ALB 11.4

ISSUE 11.04 MAY 2013

www.legalbusinessonline.com

AUSTRALASIANLEGALBUSINESS

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MAY 2013

ISSUE 11.0

4

INSURANCE LAW CAREERS GUIDE

All the wAy with Peter K: inside Middletons’ aMerican revolution

2013 AUStrAlASIAn lAW AWArDS Full list of finalists

+ Insurance law + Career guide

AUCKL AND

VERO CENTRE 48 SHORTL AND STREET

PO BOX 8 AUCKL AND NEW ZE AL AND DX C X10085

TELEPHONE 64 9 367 8000 FA X 64 9 367 8163

WELL INGTON

VODAFONE ON THE QUAY 157 L AMBTON QUAY

PO BOX 10 -214 WELL INGTON NEW ZE AL AND DX SX11189

PHONE 64 4 499 9555 FA X 64 4 499 9556

The ALB Awards are always a big deal for us.

Russell McVeagh is honoured to have been nominated in the following categories:

NEW ZEALAND DEAL OF THE YEAR

NEW ZEALAND DEAL TEAM OF THE YEAR

Corporate Advisory Team

NEW ZEALAND DEALMAKER OF THE YEAR

Grame Quigley

EQUITY MARKET DEAL OF THE YEAR

We also wish success to all the finalists for the Russell McVeagh New Zealand In-House Team of the Year.

Thank you to all our clients and amazing team.

www.russellmcveagh.com

GOLDEmployerof Choice 2012

1CONTENTS

18

COvEr STOryK&L Gatesthe Middletons/K&l gates merger is raising some provocative new questions about mid-market practice, as well as finally closing some old wounds for Middletons.

IN PrAISE OF THE COrPOrATE MODEL14Looking for an alternative to the partnership structure?

M+K lawyers’ damian Paul explains why the corporate model has worked for his firm.

“ProcureMent dePartMents within insurers are now driving Panel aPPointMents, and the incredibly coMPlex tenders are Managed by these ProcureMent teaMs as Much as in-house counsel.”scott Kennedy, Curwoods Lawyers

AustrAlAsiAn legAl Businessissue 11.04

14

insuranCe Law 22insurance specialists share the latest trends in this practice area

Careers Guide 38 the economic picture is not pretty by any means – but is this a good enough reason to postpone your next career move?

FEATurESBanKinG & finanCe 32a look at the likelihood of a chinese credit crisis and capital to assets ratios

aLB Law awards 2013 52Full list of finalists in every category ahead of May’s gala event

rEguLArS

deaLs 06

sPOnsOred uPdate 09buddle Findlay

news 12

LeaGue taBLes 16

aCLa 31

aPPOintMents 36

AustrAlAsiAn legAl Businessissue 11.042

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MANAGING DIRECToRAndrew smart

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AUSTRALASIA EDIToRrenu Prasad

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PANTONE 185C PANTONE 186U

GRAYSCALE VERSION


To lead the market requires a combination of innovation and the restless ambition to see a vision through. For more than 25 years, Gilbert + Tobin has helped its clients stay two steps ahead by outthinking and outperforming the competition on the most complex matters in the market.

Our Restructuring + Insolvency team are highly sought after by banks, other financial institutions and corporates that require a creative and constructive approach to complex or difficult transactions. That’s why Nine Entertainment Co. chose Gilbert + Tobin for its A$3.4 billion restructure by scheme of arrangement.

OUT THINK

Dominic EmmettRestructuring + Insolvency

M O R E I N F O R M AT I O N AT NOPRECEDENT.GTLAW.COM.AU

4 EDITOrIAL

This year’s alb employer of choice (eoc) survey will carry a special significance for participants.

regular readers will be aware that the eoc is a yearly feature which recognises the firms which lawyers are most likely to regard favourably as employers. we are pleased

to announce that this year’s eoc survey will be conducted with the assistance of the tristan Jepson Memorial Foundation.

both the Foundation and alb are committed to a holistic approach to employee engagement and the eoc will continue to be a gauge for a wide range of matters such as pro bono participation, firm culture, training and remuneration. in this respect, the basic values of the eoc remain unchanged. what is new is that we now have access to the Foundation’s knowledge and experience in this area.

the Foundation has had deep involvement with developing the judging criteria for the 2013 eoc survey and will also be represented on a new independent judging panel which will determine which firms should be recognised as employers of choice. as is the case with the alb law awards, alb will have no involvement in the judging process other than in situations where a voting deadlock arises.

this is clearly new territory for alb and the indeed for the Foundation too. i understand that the definition of “best practice” when it comes to law firms and the engagement and emotional well-being of employees remains open to debate. this is a discussion which is likely to evolve over many years and needs to occur with the involvement of all stakeholders. lecturing or “naming and shaming” firms over this issue is unlikely to lead to productive results. For this reason, we have sought to produce a set of judging criteria which can realistically be met by firms in this first year and which can be gradually made more comprehensive in ensuing years.

this is only the start of a much longer journey. we’ll have more to say about this year’s eoc on our website (www.legalbusinessonline.com) and weekly newsletter. Please take a look and get involved in the discussion.

renu PrAsAD Australasia editor, Australasian Legal Business,thomson reuters


ISSUE 11.04 MAY 2013



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SInESS

MAY 2013

ISSUE 11.0

4

INSURANCE LAW CAREERS GUIDE

All the wAy with Peter K: inside Middletons’ aMerican revolution

2013 AUStrAlASIAn lAW AWArDS Full list of finalists

+ Insurance law + Career guide

eMPLOYer Of CHOiCe 2013

DEALS AustrAlAsiAn legAl Businessissue 11.0466

yOur MONTH AT A gLANCE

YOur MOntH at a GLanCe

Deal value Advisor Client Lead Lawyer

nsw Ports consortium bid for Port botany/ Port Kembla

a$5.07 billion herbert smith Freehills

nsw Ports consortium

Josh sgro, brendan Quinn and gerard Pike


a$5.07 billion Minter ellison nsw government


a$5.07 billion King & wood Mallesons

financiers

apollo global Management acquisition of Mcgraw-hill education business

us$2.4 billion Minter ellison apollo bart oude-vrielink

suncorp subordinated notes

a$500 million King & wood Mallesons

suncorp ian Paterson, evie bruce

suncorp subordinated notes

a$500 million clayton utz Joint lead managers

ramsay health care Jv with sime darby berhad

a$500 million baker & McKenzie

ramsay ben Mclaughlin

ramsay health care Jv with sime darby berhad

a$500 million herbert smith Freehills

sime darby berhad

ge acquisition of allianz loan book


ge capital australia Peter stirling

ge acquisition of allianz loan book

a$400 million allens allianz

bank of tokyo-Mitsubishi uFJ a$300 million floating rate tcds

a$300 million ashurst bank of tokyo-Mitsubishi uFJ

Paul Jenkins

bank of tokyo-Mitsubishi uFJ a$300 million floating rate tcds


Morgan stanley, Mitsubishi uFJ securities international

australian aged care Partners acquisition of lend lease aged care business

a$270 million allens lend lease tom story

A$5.07 billion inFra- structure

nsw POrts COnsOrtiuM Bid fOr POrt BOtanY/ POrt KeMBLa

• herbert smith Freehills also separately advised individual consortium member sponsors including australiansuper. the herbert smith Freehills team advising australiansuper was led by partner sarrah coffey, with support from senior associate Jodi weedon.

A$500 million debt

sunCOrP suBOrdinated nOtes

• the transaction is the second offer of a capital security by suncorp in the past 12 months on which King & wood Mallesons has advised. in september 2012, the firm advised suncorp on its $560 million raising of convertible preference shares.

Paul jenkins, Ashurst

DEALSAustrAlAsiAn legAl Businessissue 11.04 77

deals rePorted to alb, May 2013. is your firm missing from this table? Please assist alb in making this table as complete as possible by notifying us of your firm’s involvement in deals by emailing [email protected]. alb will publish all deals in value order and all submitted deals will be published, space allowing.



st barbara senior secured notes

us$250 million

ashurst st barbara limited bruce whittaker


us$250 million

herbert smith Freehills

deutsche bank and barclays


us$250 million

King & wood Mallesons

nab

M2 telecommunications acquisition of dodo australia and eftel limited

a$250 million

Minter ellison M2 alberto colla, richard dammery

M2 telecommunications acquisition of dodo australia and eftel limited

a$250 million

addisons dodo

Pepper australia acquisition of commercial mortgage portfolio from citigroup

a$250 million


Pepper Mark crean


a$250 million

King & wood Mallesons

citi


a$250 million

ashurst westpac Paul Jenkins


a$250 million

allens goldman sachs


a$250 million

corrs Permanent custodians

anchorage capital Partners Fund ii

a$250 million

Minter ellison Fund ii nathan cahill

bart oude-vrielink, Minter ellison

US$250 million debt st BarBara seniOr seCured nOtes

• ashurst acted as australian and Png counsel to st barbara. the transaction further cements ashurst’s relationship as st barbara’s key advisor in australia. it follows the firm’s role as australian counsel on st barbara’s acquisition of allied gold by way of uK scheme of arrangement, and the subsequent refinancing and expansion of the company’s syndicated debt facility.

