively well.

“Western Australia has certainly quietened down a lot, but the market here is still doing well,” says DeRuvo.

“The economy [in South Australia] has the most potential for growth compared with the rest of Australia.”

Resilience to the GFC

The long-awaited resources boom may have fallen victim to the global financial crisis, but Adelaide has proven the most Australasian Legal Business ISSUE 7.7

Adelaide Report ALB special report | Adelaide 09 >>

Blake Dawson

South Australia and Blake Dawson set to grow

A

s recent talk of the international economy turns to green shoots, opportunities in South Australia have continued

to grow.

Latest figures released by the South Australian Government on economic performance show an expanding population, low unemployment and confirm Adelaide as one of the most cost competitive cities in the country for doing business in.

Blake Dawson has a long history of supporting business in South Australia.

Simon Fraser, Managing Partner of their Adelaide office, sees the State at the beginning of an exciting growth phase. ‘We feel South Australia has huge growth potential, particularly in resources, energy, infrastructure and defence. We have a premium corporate client base including some of the largest companies in the world, many of whom are active in the South Australian market. We are excited to be here and providing the resources of a top tier national firm on the ground in Adelaide.’

South Australia boasts some of the world’s richest mineral resources.

The State Government’s PACE (Plan for Accelerating Exploration) mineral program has been directed at increasing mineral exploration which recently reached over 15% of Australia’s exploration spend.

The State’s inclusion on the Fraser Institute’s 2008-09 Survey of Mining Companies and 2009 Global Petroleum Survey as the best place in Oceania and one of the best places in the world to invest are emphasised by Simon Fraser.

He says this is objective evidence of the region’s strong potential to attract and realise high quality natural resources investment.

Blake Dawson is well positioned to support growth in this area with a corporate practice focused on energy, resources and infrastructure. It has recently been named ‘Energy Law Firm of the Year Australasia’ by ACQ Finance Magazine. Existing clients include some of the world’s biggest energy and resources companies. In fact, it was their clients increasing South Australian work that motivated the opening of a www.legalbusinessonline.com

permanent Blakes office in Adelaide.

Substantial State Government investment, including the new Techport facility to support maritime defence operations, has also seen South Australia grow into a defence hub. The State has recently secured large defence projects including the construction of the Australian Navy’s Air Warfare Destroyers and the expansion of RAAF’s Edinburgh base.

Significant infrastructure projects including major road, rail and public transport upgrades are also planned within Adelaide and across the State.

This makes South Australia an exciting prospect for Blake Dawson’s preeminent defence industry and infrastructure practices. Currently their infrastructure practice is widely recognised as one of the best in Australia. Their strong commercial focus is evident from the release of the second installment of the highly successful Scope for Improvement Survey published in conjunction with the Australian Constructors Association and Infrastructure Partnerships Australia.

‘Scope for Improvement assists our clients to identify and manage risk at all stages

of the procurement process’ says Simon.

Describing Blake Dawson’s South Australian team Simon says ‘we have a high performing team involved in some of the most exciting and challenging work a lawyer can do.’ For Simon, and the growing number of executives who make it their home, Adelaide is one of the world’s lifestyle cities. It’s twenty minutes to the beach and an hour to the Barossa. Adelaidians can’t wait to watch South Australia’s green shoots flourish into vines.

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ALB special report | Adelaide 09 >>

resilient city in Australia. “Adelaide in general has not suffered the same boom and bust of other jurisdictions, and so I think the expectation of the Adelaide market is that it will weather the financial stresses a little more robustly,” says James.

The fact that financial services are not centred in South Australia has allowed the state to avoid the harshest consequences of the downturn. “It is a much more conservative marketplace, so people have not over-extended or borrowed to the extent they have gotten themselves into trouble,” says Schultz.

In addition, the legal services industry in Adelaide is quite diversified, which has allowed reliance on solid sectors

such as agri-business and defence. “We don’t hang our hat on just the financial services or resources industry, which puts us in a very good spot,” McBride adds.

This validates the wisdom of Thomson Playford Cutlers in centring almost a third of its national business in Adelaide. “We never look at our Adelaide business as being a source of super-fast growth, but rather for stability and certainty, and that hasn’t changed,” says Tembel. “We continue to see it as having steady growth, but not growth that outperforms the market.”

Nationalise or perish?

Even given hourly rate differences and patterns of loyalty amongst clients, it

“I don’t think interstate firms are able to succeed in the Adelaide market if they remain interstate.

They must have a presence and they must have a relationship here” Brenton James, Hunt & Hunt

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Joe DeRuvo, DLA

Australasian Legal Business ISSUE 7.7

ALB special report | Adelaide 09 >>

www.legalbusinessonline.com

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ALB special report | Adelaide 09 >>

Nigel McBride, Minter Ellison

54

is still difficult to explain why Adelaide has remained a ‘local’ market in a country characterised by national firms.