A$250 million Pe anCHOraGe CaPitaL Partners fund ii

• Minter ellison has a long standing relationship with anchorage. the firm advised anchorage in the successful close of its first fund, anchorage capital Partners Fund i in March 2010 which was also oversubscribed and closed at a$200 million.




Pe bid for nintex group

a$222 million allens nintex robert Pick

dingyi group bid for elemental Minerals

a$200 million norton rose dingyi group James stewart

grosvenor australia partial sale of property asset to Motor accident commission of south australia

a$195 million allens grosvenor australia victoria holthouse

grosvenor australia partial sale of property asset to Motor accident commission of south australia

a$195 million thomsons lawyers

Motor accident commission

clough selldown of Forge stake

a$187 million clayton utz Macquarie capital brendan groves

clough selldown of Forge stake

a$187 million ashurst clough sarah dulhunty

Mesoblast capital raising

a$170 million K&l gates Mesoblast andrew gaffney

Mesoblast capital raising

a$170 million clayton utz lead managers

corporation service company acquisition of dbs

a$153 million gilbert + tobin corporation service company

david clee

corporation service company acquisition of dbs


Melbourne it (vendor)

craig semple, nicola charlston

Peet equity raising a$116 million allen & overy Merrill lynch tony sparks

Peet equity raising a$116 million King & wood Mallesons

Peet

uss axle Pty ltd acquisition of airtrain holdings limited


airtrain John humphrey, stefan luke

uss axle Pty ltd acquisition of airtrain holdings limited

a$110 million Johnson winter & slattery

uss axle damian reichel, tim bowley

A$195 million ProPerty

GrOsvenOr austraLia PartiaL saLe Of PrOPertY asset tO MOtOr aCCident COMMissiOn Of sOutH austraLia

• allens has acted for grosvenor since the 1960s.

yOur MONTH AT A gLANCE

A$153 million M&a COrPOratiOn serviCe COMPanY aCquisitiOn Of dBs

• Melbourne it is a long-standing client of King & wood Mallesons. KwM acted for Melbourne it when it bought from verisign five years ago for us$50m the business which it combined with its existing operations to form the division it has now sold.

Stefan Luke, King & Wood Mallesons

Resolving tax disputes is an expensive and time consuming process for businesses. In New Zealand, tax disputes are currently settled exclusively by litigation or outside of court by agreement between the taxpayer and the Inland Revenue Department (IRD).

The United Kingdom tax authority, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is however embracing a different way of settling tax disputes. Faced with 10,000 live appeals lodged with the Tax Tribunal, it has sought a quick and cost-effective method of resolving suitable cases. The process that it has adopted is Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). Whilst ADR has been used for many years in the resolution of civil disputes, it has only recently been considered for tax disputes.

Following a two year pilot, HMRC has now expressly committed to ADR for small and medium enterprises. Although not yet formally announced, it is expected that ADR will similarly be rolled out permanently for large businesses.

Although ADR can take many forms, HMRC’s focus has been on facilitated mediation, rather than other ADR variants such as arbitration or expert determination, which HMRC considers are inappropriate in a tax context as in its view any adjudicatory function belongs to the courts. Its self-styled ‘facilitated discussion’ is derived from the concept of facilitative mediation, where a mediator tries to bring two sides together without offering an opinion on the parties’ arguments.

The United Kingdom is not the only jurisdiction utilising ADR techniques in an effort to clear the backlog of tax cases. The Australian Tax Office is currently conducting an ADR pilot using in-house facilitation to resolve small indirect tax disputes. The IRD by comparison, has to date made no commitment to ADR. Arguably, however, the New Zealand tax disputes process would greatly benefit from the inclusion of an ADR element and could easily be enhanced to do so.

How is ADR useD in tHe uniteD KingDom?HMRC’s support for ADR stems from its commitment to use collaborative dispute resolution to resolve disputes efficiently, as set out in its refreshed Litigation and Settlement Strategy. HMRC’s commitment to ADR is significant. A large number of HMRC staff are now accredited mediators, having been formally

trained alongside private practitioners. It has also established a Dispute Resolution Unit (DRU) charged with selecting appropriate cases for ADR, providing facilitators and generally assisting the parties through the process. The DRU has also drafted and circulated detailed practical guidance as to the use of ADR.

The use of facilitated discussion has been well received by taxpayers and tax advisers in the United Kingdom. The process involves trained facilitators bringing the parties together and challenging each side as to how their dispute may play out in court. Although facilitators will usually be provided by HMRC, they can also be provided by the taxpayer. In all cases the facilitator will not have had any previous involvement with the case. The aim of facilitated discussion is to attempt to reach resolution of the dispute at a single meeting (albeit one that may last a full working day and carry on into the evening). Accordingly, prior to the meeting date, the parties usually exchange written submissions as to the issues agreed to be in dispute.

ADR has been found to be suitable for a wide range of disputes, particularly those where a narrowing or clarification of the facts or issues in the dispute is necessary. It is particularly useful in fact-heavy cases such as transfer pricing or capital versus revenue disputes. In general, it is useful when the parties have become entrenched in their positions and little progress is being made towards resolution. It does, however, require a willingness by both parties to settle which may inevitably involve making concessions.

CoulD ADR be useD to Resolve tAx Disputes in new ZeAlAnD?New Zealand has a statutory pre-litigation disputes process entailing a number of formal steps. The process can be lengthy and costly. Taxpayers would almost certainly benefit from the introduction of an ADR element into the process. The most obvious improvement would be to augment the conference phase by offering ADR. The conference occurs at a stage where the parties have set out their respective positions but litigation is not yet inevitable. Although not legislated for but nonetheless an important administrative practice, the purpose of the conference is to identify and clarify the facts and issues in dispute. The conference could

easily be supplemented by introducing a formal process and the use of ADR techniques, including the appointment of trained mediators to actively try to bring the parties together and broker an agreement between them. The overall aim would be to give the conference phase more substance by presenting a real opportunity to settle disputes without recourse to the courts. There should be no barrier to the IRD participating in ADR, it being already empowered to settle disputes in accordance with its existing care and management powers. Certainly, HMRC is confident that ADR falls comfortably within the parameters of its almost identical powers and duties.

Although ADR might naturally fit at the conference stage, there is of course no reason why it could not occur earlier in the disputes process.

It seems illogical to ignore the potential efficiencies that ADR can bring. The non-binding and confidential nature of ADR means that there is very little downside to either party. If resolution cannot be reached, each party will be likely to conclude the process with a better understanding of the other’s position. After ADR, the issues will almost certainly have been narrowed. Accordingly, if litigation is ultimately required it will be on a much more focused basis than it would have been absent the ADR process.

A beTTeR WAy OF ReSOLvINg TAx DISpUTeS?

NZ Commentary

Firm Profile

neil Russ Buddle Findlay

sAm DAvies Buddle Findlay

This article was written by Neil Russ, partner, and Sam Davies, senior solicitor, both based in the Auckland office of Buddle Findlay, a leading New Zealand law firm. Neil specialises in all aspects of contentious and non-contentious tax, and Sam specialises in tax dispute resolution having spent a number of years in a leading tax litigation practice in London. Neil can be contacted on +64 9 358 7002 or [email protected] and Sam on +64 9 363 1027 or [email protected].




blue star acquisition of geon assets


blue star group Peter dunne

Peet bid for cic a$76 million baker & McKenzie

cic guy sanderson

Peet bid for cic a$76 million King & wood Mallesons

Peet

lion selection group iPo

a$62 million herbert geer lion adam brooks

carsales.com stake acquisition in icar asia ltd

a$13 million arnold bloch leibler

carsales.com Jonathan wenig

australian renewable Fuels capital raising

baker & McKenzie

australian renewable Fuels

richard lustig

grundfos acquisition of bKb Pumps & tanks

baker & McKenzie

groundfos richard lustig

grundfos acquisition of bKb Pumps & tanks

Moores legal vendors

allied Mills acquisition of grain Products australia starch processing business

gadens allied Mills Paul brown, John grimble and anthony whealy

allied Mills acquisition of grain Products australia starch processing business

henry davis york

Mcgrathnicol

garden city Plastics acquisition of décor

baker & McKenzie

garden city Plastics richard lustig

cement australia Jv King & wood Mallesons

heidelbergcement adrian Perkins

cement australia Jv ashurst holcim

deals rePorted to alb, May 2013. is your firm missing from this table? Please assist alb in making this table as complete as possible by notifying us of your firm’s involvement in deals by emailing [email protected]. alb will publish all deals in value order and all submitted deals will be published, space allowing.

Adrian Perkins, King & Wood Mallesons

Adam brooks, herbert Geer

UndisclosedM&a BLue star aCquisitiOn Of GeOn assets

• this was one of a number of transactions herbert smith Freehills has advised wolseley Private equity on in recent times, including the house’s acquisition of blue star’s australian operations in late 2012.

Day-to-day workplace activities may lead to copyright infringement if your company doesn’t have the appropriate copyright licence.

If your employees are undertaking any of the following information-sharing activities using third party content then you are potentially in breach of Australian copyright laws:

• Emailing articles• Forwarding attachments• Scanning or faxing• Downloading or uploading to the Internet• Uploading news articles to a website• Photocopying of text or images• Inserting graphs or tables in reports• Using images in presentations

Penalties for breaching copyright include the risk of significant damages being awarded against your company.

Contact our Commercial Licensing division on 02 9394 7600 to find out more about how our simple annual copyright licences can improve your company’s compliance profile and minimise your legal risk.

Who We areCopyright Agency is the peak Australian body for licensing the rights to copy and communicate published content and other copyright material. Copyright Agency was also appointed by the Commonwealth Attorney-General in 1990 to manage the statutory licence in the Copyright Act 1968.

More information: Copyright Agency, Level 15, 233 Castlereagh Street, Sydney NSW 2000 | ABN 53 001 228 799 phone 1800 066 844 or 02 9394 7600 | email [email protected] | web www.rightsportal.com.au

Why your company needs a copyright licence

Day-to-day workplace activities may lead to copyright infringement if your company doesn’t have the appropriate copyright licence.

If your employees are undertaking any of the following information-sharing activities using third party content then you are potentially in breach of Australian copyright laws:

• Emailing articles• Forwarding attachments• Scanning or faxing• Downloading or uploading to the Internet• Uploading news articles to a website• Photocopying of text or images• Inserting graphs or tables in reports• Using images in presentations

Penalties for breaching copyright include the risk of significant damages being awarded against your company.

Contact our Commercial Licensing division on 02 9394 7600 to find out more about how our simple annual copyright licences can improve your company’s compliance profile and minimise your legal risk.

Who We areCopyright Agency is the peak Australian body for licensing the rights to copy and communicate published content and other copyright material. Copyright Agency was also appointed by the Commonwealth Attorney-General in 1990 to manage the statutory licence in the Copyright Act 1968.

More information: Copyright Agency, Level 15, 233 Castlereagh Street, Sydney NSW 2000 | ABN 53 001 228 799 phone 1800 066 844 or 02 9394 7600 | email [email protected] | web www.rightsportal.com.au

Why your company needs a copyright licence

NEwS AustrAlAsiAn legAl Businessissue 11.0412

Q&a with damian huondamian huon is a legal technology strategist and ceo of huon it. with over 24 years supporting australian law firms, huon it deliver business-wide outcomes with ‘everything technology’.

It StAFFIng StrAtEgIES – Is In-house, Outsourcing or Multisourcing the way of the future?always controversial, there are arguments for and against each option - but ultimately it comes down to your situation, structure and future strategies. here, seasoned strategist damian huon weighs up the options to find the right approach for your firm.

technology in Practice>>

There’s no magic formula.However, industry benchmarks can be a great indication of whether you

are IT ‘heavy’ or working efficiently. Based on Australian firms we work with, a good rule of thumb is a ratio of

roughly one IT staffer per 100 employees, excluding any software development, and complimented with flexible outsourcing to support the peaks and troughs of workloads that are bound to occur.

Levels of automation, customisation and external support obviously have a big impact on this number, as do the skill set levels of those staff. While smaller firms can suffice with an IT ‘generalist’ who can coordinate support and escalate where necessary, larger firms may need more managerial experience and specialist knowledge.

Q1 How many in-house It staff should I have in relation to our total headcount?

The growing acceptance of the Cloud naturally causes a slight increased dependency upon your external provider, however it certainly doesn’t mark the end of in-house IT.

Moving your infrastructure to a hosted Cloud can reduce your team’s “behind the scenes” support and maintenance workload, however in most cases the front-end support to your users remains about the same. While you may rationalise some internal costs, also consider redistributing that internal capacity towards business improvement.

Ultimately, it’s important to create an environment where in-house and outsourcing aren’t working in competition. A truly best practice IT structure will work in harmony to give you the best of both worlds; the stability and familiarity of in-house staff, complimented with the expertise and flexibility of an outsourced partnership.

Q2 How does ‘the Cloud’ impact upon the balance between in-house and outsourcing?

Multisourcing is an extension of traditional outsourcing, where different components of your IT are contracted separately to a range of vendors.

The rationale behind this approach is to maximise the effectiveness of IT by ensuring that each part of your system is sourced to the best possible provider, whose core competencies are focused on this element. It also diversifies risk, as you don’t have all your eggs in one basket.

Proceed with caution however, as it also poses serious risks. Multisourced arrangements are by nature harder to manage; with so many parties having access to your system it’s crucial to encourage cooperation, teamwork and crystal clear parameters between each supplier.

Q3 What is multisourcing, and is it a smart move for my firm?

Email your questions to [email protected]

In case you missed it…..

industrytruman Hoyle signs cooperation agreement with bird & bird, eyes mergerTruman hoyle has announced a cooperation agreement with London-based bird & bird which may become the precursor to a full merger. The move will see the two firms pursue their common strengths, notably in the technology, telecommunications and media space. Truman hoyle will also be able to leverage bird & bird’s international network, which includes offices in Shanghai, beijing, hong Kong and Singapore.

The alliance will be exclusive, although exceptions will be made according to client preference and where the required skills or locations are not available between the two firms. Truman hoyle managing partner Shane barber told ALB that there was a “common intention between the firms to pursue a merger down the track” but this would only occur at a “sensible time and without the pressure of arbitrary deadlines.”

sydneyMcInnes Wilson arrives in Sydneyqueensland’s McInnes Wilson has opened a Sydney office and signaled an intention to pursue insurance work with the lateral hire of former Gillis Delaney partner john Renshaw, who will be leading the Sydney team.

however, McInnes Wilson business development manager Robert Walker told ALB that the Sydney office will not be confined to insurance and the intention is to offer the same range of services on tap in the firm’s queensland offices. “We will be delivering a fully integrated practice from day one,” he said. The firm is not actively recruiting at this point in Sydney and will gauge client demand over the coming months before pursuing more hires.

McInnes Wilson has a wide offering which includes commercial, insurance and construction law. The firm also has offices in brisbane, Southport and Maroochydore. “McInnes Wilson Lawyers is fully committed to having a strong commercial and insurance practice in Sydney reflecting our current practice which has been operating in queensland for 38 years,” said CEo Paul Tully.

brisbaneWotton + Kearney arrives in Queensland

Insurance firm Wotton + Kearney has announced it will open a brisbane office in july, citing an increase in “queensland domiciled claims, particularly in the wake of recent weather-related catastrophes…and growth of the queensland energy sector.” The firm already has offices in Sydney and Melbourne.

THE MONTH’S TOP HEADLINES FrOM www.LeGaLBusinessOnLine.COM

NEwSAustrAlAsiAn legAl Businessissue 11.04 13

General CounselCGU Insurance

In-HoUse Q&A >>

Melbourne t | +61 3 8102 1900 Sydney t | +61 2 8228 7680

2 In recent times, the role of the General Counsel has diversified into a multi-faceted role, (where the General Counsel can wear the ‘hat’ of Lawyer, Legal Manager, Compliance Manager, and Company Secretary). In your opinion, do you believe this has increased your risk profile?

This is a quandary for senior in-house lawyers who want to develop their careers. Career paths for in-house lawyers are often non-linear and I think the ones who are most successful tend to show a greater willingness to keep learning and taking on new and different challenges. It would be easy to just say that the risks are too great and stick to the relative safety of the legal function. There are always risks in taking on unfamiliar challenges even without some rather unhelpful cases that seem to increase the risks further. Many of the in-house lawyers that I respect most have taken on broader opportunities and challenges in addition to their legal role.

3 In your opinion, what do you consider to be the main challenges you and your team will face in 2013?

It is looking like it will be a busy year for CGU and the insurance industry generally so I think the legal team will be kept pretty active. There are some major regulatory changes coming through this year which will require a lot of co-ordination to get right. The business also has some very clear ambitions this year and we are focussed on making our contribution to hitting those targets. I keep telling the team that the best state for us to be is very busy (not sure they believe me) because no one likes an idle lawyer hanging around.

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1I’m not sure that in-house lawyers are indispensable but the arguments for proving their value have at least become more sophisticated. There was a time when the only real reason for hiring an in-house lawyer was to save money on legal fees. Whilst that argument still stacks up, it is probably no longer enough for most corporate clients now. We also have to establish real expertise in areas of law relevant to the client and meld that with a deep understanding of the business and its strategic objectives. Add to that the ability to develop strong internal relationships, project, people and general management skills and all the other “soft” skills that are required to thrive in-house, then you start to see lawyers who are actually well developed human beings as well as exceptional leaders and business people in their own right.