“Our view is that, fundamentally, there is nothing different about Adelaide,” says Tembel. “So, over time, there will be that movement to more national providers being primarily the providers of the mid to higher end work here.”

The movement towards a national market in Adelaide could result in a better-quality service for clients and extended recognition for the highquality local firms. “The ability to draw on the depth and diversified skills that come from having national offices could be a real strength and benefit for clients,” says Tembel.

The lower costs in Adelaide could provide a competitive edge for local firms. “But for an Adelaide firm to do that successfully – it needs to be nationally recognised,” Tembel adds.

Some local firms would disagree with the benefit of national branding. “[Wallmans] offers our clients the flexibility of being with them on interstate issues without having the

costs of ‘infrastructure,’ ” says Schultz.

“We have observed Adelaide law firms who have [expanded nationally] through merger. Some of the firms have struggled unless they’ve expanded on the back of specific client needs, and have really gone from being wellknown and respected to a national name with few, if any, of their original partners. ‘Brand’ over local following was the outcome.”

Large Adelaide firms such as Cowell Clarke and Kelly & Co have also decided against interstate offices or national mergers. “Interstate companies are looking to [Kelly & Co] as an equivalent service provider to their interstate firms but at a lower cost,” says Kelly & Co chairman of partners, Michael Durrant. “Those clients make decisions based on service delivery and cost, not brand.”

One thing is certain: the entry of national firms has not left the Adelaide market quaking in its mining boots.

“It challenges [Hunt & Hunt] to ensure our service is at the highest level for our clients,” says James. ALB

Australasian Legal Business ISSUE 7.7

ALB special report | Adelaide 09 >>

www.legalbusinessonline.com

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FEATURE | environmental law >>

Testing times As everyone awaits the government’s delayed emissions trading policy to be passed into legislation, environment lawyers are preparing themselves for a surge in work across a variety of areas. Ralph Grayden reports

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Australasian Legal Business ISSUE 7.7

FEATURE | environmental law >>

T

his was supposed to be a big year for Australia’s environmental law practices: the Federal Government was to introduce emissions trading legislation; firms were poaching environmental lawyers to keep pace with the expected surge in compliance work; and a climate change practice was the latest “must have” for any self-respecting modern law firm. Then the economic downturn struck and the start date for the proposed trading scheme was pushed back a year.

Despite this, many areas of environmental work and many practices are booming, keeping lawyers as busy (or even busier) than they were before the acronym GFC (global financial crisis) became part of our vocabulary. So, which areas are flourishing, which have fallen away, and which are chugging along as though nothing has happened?

Halts, delays and changes to emissions trading schemes

Before elected, the Rudd Government promised it would introduce its Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS) on 1 July 2010. However, just before it was set to table the legislation in parliament last month, the proposed commencement date was pushed back to 1 July 2011. At the time of writing, the legislation was before the Senate and both the Liberal opposition and the Greens said they were not convinced by the Bill in its current form.

www.legalbusinessonline.com

Mallesons partner Louis Chiam says he thinks the legislation will still be passed in some form, because both major parties have voiced their support for the legislation in principle. “The current debate is about key features and a lot of clients are waiting to see what the legislation will say when it’s passed,” he says.

Chiam believes the delay does not necessarily mean that CPRS-related work has dried up altogether and sees work in the area lifting soon.

“We are focusing on explaining the long-term effects for clients and don't think the delay will change the practical implications for clients. If it isn’t passed then there will be other regulatory arrangements to deal with,” he says.

DLA Phillips Fox partner Charmian Barton agrees. “The pushing back of the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme by another year, to 2011, means that potentially for us there will be less immediate work, particularly if it is not passed by parliament. But if it is, people will seek more guidance before it commences,” she says.

Barton also reports that she is advising other areas of the firm on CPRS-related issues, including liaising with the property group about the need for change of law and pass-through cost clauses in their lease documentation in the event of the CPRS scheme being passed.

Meanwhile, Baker & McKenzie’s Andrew Beatty says that while

some work is already flowing from the CPRS, more will follow. “The introduction of the CPRS will not only impose a compliance regime on many businesses, but also drive changes in contracting approaches, procurement, risk management, corporate social responsibility and lending,” he says.

“The proposed CPRS and the increased renewable energy target will also drive significant investment in new technologies, including carbon capture and storage, and clean and renewable energy. As a result, there will be increasing work around the regulatory, planning and licensing aspects of those types of projects.”

“The introduction of the CPRS will not only impose a compliance regime on many businesses, but also drive changes in contracting approaches, procurement, risk management, corporate social responsibility and lending” Andrew Beatty, Baker & McKenzie

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FEATURE | environmental law >>

The decline in development

Property development – both residential and commercial – has been a main driver for most environmental law practices, and it is no secret that building development approvals have fallen sharply across most areas of Australia over the past 12 months. In fact, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reports that the total number of residential building approvals in Australia fell by 26% between March 2008 and March 2009, including a 38% fall in the number of approvals relating to non-house dwellings. All practices ALB spoke to said this has translated into a decline in the amount of planningrelated work and litigation.

“The level of activity in the area of land-use planning law has dropped.

In general, the level of project-related activity has dropped. Nevertheless, we are still involved in advising on the land-use planning aspects of a number of significant projects, particularly renewable energy projects, and we remain involved in several active pieces of Land and Environment Court

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litigation,” Freehills partner John Taberner says.

Barton says that DLA Phillips Fox is receiving a reduced amount of development-related work. As with the CPRS, it is an area that should pick up rapidly in the near future – particularly in the Australian capital cities that are struggling to keep pace with increased population growth.

“The market is not as liquid as it used to be and banks aren’t lending as much money,” she says. “But if you look at Sydney, there’s going to be substantial population growth in the coming years, so there is still a real need for additional residential and commercial facilities. When the market turns, we’ll probably see a lot more [environmental legal] work in that area. Along with that, there may be the upzoning of industrial sites for residential and commercial use.”

Contaminated sites and greenhouse gases

All New South Wales-based practices have reported that a key driver of

business in recent months has been contaminated sites. Taberner says his Freehills practice has been particularly busy in the first few months of this year. “Imminent and pervasive amendments to the Contaminated Land Management Act 1997 (NSW) are behind this,” he says.

These amendments include a broader duty to report contaminated sites to the EPA. They also provide for a lower threshold for liability (from “significant risk of harm” to “significantly contaminated land”) and remove a number of defences for directors and managers of companies that commit an offence. Unfortunately, the same volume of contaminated sites-related work is not being reported outside of the state.

Greenhouse gas reporting requirements have also changed recently and Australian practices are now experiencing a surge of work in this area.

“A number of clients are seeking advice on the interpretation and implementation of the National

Australasian Legal Business ISSUE 7.7

FEATURE | environmental law >>

Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act (NGER Act), which required liable corporations to register by the end of August and submit their first report by the end of October,” says Beatty.

He also says that Bakers’ forestry practice continues to be active. “The domestic market, being buoyed by clarification over the treatment of reforestation in the CPRS and the international forestry sector is moving forward with the support of government-led funding initiatives such as the Australia-Indonesia Forest Carbon Facility,” Beatty adds.

Federal Government stimulus

Clayton Utz has a solid government component to its environmental law practice and partner Brendan Bateman says that because of this he has been “out of his tree” with work. “There’s a renewed emphasis on roads, rail and metrorail – both in Sydney and in Queensland,” he says.

“A number of these projects have been in the pipeline for some time but there is now an increased emphasis on

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them and the Federal Government has being trying to provide the financial initiative to make sure they are pursued.”

It is not surprising Bateman’s practice is snowed under – in its recent budget, the Federal Government announced it would allocate A$22bn to its Nation Building Infrastructure centrepiece.

This included A$3.4bn on roads, A$4.6bn for metro rail, and A$389m on ports and infrastructure. The government also plans to spend another A$3.5bn on its Clean Energy Initiative, and a combined A$5.8bn on improving the country’s health and education infrastructure.

Those environmental practices that, like Clayton Utz’s, include a substantial number of federal government departments among their client base are likely to find themselves very busy over the next 12 months.

The future

A number of emerging trends in environmental planning and policy will

“A renewed emphasis on roads, rail and metrorail … have been in the pipeline for some time … and the Federal Government has being trying to provide the financial initiative to make sure they are pursued” Brendan Bateman, Clayton Utz

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FEATURE | environmental law >>

“… the renewable energy … will be a driver for greater investment in renewable energy supplies and that may well drive Australian environmental practices in the future” Charmian Barton, DLA Phillips Fox affect the direction that environmental law practices take over the next few years. For Bateman, the most important of these will be climate change. “So far, a lot of government policy has focused on mitigation, but now there will be an equal emphasis on adaptation,” he says. “Everything will have to adapt to climate change – and it won’t just be rising seas, it will also be things like increased rain activity, hail storms and bushfires, and also whether our health structure is able to cope.”

Baker & McKenzie’s Beatty believes that if the CPRS becomes law it will

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have a profound effect on business behaviour and in driving environmental work. “We are seeing the Australian domestic climate change area emerge as a significant component of our environmental markets practice,” he says.

Meanwhile, DLA Phillip Fox’s Barton says that, regardless of whether or not the CPRS is enacted, renewable energy will be another hot topic that sends clients to their lawyers for advice. “I think regardless of whether there’s a CPRS in effect or not, the renewable energy target, which requires 20% of

electricity to be sourced from renewable sources by 2020, will be a driver for greater investment in renewable energy supplies and that may well drive Australian environmental practices in the future,” she says.