In your opinion, why have in-house lawyers become an increasingly indispensable part of an organisation?

Dion GooDerham

“In recent times, our lawyers have been increasingly involved in a broad range of queensland based disputes relevant to legal issues arising from the queensland floods, the collapse of Storm financial and the class action following the collapse of RiverCity Motorways,” said chief executive partner David Kearney. “We have built a very strong rapport over ten years with many insurers and their insureds operating in queensland and we are delighted that we will now be doing so with a direct presence in brisbane.” The brisbane office will be led by partner Paul Spezza.

new ZealandChapman tripp partner opens sole practiceformer Chapman Tripp partner Dermot Ross has decided to open a sole practice. A banking and finance specialist, Ross will continue to pursue practice principally in that area. “It’s not likely I’ll see much work from banks – obviously they prefer panels and the big firms, but perhaps there will be conflict work and second opinion work and so on,” he said. “I already do some work in the corporate sector for decent sized companies on the borrowing side and I’m hoping one or two of those clients will continue with me.” The firm, which operates under the name Dermot Ross & Co, has informal referral arrangements with other firms, including Chapman Tripp.

united KingdoMHerbert Smith Freehills: dissent in ranks, says UK mediaDiscontent relating to the freehills merger is one reason for an exodus at herbert Smith’s disputes practice, according to UK legal publication The Lawyer.

The report noted that six disputes partners had left the team since the merger and said that the exodus included “some of the chief rainmakers of legacy firm herbert Smith.” The departures include senior litigation partner Ted Greeno and financial services regulatory chief Martyn hopper.

The Lawyer also quoted an anonymous source who said that some litigators had been disgruntled, prior to the merger, at the firm’s profitability being undermined by “underperforming departments” and this malcontent had been aggravated by the merger. “Some big litigation players maintained it wasn’t worth effectively doubling the firm’s size just to get into one more jurisdiction - and a relatively small one at that,” the source told The Lawyer’s Lucy burton.

Presented by

a Matter Of PrinCiPaLis the corPorate Model aPProPriate For a legal business and how does it worK? M+K lawyers national Managing director daMian Paul, exPlains the corPorate Model and why he believes it is PreFerable to PartnershiP For his business. rEpOrt: rEnU prASAD

When the topic of law firm corporatisation comes up, we often think of listed firms such as Slater & Gordon or

Integrated Legal holdings. These firms represent one form of corporatisation, but certainly not the only form: legal partnerships have been experimenting with ideas borrowed from corporate Australia for years. Corporatisation entails matters of organisational structure which are quite distinct from the question of whether the organisation should be listed.

one firm which has taken the corporatisation process much further than most is M+K Lawyers. As ALB has previously observed, M+K is a firm which has carved a unique niche for itself as a national SME specialist advisor. M+K is not listed, but it has abolished its 100 year old partnership model and replaced it with a standard corporate model complete with shares, shareholders and directors.

Under this system, lawyers are remunerated solely by salaries and bonuses. The firm’s partner equivalent is known as a principal, and this position is akin to that of a salaried partner and does not imply any ownership of the firm.

Those lawyers who are interested in owning part of the firm can buy shares in M+K. This voluntary ownership is open to all principals and senior employees, including non-lawyers in the management

image not in folder

AustrAlAsiAn legAl Businessissue 11.0414 ANALySIS

team. The firm also has a small number of external investors – generally retired principals – and keeps an open mind on external investment. M+K shares are not listed on any bourse.

The firm has raised capital on several occasions. The most recent raising was in December 2011, when the firm raised A$4 million to fund an acquisition and a share sale. ALB caught up with M+K managing director Damian Paul to explore the intricacies of this model.

Alb: HOW DO YOU EStAblISH tHE prICE FOr M+K SHArES?Dp: The M+K board reviews and sets the share price usually at the start of each financial year. The methodology is confidential but does not change each year - we don’t move the goalposts - and we use some fairly standard methodologies, such as multiple of earnings. The share price has increased 40 percent in the past few years. our shareholders benefit from these capital gains which most law firms leave on the table.

Alb: IS tHErE A MArKEt FOr tHE SHArES? Dp: To date, the market has been internal. We’ve had several instances of shares being bought and sold. We continue to grow, so there are always more potential buyers from within the firm.

Alb: DO YOU HAvE AnY SHArEHOlDErS WHO ArE nOt EMplOYEES?Dp: other than people who have left the firm, we don’t have external shareholders, though we’ve had significant interest from several external investors. We’re happy to entertain the idea – there may come a time when we need to tap sources outside of the existing shareholders. If an employee leaves, we reserve the right to buy back shares at the set price. We believe in the right of employees to own shares.

Alb: YOU’vE COnClUDED SEvErAl MErgErS rECEntlY. HAS YOUr COrpOrAtE MODEl ASSIStED YOU In ClOSIng tHOSE DEAlS?Dp: Like most firms our growth strategy centres on organic growth and compatible

lateral hires. The ability to buy a firm adds another string to our bow. It enables us to attract talent and clients that are not suited to the lateral hire approach.

being incorporated allows us to fund the purchase of a law firm for four reasons. first, we can retain some of our earnings within the company. Second, we can raise fresh equity from shareholders. Third, the bank finds the corporate structure more conducive to lending. finally, we can pay some of the purchase price in shares. These features are problematic in a partnership model for tax and commercial reasons.

In our model, the vendor partners who come on board as part of a merger receive significant upfront cash and shares and they retain the principal title too.

Alb: WHAt ArE tHE OtHEr ADvAntAgES OF tHIS MODEl?Dp: from the client’s perspective, they get it. It’s the same model in which they typically operate their own business. It resonates with them. Their lawyers think and behave as employees, directors and shareholders in the same way that they do.

from an internal perspective there are also advantages. first, it encourages our people to focus on the long term, not simply on grabbing as much cash out of the business as we can every year. A long term investment in sustainable profit growth benefits the business and will, over time, lift shareholder value.

Second, it enables the distribution of real share ownership across a far wider cross section of our staff than just a handful of equity partners at the top of the tree.

Third, our people pay tax based on the cash that they receive - salary, bonus and franked dividends. In a partnership, the partners pay tax on the profits that are distributed regardless of the cash they actually receive.

fourth, we have removed the concept of “equity partner” versus “non-equity partner”, which is a tension in some firms. our senior people are simply principals. They are rewarded according to the contributions they make. And those who own shares, which is most, participate in the dividends and long term capital growth.

fifth, in a partnership structure each of the equity and non-equity partners is jointly and severally liable for the firm’s debts. Also, the equity partners are usually personally exposed by having to contribute working capital or to personally guarantee all or some of the firm’s borrowings or to provide personal guarantees to landlords and the like.

In our model our principals do not have this exposure. So their homes and personal assets are not on the line for these risks.

Alb: bUt DOn’t All FIrMS HAvE InSUrAnCE tO COvEr tHESE pOtEntIAl lIAbIlItIES?Dp: firms will generally have insurance to cover professional negligence claims and other operational risks. but these will generally not cover a partner’s personal exposure to the bank, the landlord and any other suppliers if the firm, for any reason, is unable to meet the primary obligation.

Alb: OnE ArgUMEnt In FAvOUr OF EQUItY pArtnErSHIp IS tHE rIgHt tO HAvE A SAY In HOW tHE FIrM IS rUn. It SEEMS

AustrAlAsiAn legAl Businessissue 11.04 15ANALySIS

tOP M&a firMs - annOunCed deaLs, Year tO date 2013

ranK LeGaL advisOr vaLue ($MiL)

MKt. sHare deaLs

2 King & wood Mallesons 2,175.08 12.5 22

3 herbert smith Freehills 1,547.29 8.9 23

4 thomsons lawyers 904.11 5.2 1

5 allen & overy 810.00 4.7 5

5* simpson grierson 810.00 4.7 1

7 allens 653.99 3.8 11

8 torys 644.90 3.7 1

9 linklaters 529.60 3.0 4

10 steinepreis Paganin 418.72 2.4 2

11 gilbert + tobin 358.20 2.1 5

12 Johnson winter & slattery 336.50 1.9 4

13 corrs chambers westgarth 277.70 1.6 2

14 baker & McKenzie 254.91 1.5 5

15 hopgoodganim 249.15 1.4 6

16 blake cassels & graydon 187.58 1.1 1

16* cassels brock & blackwell llP 187.58 1.1 1

18 stikeman elliott 171.25 1.0 1

18* clayton utz 171.25 1.0 3

20 skadden 157.35 0.9 1

21 Kim & chang 114.80 0.7 1

21* davies ward Phillips & vineberg llP

114.80 0.7 1

21* houthoff buruma 114.80 0.7 1

24 clifford chance 111.13 0.6 1

25 olswang 78.50 0.5 2

subtotal with legal advisor 11,378.22 65.5 106

subtotal without legal advisor 6,003.53 34.5 343

industry total 17,381.75 100.0 449

based on ranking value inc. net debt of targetsource: thomson Financial date: 2013-04-22 08:25:04 edt

nO.1 Minter eLLisOn

value ($Mil)

deals: 14 MarKet share: 31.4

5,465.73tOP M&a firMs - COMPLeted deaLs, Year tO date 2013

ranK LeGaL advisOr vaLue ($MiL)