Regardless of which of these factors changes environmental law practice the most, it is certain that a lot of clients will require a lot of environmental law advice in the coming years; a fact that most firms recognised long ago. Now most lawyers only need the economy to pick up for practices to reach full capacity. ALB

Australasian Legal Business ISSUE 7.7

NZ Market Report FEATURE | environmental law >>

Environmental Law

The future of freshwater allocation In New Zealand 1. The relative abundance of freshwater in New Zealand has, unlike in Australia, until recently been taken somewhat for granted. Permits to take and use water, since diverging from the common law system based on rights of access to water, have been granted on a 'first in, first served' basis, with little or no thought given to future-proofing supply for essential activities across entire catchments. This does, however, have the advantage of providing certainty for users of large quantities, such as renewable energy operators.

2. With a new government determined to be proactive, not reactive, New Zealand has arrived at a cross-road in respect of the management of its natural water resources. The government is implementing a long promised package of legislative reform, and the establishment of a more efficient and sustainable freshwater management system is near the top of the list.

3. The future model of allocation, in whatever form it takes, is likely to move away from the first-in-time application system. In that respect, policy decisions made in the next 6-12 months will be critical both for those looking to safeguard the quality and quantity of future water supply, and those seeking to ring-fence the value of existing investments. Stakeholders, investors and environmental groups alike will need to keep a close eye on the process as it unfolds, to ensure that the right balance between their interests - traditionally in competition with one another - is ultimately achieved.

Current allocation regime first in first served 4. The mandate for allocation of freshwater resources currently lies with regional councils under the Resource Management Act 1991 ("RMA"). Most regional councils have, or have been developing, operative plans for water allocation. The scope and content of the plans varies considerably between regions, and most are limited to specifying environmental baselines and establishing priority between competing users.

5. Historically, regional councils were prevailed upon to limit their involvement in catchment allocation to the management of adverse effects. Councils have, perhaps as a result, been loath to adopt economic instruments (such as www.legalbusinessonline.com

tenders or auctions) to allocate scarce water resources, and instead water permits have traditionally been granted to individual applicants subject only to an assessment of the effects of the proposed take on the environment at the time of application.

6. While not a formal allocation system, the permits, once granted, have the character of a statutory right which then has priority over subsequent applications for the same water (until the original permits expire). This type of 'allocation' in the absence of broader considerations of social, cultural, and economic impacts - has led, perhaps unsurprisingly, to the over-allocation of resources in many regions (most notably Canterbury). This, in turn, has led to the issue of priority between competing applications to take and use freshwater for the same activity progressing to the highest Court in New Zealand, in the test case of Ngai Tahu Property Limited v Central Plains Water Trust. The question at law - which remains unanswered due to an out of court settlement - is whether allocation between competing takes should be by way of a rule (eg the first application to be lodged takes priority), or by discretion of the decision maker, who would have the ability to grant water permits to the most valued uses.

7. In 2005 the government introduced legislation that provided expressly for allocation on a regional basis. The amendments clarified that a regional council’s functions included the establishment of rules in a regional plan to allocate natural resources, including water, to different uses. But the uptake on this process has been slow, and has not avoided the 'priority' debate between applicants.

Reform 8. The Hon Dr Nick Smith, Minister for the Environment, has announced a change of direction for water management, and has confirmed that a stakeholder-led collaborative process is to be undertaken by the Land and Water Forum ("LWF") to establish long-term strategies for freshwater, and to examine the various options available for allocation. The LWF is an extension of two earlier established groups: the Sustainable Land Use Forum, and the Turnbull Group, with representatives from business, academic,

Kiwi and non-government organisations.

9. While it is apparent that past techniques have proved inadequate in the face of urban expansion, rural intensification and choices regarding renewable energy generation, it is less apparent how the LWF will seek to rectify the existing systemic issues around water allocation.

What is probable is that there will be a move away from the current first-in-firstserved system that focuses primarily on effects. The Ministry for the Environment has confirmed this by highlighting the likelihood of a two stage allocation model that provides for publicly valued water, and secondly allows for the allocation, and transferability, of the remaining water to its best use.

10. The LWF will need detailed assessments from different sectors, and, in parallel, economic and strategic information about key infrastructure and stakeholder strategies. While it would seem implausible that existing rights may be the subject of wholesale reallocation in certain catchments, it is nevertheless critical for local and international stakeholders to consider their options for participating in, or informing, the collaborative process in the upcoming year. There is considerable risk for existing investors if the certainty of a first in, first served system is removed.

The government has indicated a tight timeframe, with a second round of reform expected to be implemented in 2011, if the outcome of the collaborative process ultimately receives the support of Parliament.

Conclusion 11. The current piecemeal approach to water allocation in New Zealand is perhaps an inevitable consequence of the delegation of allocation duties to local bodies with limited resources of their own, and who are operating in the absence of clear strategic guidance. The reform of resource management law in New Zealand on water, a strategic asset, is inevitable. The current processes will drive the shape of that change.

Francelle Lupis & Christian Whata Francelle and Christian are part of Russell McVeagh's Environmental and Resource Management team, which is New Zealand's longest established and one of the country's largest environmental practices, with offices in both Auckland and Wellington.

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FEATURE | interview >>

• More than 15 years’ experience in private practice, 11 of which were at Brookfields Lawyers where she was most recently a commercial and property senior associate • First McDonalds NZ senior counsel to be appointed • Managed a “multitude” of property legal issues involved in McDonalds’ NZ$100m project to launch 30 new restaurants • Dealt with commercial agreements and title changes resulting from companies entering into liquidation, IP, franchising, information technology and employment • Successfully gained regulatory approval from Kiwi authorities and complied with the NZ Overseas Investment Act for a range of matters

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Photo: Warren Payne

►► Michele Sang’s career highlights

Australasian Legal Business ISSUE 7.7

FEATURE | interview >>

in-house perspective

Loyalty pays McDonald’s Restaurants NZ senior counsel Michele Sang spoke with ALB’s Richard Szabo about her new role and what makes some law firms stand out from the rest

S

ince joining McDonalds about two years ago as the company’s first senior counsel in New Zealand, Michele Sang has managed a “multitude” of property legal issues involved in its NZ$100m project to launch 30 new restaurants.

Sang has dealt with commercial, insolvency, liquidation, IP, franchising, IT and employment matters. Besides this, she has also worked on gaining regulatory approval from Kiwi authorities and complying with the NZ Overseas Investment Act. Her 15 years’ experience in private practice, more recently as a commercial and property senior associate at Brookfields, gave her the generalist skills needed for the job. “The role was created because there were significant differences in Kiwi and Australian legal systems. It was quite an exciting time, as there had never been a Kiwi in-house lawyer – it used to be done through the Sydney office,” she says.

Loyalty and long-term relationships pay

McDonalds prefers long-term relationships with firm panel members, just as it would with its franchisees and suppliers, since it expends significant time and energy on helping firms familiarise themselves with the highly complex structure of the global www.legalbusinessonline.com

US-headquartered fast food chain.

“By sticking with one or two firms you have more leverage with the rates you negotiate,” says Sang.

The McDonalds panel consists of three main players: national firm Kensington Swan, IP boutique firm AJ Park and boutique commercial firm Burton & Co. “Typically Kensington Swan works on commercial, resource management, gaming and franchising issues; AJ Park handles IP matters and everything to do with trademarks; Burton & Co handles our property matters – we also do some of the work in-house or spread it out between firms depending on size,” says Sang.

AJ Park and Burton & Co have advised McDonalds since it first entered the Kiwi market in 1976, but Kensington Swan is relatively new to the game. It was chosen for its ability to match legal services provided by other national firms and its affiliation ►► McDonalds NZ panel law firms at a glance Firm

Typical work

AJ Park

IP, trademarks

Burton & Co

Property

Kensington Swan

Commercial, resource management, gaming, franchising

“Even if you don’t have a reason to call, it’s nice to keep in touch and ask if counsel need any help. We are all very busy and don’t have a chance to think about what work firms can do for us” 63

FEATURE | interview >>

presentations. There is also a lot of networking and firm referrals done by word of mouth within the Corporate Lawyers Association of New Zealand,” Sang says.

Sang argues that marketing has a “huge influence” on a counsel’s choice of an external legal advisor. “A seminar I recently attended highlighted the importance of firms making a lasting impression. It’s really important for them to be proactive, and to market themselves and address issues that concern their clients,” she says.

As is often the case, Sang believes that individuals are often more important than the firms. She enjoys picking up the phone and consulting lawyers who know the business thoroughly, and likes turning to former Brookfields colleagues who have since moved to Kensington Swan.

Photo: Warren Payne

Virtues and vices of firms

►► client relationships – dos and don’ts for law firms Do

Don’t

Regularly keep in touch and ask if counsel need any help

Deviate from originally quoted fees

Hold quarterly business meetings to monitor progress

Be shy about contacting clients

Participate in three-day corporate staff shop floor training

Provide legal advice in big slabs of text

Provide free legal advice on new or amended legislation Meet with counsel in person and use whiteboard or other visual communication aids

with Australian global firm Deacons (which recently merged with UK international firm Norton Rose).

“Auckland is a saturated legal market, but if you need to source a law firm in an overseas country, then you would want to go with a Kiwi firm with an affiliation or a good referral system in place,” Sang says.