MKt. sHare deaLs

2 Paul, weiss 2,280.19 17.7 1

3 herbert smith Freehills 1,973.16 15.3 18

4 skadden 1,831.47 14.2 4

5 blake cassels & graydon 1,771.52 13.8 2

6 allens 1,734.44 13.5 14

7 King & wood Mallesons 1,505.33 11.7 18

8 Middletons lawyers 1,150.02 8.9 2

9 dorsey & whitney llP 1,078.75 8.4 1

9* lawson lundell lawson & Mcintosh

1,078.75 8.4 1

9* K&l gates 1,078.75 8.4 1

9* squire sanders llP 1,078.75 8.4 1

9* gowling lafleur henderson llP 1,078.75 8.4 1

14 linklaters 1,056.45 8.2 6

15 clayton utz 1,021.19 7.9 5

16 stikeman elliott 983.13 7.6 4

17 thomsons lawyers 904.11 7.0 1

18 allen & overy 810.00 6.3 5

18* simpson grierson 810.00 6.3 1

20 Minter ellison 687.13 5.3 13

21 ashurst 641.16 5.0 8

22 Johnson winter & slattery 514.20 4.0 6

23 norton rose 427.02 3.3 11

24 corrs chambers westgarth 402.45 3.1 9

25 hardy bowen lawyers 235.48 1.8 2

subtotal with legal advisor 10,606.07 82.4 106

subtotal without legal advisor 2,269.35 17.6 231

industry total 12,875.42 100.0 337

based on ranking value inc. net debt of targetsource: thomson Financial date: 2013-04-22 08:14:56 edt

nO.1 GiLBert + tOBin

value ($Mil)

deals: 6 MarKet share: 24.1

3,109.03

AustrAlAsiAn legAl Businessissue 11.0416 LEAguE TABLES

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tHAt prInCIpAlS DO nOt HAvE tHIS In tHE M+K MODEl.Dp: Like most mid to large law firms, our principals have a major say in matters affecting them and their practice group and are content to leave the running of the firm to a select few who have the skills and interest to do so. And of course the elected directors have an obligation to act in the best interests of all shareholders.

our business is run locally, with a lot of local autonomy and a local board in charge of day to day operations.

Alb: DO tHE prInCIpAlS gEt A vOtE WHEn MAjOr DECISIOnS COME Up?Dp: In my 25 years at M+K I don’t recall us ever having a vote. We find that our principals are more interested in running their practice, serving their clients and teaching their junior lawyers; they want the support, the resourcing, the hR and the marketing services to run their practice and that is what we provide.

Alb: WHAt ArE SOME OF tHE DISADvAntAgES OF tHIS MODEl?Dp: If you could lobby the state governments to abolish payroll tax on principals’ salaries I’d appreciate it! It’s an expense I’d prefer not to have but it’s significantly outweighed by the advantages.

Alb: WOUlD YOU ExpECt tO SEE OtHEr FIrMS gOIng DOWn tHIS pAtH?Dp: I have heard of several medium to large firms looking into it. but transferring from a partnership to a corporate structure incurs stamp duty and capital gains tax. So, you would need to have a compelling business case, as we did, to go down this track.

Also some people may not want to let go of the partner title. however, in our experience that is not a big deal and people quickly adjust to the principal title.

“the ability to buy a FirM adds another string to our bow. it enables us to attract talent and clients that are not suited to the lateral hire aPProach.”

17ANALySISAustrAlAsiAn legAl Businessissue 11.04

BuLL at tHe Gatesthe Middletons/K&l gates Merger is raising soMe Provocative new Questions about Mid-MarKet Practice, as well as Finally closing soMe old wounds For Middletons. K&l gates global Managing Partner Peter Kalis and australian Managing Partner nicK nichola share their story with alb. AnAlYSIS: rEnU prASAD

of all the mergers which have taken place in the Australian market, the K&L Gates/ Middletons tie up has been

something of a curiosity. K&L Gates is a firm with a Pittsburgh heritage and is one of the few U.S. firms to invest in an Australian presence. That is novel in itself. but when they did arrive to scout around for an Australian partner, they chose…..Middletons. This was not a merger that many would have predicted. how does a firm which only last year was still marketing itself as part of the Australian “mid-market elite” fit into the global picture? how does it fit into the global ambitions of K&L Gates?

fortunately, K&L Gates chairman and global managing partner Peter Kalis was recently in town to help explain the merger. Tough, astute and with a sharp turn of phrase, Kalis is one of the more

recognisable figures of the globalised profession. having led K&L Gates through eight mergers, he’s a seasoned veteran of the process and knows what he wants from a partner firm.

It all starts with that crucial merger issue: financial integration. Kalis has been an outspoken critic of non-integrated mergers and once famously referred to them as “Noah’s Ark” arrangements whereby duplicate structures and CEos are brought aboard two by two and expected to operate under a single flag. None of that at K&L Gates, where Middletons appears to have achieved something no comparable rival in this market can claim: full financial integration from day one. No deferred partner vote. No staged transition of remuneration schemes. just one system right from the start.

“We have a single profit pool, a unitary compensation approach, a single technology platform and a single brand. There is no reason why these things can’t occur on day one,” says Kalis. he says the firms were assisted by the fact that they already shared a similar performance-based approach to remuneration. “It’s a merit based approach,” says Kalis. “It wasn’t controversial at all – we had similar systems to start with so it was no big deal. It was not like having lock step in firm A and merit based in firm b; that would be pulling teeth.”

AustrAlAsiAn legAl Businessissue 11.0418 k&L gATES

IntEgrAtE Or pErISHfinancial integration is something close to the heart of K&L Gates Australia managing partner Nick Nichola. Indeed, by entering an integrated merger with K&L Gates, MIddletons was upholding one of the longest and most deeply embedded principles in the firm: an unwavering belief that mergers can only work with full financial integration. It’s worth taking a quick history lesson to understand why.

Middletons spent 10 years as a non-integrated firm back in the 1990s – or a “national federation” as such firms were known at the time – and many of the lawyers from that era are still on board to tell the tale. According to Nichola, it was not a successful arrangement. “I was a corporate partner based in Melbourne in those days,” he recalls, “So if I had a client on the phone asking for advice on a deal in Sydney, I’d immediately start thinking about flights up to Sydney and hotel rooms and how it was going to affect my plans with the family. [The federation] just did not facilitate collaboration because we were all operating in different silos.”

This story has a sting in the tail for those firms who have entered merger agreements but have deferred full integration, believing they can revisit the issue down the track. Nichola’s experience is that the longer a firm spends as a federation, the harder it is to fully

integrate. “We thought back in 1992 that we could have a common name, separate partnerships and over the next few years the way we did things would gradually drift into alignment,” he says. “Well the truth was we spent 10 years drifting apart. Sure, we had the same brands, standard documentation, but in another way our approaches were entirely different.” The differences between the groups proved to be irreconcilable and the federation split up. Nichola and his colleagues in Melbourne were left with the Middletons brand and a plan to rebuild the firm to a national practice – but this time they would do things the right way. “In january 2002 we began to rebuild – and we resolved that we would insist on any future merger being fully financially integrated,” concluded Nichola.

In K&L Gates, Middletons have therefore found something of kindred spirit and the resulting merger is what Kalis describes as the legal industry’s largest global integrated network of offices. “30 percent of our revenues are derived from cross-office [referrals],” he says. “No other firm can match that and it arises from a reward system that incentivises [a team culture].”

Kalis is in disputed territory here and the claim to being the world’s largest firm or the largest integrated firm or variants thereof have been made by many in recent years. While firms such as baker & McKenzie are well known for their use of verein structures, many UK firms have preferred full financial integration. however, Kalis does not see these firms as truly global firms in the manner of K&L Gates.

“That’s all hub and spokes stuff, all roads lead to London,” he says of the UK firms. “So you take their managing partner or the senior partner, they’re always in London or the head of M&A or the head of disputes – these folks are always in London. So really it’s a hub and spokes kind of approach.”

It is true that many UK firms have introduced outsiders into senior roles – for example, Australia’s Gavin bell serves as joint CEo of herbert Smith freehills – but Kalis is making a deeper point in relation to the distribution of power in these organisations.

“We’re not organised [in a hierarchy],” he says. “Every one of our offices has equal station and dignity regardless of size.

“well the truth was we sPent 10 years driFting aPart. sure, we had the saMe brands, standard docuMentation, but in another way our aPProaches were entirely diFFerent.”

Peter Kalis (left) and Nick Nichola (right), K&L Gates

AustrAlAsiAn legAl Businessissue 11.04 19k&L gATES

That’s how we think the world is in the 21st Century. In our governance system, each office has someone with the vote and the same information as I have. If I get my way, it’s because my ideas are better, it’s not because of who I am. It’s an idea driven governance culture. Nothing empowers people like knowing that their ideas matter. you might be from Pluto but if you have a good idea, it should prevail in the marketplace of ideas.”

MID MArKEtWhere does the mid-market fit in the context of the globalisation of the legal services industry? Does it fit at all? After all, the big name mergers of the past year have all involved firms at the premium end of the market.

but Kalis has no reservations about pursuing the mid-market and is proud to point out that K&L Gates was recently named “Law firm of the year” in Mergers & Acquisitions magazine’s M&A Mid-Market Awards. but is Kalis happy to be lumped into the mid-market category? “Absolutely,” he says. “you want to know who won it the year before? Skadden. And the year before that? Sullivan & Cromwell.”

Kalis defines “mid market” deals as those in the $25 million to $500 million space, which he says creates plenty of scope for high value, sophisticated deals which no firm is likely to turn down. “There are not enough gigantic deals to keep everyone busy,” he states. “Do you think in this market the Wall St firms or the Magic Circle firms would turn down $200 million deals? I don’t think so. There aren’t enough deals to keep people busy, so you bet that they’re dropping their deal value. They might want you to believe they’re not, but it’s simply not true. They’re chasing them down, they’re doing unbelievable fee arrangements. There’s still a certain amount of snobbery about the mid-market, but let me just say that the last five years have humbled a lot of snobs.”

Perhaps in Australia, there is a tendency to view “mid-market” as those deals towards the lower end of the $25 million to $500 million scale. Still, the general point about deal snobbery may hold true. “If you’re insecure about your place in the world, you

probably buy a slightly more expensive car than you should so people see it in the driveway,” says Kalis. “A firm might say we only do the humongous deals but in point of fact since 2008 the deal flow has been erratic and reduced. Everyone knows that. Law firms have to be extremely guarded about what deals they deflect away.”

Kalis believes the distinction between mid-market and blue chip clients is starting to blur, at least in terms of what kind of legal advice is required. While the very large corporates are more likely to need assistance with cross-border work more often, Kalis points out that medium sized businesses are also increasingly heading offshore.

“Where I’m from we have companies that have $200 million in sales that have jvs in China,” he says. “Now that’s because if people are going to invade their local market, they’re going to have to position themselves more globally just as a matter of survival. So a lot of these distinctions are breaking down – if you’re trying to build a business you cannot typically ignore what is happening around the world. from a legal requirements standpoint the top tier and mid tiers are blurring.”

Clearly “mid-market” is a term which can have multiple meanings in different markets. Still, Kalis raises the interesting possibility of a new tranche of global mergers at the mid-market level, a level which is only now progressing towards national consolidation in Australia. Why stop at national boundaries? The next generation of global mid-market firms could be on its way.

AustrAlAsiAn legAl Businessissue 11.0420 k&L gATES

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tHe riGHt POLiCY

sPecialist insurance Practices are reaPing the beneFits oF a national Focus on risK and insurance that has Followed recent natural and econoMic disasters. bEn AbbOtt rePorts.

AustrAlAsiAn legAl Businessissue 11.0422 INSurANCE

AustrAlAsiAn legAl Businessissue 11.04 23INSurANCE

“we have deliberately set uP a Full-service insurance Practice targeting a nuMber oF niche areas, because oF where the MarKet is heading; there has been a huge aMount oF consolidation.”

- scott Kennedy, Curwoods Lawyers

Global firm Clyde & Co’s launch of a new insurance practice in Australia last year received attention because the team,

headed by partner john Edmond, came straight from Australia’s own Allens.

The move was symptomatic of a trend that has been noticeable in insurance law for some time: the move towards the instruction of specialist insurance practices, rather than full-service law firms.

This has come for two reasons. firstly, because conflicts often mean full-service firms need to turn down work, and secondly, because specialist practices can offer better pricing on what is by nature more commoditised work, thus meeting cost-conscious client expectations. The result is a focused and highly skilled specialist insurance legal market that is proving its resilience in challenging times.

A SpECIAlISt’S pArADISEClyde & Co is a firm that offers more to clients globally than insurance expertise, but as Australian managing partner Edmond attests, is now able to offer advice to insurers largely free of conflict.

“We have retained all the work we have brought from Allens and grown the practice, because we now have a better offering for those clients who we were previously acting for,” he says.

Edmond says whereas the practice used to have to reject two thirds of the matters it was considered for by clients, it can now accept nine out of 10. “It has made a huge difference in the propensity of those clients to come and instruct us, because we are now able to take them on,” Edmond says.

Clayton Utz partner fred hawke is a witness to the move away from top tier full service firms. hawke says Clayton Utz took a strategic decision a decade ago to corner the corporate insured market.

“We saw a market niche more than 10 years ago where we could concentrate on policy holders. We weren’t interested

‘tESt-ACHAtS’ AnD DISCrIMInAtIOn If you are an insurance lawyer and you haven’t heard of the European Union’s ‘Test-Achats’ case, then Clayton Utz partner fred hawke says it just could force its way on to your radar some time soon.

Why? because it threatens to change the way insurers in Australia calculate risk for different policyholder groups of the same insurance type.

“This is an issue that has really slipped under the radar,” hawke says.

‘Test-Achats’ was a case brought before the European Court of justice by a belgian consumer organisation of the same name, after it took umbrage at insurance companies offering different pricing based on sex. Taking aim at a statute that allowed exemptions to discrimination laws for actuarial reasons, Test-Achats was successful in having it struck down based on the European Treaty.

Though the case concerned motor insurance, it had a knock-on effect for life insurance, and insurance companies had two years to introduce unisex premiums. This deadline expired on 31 December 2012.

hawke says that, although there are no direct implications for Australia, the nature of the insurance industry here is as discriminatory – for good actuarial reasons – as it was in Europe and the UK.

he says the decision goes to the heart of how risk is calculated, with insurers requiring the ability to discriminate to ensure they remain financially viable and deliver reasonably priced products. There is a difference between insurance as a consumer product, and insurance as a ‘human right’, hawke argues.

“Nobody has looked at how far the Test-Achats principle can go. If it is applied to age for example, then that throws into question the cost and feasibility of a range of insurance products,” he says.

hawke fears that insurers, if faced with a similar decision here, may end up replacing direct price discrimination based with indirect discrimination that could still disadvantage one group.

As it turned out, the insurance industry did not protest too loudly in Europe and the UK. The industry realised introducing unisex premiums meant they could ‘clip the ticket’, boosting overall revenue.

Belinda Henningham, wotton + Kearney

Paul Hopkins, Carter newell

fred Hawke, Clayton utz

John edmond, Clyde & Co


in competing against insurance law firms that were acting for insurance companies,” he says.

As Curwoods Lawyers’ Scott Kennedy explains, insurance industry consolidation has driven changes among legal service providers, with specialist firms forced to offer a broader suite of insurance advice.

“We have deliberately set up a full-service insurance practice targeting a number of niche areas, because of where the market is heading; there has been a huge amount of consolidation,” he says.

Indeed, lawyers who have been in the industry even a short time will have seen the likes of Suncorp and IAG consolidate a number of brands including GIo, AAMI, the NRMA and CGU.

Such an environment means being more things to fewer people. “Clients have for some time been going down the path of looking for more from their existing legal service providers,” Kennedy says.

Panels now typically range from between three and seven firms, rather than the 20 or 30 firms some insurers may once have had. Panel appointments are now also extremely laborious. “Procurement departments within insurers are now driving panel appointments, and the incredibly complex tenders are managed by these procurement teams as much as in-house counsel,” Kennedy observes. An ongoing tender from one of the industry’s key clients, Suncorp, is the latest challenge facing insurance firms, with the group looking to consolidate its legal outsourcing arrangements. breadth of service, as well as national or at least Eastern seaboard coverage, will become increasingly critical to such appointments.

“we have retained all the worK we have brought FroM allens and grown the Practice.”

- John edmond, Clyde & Co

www.wottonkearney.com.au

We’re opening our doors in Brisbane

Sydney + Melbourne + Brisbane

Wotton + Kearney is a specialist law firm that advises and acts for a wide variety of interests in the insurance industry.

In 2013 the firm was ranked as a Band 1 firm for insurance law in Australia in the Chambers & Partners Asia Pacific law firm directory. In 2012 the firm was a finalist for the fifth consecutive year in the Australasian Legal Business “Insurance Specialist Law Firm of the Year” award category, having won the award in 2009.