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Opportunity knocks

Firms with good client service that are not necessarily part of the McDonalds panel could still have a chance to win work. “It depends on who is best for the job. I often attend seminars organised by the Auckland or NZ Law Society and learn who the wellrecognised lawyers are when they give

Nothing upsets in-house lawyers more than firms not sticking with their originally quoted fees, according to Sang. Thankfully that has not been the case with firms on her panel, but she asserts that Kiwi firms should be more proactive in contacting clients.

“Even if you don’t have a reason to call, it’s nice to keep in touch and ask if counsel need any help. We are all very busy and don’t have a chance to think about what work firms can do for us.

Quarterly business meetings are good for monitoring progress,” she says.

Sang easily recalls good examples of client service. “New McDonalds corporate staff are required to spend three days on the shop floor as part of their training. Much to my surprise, Kensington Swan lawyers offered to do it. It was great because it threw them in at the deep-end and helped them understand the business,” she says.

Firms have also provided free legal advice to her on new or amended legislation. “We can’t keep up with the changes, so it helped when lawyers came to see us. We generally prefer meeting with lawyers in person, because we like to use the whiteboard a lot. I would rather see visual examples than reading big slabs of text,” she says. ALB Australasian Legal Business ISSUE 7.7

FEATURE | interview >>

www.legalbusinessonline.com

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FEATURE | compliance >>

Communicating compliance in the downturn Maintaining an effective compliance training program is becoming a greater challenge as increasing regulatory pressures and budgetary constraints result from the current economic environment. Is online compliance training the solution?

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lake Dawson Technology’s “Risk and Compliance Survey 2008*” reported inadequate budget and lack of management support combined to represent 25% of the major challenges respondents faced in maintaining an effective compliance training program.

Keeping abreast of regulatory changes followed as the next greatest factor on 14%. Finding the right compliance solution to minimise risk while balancing the needs of the organisation is becoming even harder for legal and compliance professionals.

Increasing pressure to cut budgets, has forced boards and management to closely review operational costs and to identify savings. One area of obvious scrutiny will be the spend on legal compliance training,

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especially if there is no obvious evidence of any return on investment. To some organisations a comprehensive compliance training program is viewed a luxury they cannot afford as they tough it through the financial downturn. This is all very well but one underlining factor is that the business and regulatory environment in the comings years will be vastly different than previously. Even greater emphasis will be placed on the need to communicate up to date legal compliance across the workforce. We are already seeing major legislative changes coming through this new financial year, including the new fair work laws and significant amendments to the Trade Practices Act with the criminalisation of cartel conduct.

For legal and compliance professionals, it’s

more important than ever to communicate the potential cost of non compliance to the organisation, and to deliver a program that meets not only with the organisations strategic objectives, but is effective in its delivery and cost. Blake Dawson Technology’s “Risk and Compliance Survey 2008” shows this is no easy feat with only 6% of respondents in the survey rated their current compliance capability effective. This indicates there is much room for improvement.

Blake Dawson Technology’s discussions with legal and compliance teams identified a lack of buy in from boards and management as a major problem, making getting past the normal barriers that workforces put up a real task. In some organisations much investment has been made in compliance programs, that are then poorly utilised. For compliance programs to be effective, it’s so imperative they are driven from the top down.

On a positive note from the downturn, it has been noticed a number of companies are renewing their focus on compliance training as they recognise the risks of not doing so. Boards and management facing more direct responsibility and regulatory scrutiny are demanding compliance awareness be addressed at all levels of the

Australasian Legal Business ISSUE 7.7

FEATURE | compliance >>

organisation, with training expected more regularly than in the past. For these types of organisations there is a move towards a more comprehensive training solution including e-learning and other web based tools.

The time for Online Compliance Training Advancements in online training technology offers some unique benefits over previous online formats and traditional training methods as companies cope with the changing financial and regulatory climate. These include: • Content delivered in a shortened, more modularised, targeted approach, assisting with alleviating unnecessary time pressures • Training is blended with relevant company policies and job role risk profiles • Tailoring of courses to differing staff levels, ensures employees are engaged by only learning what is required in their role • Legislative and regulatory updates are made readily available, ensuring that workforces remain compliant • Boards and management have the ability to assess exactly what staff should know, ensuring that their

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strategic objectives are met compliantly • Enhancements in compliance reporting - capturing training trends, policy acceptance, and Continuous Professional Development (CPD) points • Training records can be maintained centrally, allowing simpler access by boards, auditors and regulators as required • Provides a cost effective way of ensuring that employees are reached at anytime and location.

To roll out these programs effectively still requires the co-operation of boards and management for creating the right compliance culture in their organisations.

Effective strategies to enable this include the use of sponsors, employees from varying levels of the business who are empowered to communicate and instil the importance of compliance training into their work colleagues and teams, and also the setting of KPI’s, where employees are measured at appraisal on their levels of compliance understanding.