The firm’s exceptional client service was also

recently recognised with Wotton + Kearney being named a finalist in 3 BRW 2013 Client Choice Award categories (Best Law firm, revenue less than $50 million; Most Innovative Firm; and Best Client Relationship Management). With offices in Sydney and Melbourne we are the only Australian law firm based in more than one city practising solely in insurance law.

From 1 July 2013 we will be expanding our presence with the opening of an office in Brisbane.

scott Kennedy, Curwoods Lawyers

Cameron roberts, Herbert Geer


Client legal arrangements have also progressed further than in other sectors toward achieving successful fixed fee arrangements. for example, over half of herbert Geer’s work is for fixed fees.

While overall volume has decreased by some accounts over two decades as a result of consolidation, specialist firms such as Wotton + Kearney, set up 11 years ago, continue to grow and are seeing new opportunities. In fact, the firm is about to open a new office in brisbane. “The office will kick off on 1 july this year,” says partner belinda henningham. “We had been managing quite a few queensland-based claims already, with the recent natural disasters and the energy sector growing, and clients continue to be very busy. It’s far and away the most outstanding growth opportunity we can see.”

Meanwhile, Sparke helmore promoted four partners last year, three from the financially integrated insurance side of its broader practice, a sign of “where the growth is coming from”, according to head of insurance Rhett Slocombe. The firm also appointed a lateral team in queensland, will name a new lateral hire in Western Australia in july, and is also on the lookout for further additions to its team.

It is not alone. Clyde & Co’s Edmond has also indicated the global firm is eyeing potential expansion in brisbane and Melbourne, beyond the Sydney and Perth offices it already maintains.

gOOD tIMES, bAD tIMESInsurance has traditionally been a counter-cyclical buffer in legal services, and as a result, firms who do maintain an insurance practice continue to reap the benefits of its steady revenue contribution. “Insurance practices now tend to be more valued within law practices generally,” says herbert Geer partner Cameron Roberts. “The insurers have a steady volume of work, and while they may require competitive pricing, they certainly are still very valued clients to a mid-tier firm like herbert Geer.”

While recent natural disaster events in Australia have been an obvious key source of work for firms, particularly in queensland, a related trend firms are watching is the rise of class action litigation. With class actions launched by the victims of the black Saturday bushfires as well as some of those inundated in queensland floods, firms expect this tendency will only increase in future. Much of this impetus comes from the consolidation and empowerment of plaintiff law firms like Slater & Gordon and Maurice blackburn. With Slater & Gordon having listed on the ASX, Shine Lawyers readying an IPo, and all these firms in acquisition and merger mode, the result is a smaller group of more powerful plaintiff firms who will aggressively pursue actions in tandem with litigation funders.

Directors and officers (D&os) will not be spared from close attention, with the rise of shareholder class actions. ASIC’s james hardie case and the $200 million Centro class action settlement are two recent galvanizing matters for D&os that insurance lawyers say will increasingly provide new work for firms. Lander & Rogers is one firm that expects the trend towards an increasingly onerous interpretation of directors’ duties and scrutiny from private litigants will only continue throughout the rest of 2013.

financial lines work has been a mainstay through tough economic times, and the financial crisis-induced rush to hold property professionals, accountants and financial planners

InSUrAnCE CArEEr nOt jUSt A bACK-Up plAnWotton + Kearney partner belinda henningham is the first to admit insurance law is not the most popular career choice for young ambitious lawyers. Instead, it’s something they often fall into.

however, henningham and a number of other partners active in insurance believe it provides strong future growth opportunities for young lawyers looking to make their mark and grow a practice.

“Insurance law is not marketed particularly well to graduates, but once people get into the industry, most of them by far tend to stick it out in insurance because there are plenty of opportunities,” she says.

With the bulk of insurance work now handled by smaller, more nimble and younger specialist insurance firms, younger lawyers have more scope to move up through the ranks.

“The insurance sector is very underrated,” says partner Scott Kennedy of Curwoods Lawyers. “I don’t think as a career choice it receives anywhere near the prominence it should. It’s a fantastic career.”

Kennedy says lawyers can access opportunities from litigation across a range of different insurance areas, to in-house roles, or even eventual management positions in insurance companies.

Carter Newell partner Paul hopkins says the insurance industry demands “outstanding” lawyers, and due to client sophistication requires them to commit to the industry to succeed. “you really have to be dedicated to it, work on the training and everything else that goes with it. If you are passionate and energetic and you work hard, then you can be successful and develop your own market share,” he says.

hopkins adds that it’s often better to be in an industry like insurance with lower charge-out rates because the volume of work is there. “With the lack of work at the moment in corporate, it doesn’t matter what your rate is if it’s multiplied by zero,” he says. “At the end of the day all work is a valuable contributor, and some work may have lower rates and more volume, but it’s all valuable to clients. We also see high quality work that’s among some of the most stimulating in the country.”


accountable is still steady. “The largest area of financial lines claims over the last 12 months has been claims against accountants, based either on their involvement with investment decisions, taxation or super advice, or due diligence inquiries prior to the purchase of businesses that subsequently underperform,” says Cartner Newell partner Paul hopkins. With property markets faring poorly through the financial crisis, property and real estate professionals have come under fire, particularly valuers who are being targeted by banks and financial institutions. Matters in the property sector include misrepresentation claims against real estate sales professionals, particularly in off-the-plan apartment sales where values of properties have in some cases halved between contract signing and completion.

Lander & Rogers notes a growth in public liability claims in both NSW and victoria, which while not nearing pre-tort reform highs are in an ‘upswing’ stage of the insurance cycle. for instance, personal injuries cases litigated in the victorian Supreme Court increased 20 percent from 2010-2011 to 2011-2012. No lawyers are yet quite sure what impact the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) will have on their practice, though insurers have welcomed the influx of significant public funds.

While many insurance matters continue to be mediated to

“insurance Practices now tend to be More valued within law Practices generally.”

- Cameron roberts, Herbert Geer

Cooper Grace Ward’s lawyers are recognised for technical excellence across a diverse range of practice areas. This year we are proud to share that nine of our team members have been included in Best Lawyers® Australia, which recognises technical excellence across the legal profession and is based on exhaustive and rigorous peer reviews.

Listed among Australia’s best

• Kevin Bartlett, Aviation

• Greg Cahill, Tax, Trusts and Estates, Commercial

• Sean Henderson, Construction/Infrastructure

• Carol Lee, Health and Aged Care

• Quentin Owen, Insurance

• Tony Park, Insurance

• David Roberts, Banking and Finance, Commercial

• Charles Sweeney, Commercial

• Belinda Winter, Labour and Employment

www.cgw.com.au

settlement, Carter Newell is one law firm that has noticed the greater willingness of insurer clients to run the appropriate cases to trial. hopkins gives the example of Kotku Bread Pty Ltd v Vero Insurance Ltd & Anor [2012] QSC 109, where the firm acted for the underwriters of an insured bakery who legitimately declined to indemnify the insured following a fire that destroyed the bakery. Carter Newell was able


to prove that the broker on behalf of the insured failed to disclose information in an online proposal form, which would have caused the underwriter to decline cover. The broker was ordered to pay the baker $2.7 million plus costs.

rISKY bUSInESSone of the pressing issues brought to light through natural disaster events and climate change has been the ‘omnipresent’ nature of risk, according to hawke. he said insurers, governments, lawyers and the broader community will need to work through difficult questions of how much of that risk is actually insurable, how companies can provide insurance to everyone in a way that does not leave them exposed to insolvency, and how much risk should be borne by the community.

hawke argues that insurance lawyers are at the cutting edge in dealing with such issues. “The insurance industry was one of the first sectors of business to realise the implications of climate change and to raise the flag and start warning and attempting to get people to deal with it,” hawke says.

Which leaves growth opportunities for talented insurance lawyers. “I always tell young insurance lawyers to read books about risk,” says hawke. “There will be increasing work for those lawyers who have a deep conceptual understanding of

risk, who understand why a policy is written, what it is intended to cover, why certain limitations exist and why it has been priced in the way it has.”

BIG ENOUGH TO DELIVER.Small enough to care.