From evidence in the market, the downturn is heightening the awareness towards more comprehensive compliance training solutions which should only lead to a sharp rise in respondents ratings for “effective programs” in Blake Dawson Technology’s next survey.

Future return on investment will hopefully not be measured in only dollars but also in the assurance of running a robust compliance program thus protecting your most valued asset your brand!. * Blake Dawson Technology “Risk and Compliance Survey 2008” released March 2009. For further details please see http:// www.compliance.blakedawson.com Andrew Adlam Business Development Manager Blake Dawson Technology T61 3 9679 3853 andrew.adlam@blakedawson.com salt™ Enterprise is an online legal compliance training and reporting solution that is easy to deploy and effective at managing your legal compliance training obligations. salt™ Enterprise delivers training courses such as Trade Practices, Fair Work, OH&S, Anti-Money Laundering and many others. All courses are kept up to date as the law changes and are written by expert lawyers from Blake Dawson. Courses can also be customised to reflect your industry or company policies.

At the recent Training Australia Magazine LearnX Awards, salt™. Enterprise won an award in the Best Compliance Training Program category for the second year running. For more information see www.compliance.blakedawson.com

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FEATURE | compliance >>

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Australasian Legal Business ISSUE 7.7

FEATURE | compliance >>

www.legalbusinessonline.com

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ECM List Australia, New Zealand 11 June - 8 July 2009 NB: Does not include transactions valued at less than than USD10m, best efforts transactions and private placements Issuer

Proceeds (USDm)

Issue date

Currency

Bookrunner(s)

Sector

Rio Tinto

3,428

1-Jul

AUD

Credit Suisse, JP Morgan, RBS, Macquarie

Materials

Asciano Group

453

16-Jun

AUD

UBS, RBS

Industrials

ING Office Fund

193

18-Jun

AUD

Citi, JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs JBWere

Real estate

Asciano Group

183

15-Jun

AUD

UBS, RBS

Industrials

FKP Property Group

165

25-Jun

AUD

Goldman Sachs JBWere

Real estate

Macarthur Coal

153

18-Jun

AUD

JP Morgan

Materials

Hastings Diversified Utilities

97

1-Jul

AUD

JP Morgan , UBS

Financials

Australian Infrastructure Fund

86

19-Jun

AUD

Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank

Real estate

Atlas Iron

83

15-Jun

AUD

Hartleys

Materials

Andean Resources

78

24-Jun

CAD

BMO Capital Markets

Materials

ING Office Fund

71

17-Jun

AUD

Citi, Goldman Sachs JBWere, JP Morgan

Real estate

ROC Oil Co

56

26-Jun

AUD

Morgan Stanley

Energy and power

Macquarie Leisure Trust Group

34

25-Jun

AUD

RBS, Macquarie

Real estate

Gold One International

30

24-Jun

AUD

Hartleys

Materials

Centamin Egypt

26

3-Jul

CAD

Thomas Weisel Partners Canada

Materials

Central Petroleum

25

12-Jun

AUD

Patersons Securities

Energy and power

Saracen Mineral Holdings

22

25-Jun

AUD

Evans and Partners, Aequs Capital

Financials

Austin Engineering

21

16-Jun

AUD

Patersons Securities , Argonaut Securities

Materials

Perseus Mining

13

15-Jun

AUD

BGF Capital

Materials

Asian Masters Fund

12

17-Jun

AUD

Dixon Advisory

Financials

Apex Minerals NL

11

18-Jun

AUD

Azure Capital

Materials

Comet Ridge

11

18-Jun

AUD

Wilson HTM Corporate Services

Energy and power

ImpediMed

10

25-Jun

AUD

Wilson HTM Corporate Services

Healthcare

92

25-Jun

NZD

Deutsche Bank, First NZ Capital

Consumer staples

Proceeds (USDm)

Issue date

Currency

Bookrunner(s)

Sector

National Australia Bk Govt Gtd

2,747

30-Jun

USD

Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, HSBC Securities

Government and agencies

Queensland Treasury Corp

2,566

18-Jun

AUD

Deutsche Bank, RBC Capital Markets, UBS

Government and agencies

CBA Govt Gtd

2,498

17-Jun

USD

Barclays Capital, Morgan Stanley, CBA

Government and agencies

ING Bank (Australia) Govt Gtd

1,580

17-Jun

AUD

CBA, JP Morgan, UBS

Financials

Citigroup Govt Gtd

1,062

11-Jun

AUD

Citigroup

Financials

CBA Govt Gtd

1,000

7-Jul

USD

Barclays Capital, Morgan Stanley, CBA

Government and agencies

New South Wales Treasury

644

30-Jun

AUD

UBS

Government and agencies

Bank of Queensland Govt Gtd

605

1-Jul

AUD

RBS, UBS, Westpac

Government and agencies

CBA Govt Gtd

300

6-Jul

USD

Barclays Capital, Morgan Stanley, CBA

Government and agencies

CBA Govt Gtd

203

6-Jul

USD

Barclays Capital, Morgan Stanley, CBA

Government and agencies

Suncorp-Metway Govt Gtd

136

24-Jun

JPY

Nomura Securities, Nikko Citigroup

Government and agencies

Tabcorp Investments No.4

122

12-Jun

AUD

UBS

Media and entertainment

Macquarie Bank Govt Gtd

100

11-Jun

USD

Goldman Sachs & Co

Government and agencies

CBA Govt Gtd

34

22-Jun

SGD

UBS

Government and agencies

Westpac Banking Corp

13

12-Jun

HKD

National Australia Bank

Financials

National Australia Bank

10

17-Jun

HKD

Standard Chartered

Financials

Australia

New Zealand Fisher & Paykel Appl Hldg

Debt List Australia, New Zealand 11 June - 8 July 2009 Issuer

Australia

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Australasian Legal Business ISSUE 7.7

mergermarket M&A deals update

www.legalbusinessonline.com

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Sign off >> HK businesses lag behind global average in green thumb survey

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usinesses that persist with their green agenda during a downturn will be “best placed to seize competitive advantage when the upturn comes”, according to Gary James, a tax partner at Grant Thornton Hong Kong.

His comments come in the wake of a Grant Thornton International Business Report, which asked 7,200 senior executives in privately held businesses across 36 economies to rate the environmental friendliness of their business community. It found that 27% of respondents in Hong Kong consider their community environmentally friendly, followed by Shanghai (24%) and Taiwan (10%) – all below the global average of 30%.

“Amid rising public concern with the environment, businesses are keeping a closer watch on green practices and environmental issues,” James said. “It is fascinating to see Hong Kong and

Shanghai… showing a good perception of environmental friendliness.”

In comparison, fellow Asian countries including the Philippines (78%), India (69%) and Thailand (68%) topped the league table, with Singapore (58%), Japan (51%), Australia (45%) and New Zealand (34%) all in the top 20. ALB

Age is nothing but a number

Whatever floats your goat

U

A

K firm Bird & Bird recently welcomed former trainee Mary Smillie into the firm’s IP practice after she qualified six months ahead of schedule.

The firm will be retaining all 16 trainees due to qualify in September this year, but Smillie managed to complete her training contract in March after work experience was taken into account – a feat made all the more amazing by the fact that, at 50 years old, she is one of London’s oldest trainees. ALB

You’re hired!

H

erbert Smith litigation partner Alan Watts recently made his first television appearance, interviewing candidates on UK reality show The Apprentice, starring Amstrad founder Sir Alan Sugar.

Watts scored the live interviewer role through Sir Alan himself, who has been a client of Watts for the past 16 years. ALB

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Cash call at Dentons

►► percentage of companies who think business community is eco-friendly

51%

Japan

54%

Germany

0

51%

Sweden

10

Finland

20

Denmark

30

Philippines

40

Canada

58%

56%

Singapore

50

62%

68%

65%

Thailand

78%

60

69%

70

India

80

s if his speciality, probate law, wasn’t diverting enough, lawyer Dr John de Groot has taken it upon himself to raise funds for a goat racing museum in Barcaldine, Queensland.

Disturbingly, the museum will be the first of its kind in the world to celebrate the wonders of this often under-rated sport. Goat racing was popular in the depression and – watch out the NRL – is making a comeback in parts of Australia, according to de Groot.

Quite whether the sport’s resurgence is GFC-linked is at this stage unclear.

Nevertheless, the driven de Groot, having already penned a book on the subject, is pushing ahead with an attempt to raise the A$300,000 funding needed to establish the goat-racing museum which, he hopes, will celebrate the faster-moving episodes in the noble history of ‘the working man’s cow’.

De Groot’s admirable motivation to establish a shrine – complete with a ‘Goat Racing Hall of Fame’ – to this long-overlooked yet essential facet of Australia’s rich cultural and sporting heritage may be explained by reports

L

ondon-headquartered Denton Wilde Sapte has reportedly asked partners to pitch in to keep the firm afloat in these tough financial times.

The firm, which recently unveiled a 36% fall in partner profits, requested its partners put around £90,000 of capital back into the business to bolster the firm’s finances during the downturn.

The request – which equates to £1,000 per equity point – was approved after a partnership vote at a recent conference and follows a round of redundancies this year which saw the loss of 76 jobs, including 37 fee-earners in March.

The firm recently also asked for volunteers to defer their training contracts with the offer of £10,000 compensation. ALB

that as a child he could often be seen speeding recklessly through the streets on his champion racing goat, Thunder. ALB Australasian Legal Business ISSUE 7.7