We never forget what you wantwww.herbertgeer.com.au

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on 3 april 2013, the high court handed down its decision in Hunt & Hunt Lawyers v Mitchell Morgan Nominees Pty Ltd & Ors. the case

raised the issues of whether damage caused by an adviser is the same as damage caused by a rogue committing a fraud and whether courts should consider the disadvantage suffered by the client or the ultimate consequence of the fraud.

in Hunt & Hunt Lawyers v Mitchell Morgan Nominees Pty Ltd & Ors the rogue, with the help of an accomplice, defrauded his business partner by forging his partner’s signature on a loan application, loan agreement and mortgage. he convinced a lender to advance money purportedly to both the rogue and his partner but, in fact, solely to the rogue. the lender retained solicitors to document the loan, which it had agreed to on the basis that it would receive a mortgage over property owned by one partner (the innocent partner) as security.

the solicitors made an error in documenting the transaction: the mortgage over the land did not itself contain a promise to repay the funds that were advanced. it merely provided security for the mortgagors’ obligations under the separate loan agreement. when the fraud was revealed, the loan agreement became unenforceable against the innocent partner who had not signed it. the mortgage remained enforceable in theory (because of indefeasibility of title, which trumped the fraud). but with the loan agreement gone,

it secured nothing. if the mortgage itself contained the promise to repay, then the lender could have enforced it, even against the innocent partner.

as the lender could not recover, it sued the solicitors and won. the solicitors argued that, even though their negligence had caused the loss, the rogue had a much greater responsibility for the same loss. that argument succeeded at first: the lender was limited to recovering 12.5 percent of its loss from the solicitors (the rest was attributable to the rogue and the accomplice). as the rogue and accomplice were both bankrupt, the lender was left without compensation for 87.5 percent of the loss caused by the solicitor’s negligence.

the lender appealed to the new south wales court of appeal. it decided unanimously (5-0) that the damage caused by the solicitor was different to the damage caused by the rogue: the solicitor damaged the lender by leaving it without effective security. this was not the same as the damage caused by the rogue, which was causing it to hand over the loan amount based on forged documents. because the loss or damage was not the same, proportionate liability did not apply and the solicitors were liable for 100 percent of the loss.

the court of appeal decision was overturned by the high court, which was split 3-2. its decision clarified that the type of disadvantage is not important and that what is important is the ultimate economic loss suffered by the plaintiff. if the economic loss caused by the fraud is the same economic loss caused by the negligent advice, proportionate liability applies.

the essence of the decision was that the loss suffered by the lender was no more or less than its inability to recovery the monies advanced. both the solicitors and the rogue and accomplice caused that loss. the fact that different causes of action were involved, and that the solicitors and the rogue made qualitatively different contributions to the loss, did not matter.

the high court’s decision substantially strengthens the scope of the proportionate liability defence for professionals sued in circumstances where their (alleged) negligence has permitted fraud to occur.

MalcolM caMeron Sparke Helmore lawyers

PrOPOrtiOnate LiaBiLitY:

by MAlCOlM CAMErOn, Partner, sParKe helMore lawyers

what happens when fraud and negligence collide?

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Section 54 of the Insurance Contracts Act holds the perhaps dubious title as the section of the Act that has required the greatest amount of judicial consideration and clarifi cation. This judicial time hasgreatly assisted with most of the issuesthat arise in applying s 54. However, oneissue continues to pose a challenge.Namely, the question as to what constitutes an "omission" within the firstlimb of s 54(1). Section 54 affects contracts of insurance which permit an insurer to refuse to pay a claim because the insured or a third party has done some act or omitted to do some act after the contract was entered into. If the act or omission could not reasonably be regarded as being capable of causing or contributing to a loss for which the insurance cover is provided, the insurer may not refuse to pay the claim under s 54(1). There is no conclusive test as to what constitutes an omission. Rather, the determination of what constitutes an omission appears to depend on the applicable facts including the terms of the relevant contract of insurance. The question as to whether there has been a s 54(1) omission has been most frequently considered in cases involving a failure to

notify circumstances under claims made and notifi ed policies. In 2001, the High Court considered that such a failure was a s 54(1) omission (notwithstanding earlier decisions which introduced the alternatives of “mere inaction” and “non-event”) in the seminal decision of FAI v Australian Hospital Care. Instead of considering the question as to what constituted an omission, the majority judges stated that close attention had to be given to the elements with which s 54 deals with, namely: “the effect of the contract of insurance between the parties”; the “claim” which the insurer has made; and “the reason for the insurer’s refusal to pay that claim”. The Australian Hospital Care case arguably heralded an abandonment of the judicial search forone conclusive test as to what constitutes an omission. Two more recent cases have enlivened the debate. Johnson v Triple C Furniture & Electrical Pty Ltd concerned a pilot who did not satisfactorily complete an aeroplane fl ight review in breach of a policy exclusion. The Queensland Court of Appeal found that this was not an omission within s 54 because while obtaining the satisfaction of the instructor was something which the pilot might achieve, it was not something

he had the power to do and therefore that he could omit. On the other hand, Corboy J of the WA Supreme Court in Highway Hauliers Pty Ltd v Maxwell found that the insured, the operator of the fl eet of trucks, was guilty of an omission in operating its vehicles with drivers who did not satisfy the requirements of the policy of insurance, in that they were non declared drivers who had not obtained a minimum PAQS test score. He characterised the relevant act (omission) by reference to the use of the vehicles, rather than the attributes of the drivers concerned. This focused on the substantive effect of the contract of insurance, the claims made by the insured and the reasons why the insurer was entitled to reject the claim. There is a current debate regarding the reconciliation of the legal reasoning put forth in the Highway Hauliers with thoseset out in Johnson. Putting this to oneside, it suffi ces to say that there appear to be a number of tests as to what constitutes an omission depending on the facts under consideration and, in particular, the terms of the relevant contract of insurance and the characterisation of the relevant omission.

ONLINE

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By Peter Mann (Partner, Clayton Utz)

Manns Annotated Insurance advert.indd 1 12/04/2013 10:37:44 AM

prIvACY lAW rEFOrMby tOnY de GOvriK, legal aFFairs & coMMunications director, australian corPorate lawyers association, the ProFessional body For in-house lawyers.

– Are you really prepared?

firebrand evangelist billy Graham has been quoted as saying “once you’ve lost your privacy, you realise you’ve lost an extremely valuable thing.” No doubt with this in mind, our

legislators saw fit to introduce the Privacy Amendment (Enhancing Privacy Protection) Act 2012 which became law late last year. As a result, Australia’s privacy laws have been brought into the digital age under these landmark reforms passed by Parliament last November. At the time, the then federal Attorney-General, Nicola Roxon, said that “These reforms are the most significant changes to privacy law since Labor introduced the Privacy Act in 1988. In the digital age, as Australians connect with each other through social media, purchase footy tickets or pay bills online it is vital that we protect consumers’ personal information.”

In summary, the new laws will: • createasinglesetofAustralianPrivacyPrinciples

applying to both Australian Government agencies and the private sector. These principles will replace the existing Information Privacy Principles and National Privacy Principles

• introducemorecomprehensivecreditreporting,improved privacy protections and more logical, consistent and simple language. Comprehensive credit reporting is likely to lower levels of indebtedness through more accurate assessments of an individual’s creditworthiness

• strengthenthefunctionsandpowersoftheAustralian Information Commissioner to resolve complaints, use external dispute resolution services, conduct investigations and promote compliance

• createnewprovisionsonprivacycodesandthecredit reporting code, including codes that will be binding on specified agencies and organisations

• giveahigherstandardofprotectiontoanindividual’s “sensitive information”, including health related information, DNA and biometric data

• introducenewcivilpenaltyorders,includingpenalties of up to $1.7 million for privacy breaches by corporations.

Accordingly, we now have a new statutory regime with mandatory privacy principles with which all relevant businesses must comply. These principles, know as the Australian Privacy Principles (or APPs), combine and replace the National Privacy Principles and the Information

Privacy Principles contained in the Privacy Act 1988.The new APPs apply to all direct selling organisations

with a minimum annual turnover of $3 million which must comply with a list of requirements. by 12 March 2014 these businesses must:• haveaprivacypolicytailoredtomeetthe

requirements of the APPs• notuseordiscloseanyinformationtheymayhold

about an individual for direct marketing, subject to specific exceptions

• beforeprovidinganoverseasorganisation(including related companies) with personal information, take reasonable steps to ensure that the overseas recipient complies with the APPs

• haveinplaceanadequateschemeallowingaccessto complaints

• complywithrequirementsregardingunsolicitedinformation.

businesses should, in any event, consider complying with the APPs because of the strong message to consumers that the organisation, regardless of its size, recognises the importance of treating personal information in an appropriate and secure manner.

The new laws will also give the Australian Privacy Commissioner new powers to resolve complaints, conduct investigations, promote compliance and get a remedy for consumers. for instance, the Commissioner is granted greater enforcement powers including the use of enforceable undertakings and the ability to apply to a court for a civil penalty order which may be up to $340,000 for individuals and up to $1.7 million in the case of corporations. businesses which may be affected by the new legislation should naturally ensure that their privacy policies comply with the new requirements of the Act.

Although not coming into force until March 2014, there is a mountain of privacy-related work to be undertaken before then and, judging by reactions from in-house counsel, getting on top of privacy reform will be a top priority for them over the next 12 months. The new privacy principles affect direct marketing, offshoring and cloud computing, all of which have been subject to significant change. bearing in the mind the very substantial penalties that will apply for breaches of the new legislation and the APPs, in-house counsel will be well advised to get on top of the new requirements sooner rather than later.

tony de Govrik

AustrAlAsiAn legAl Businessissue 11.04 31ACLA

CHinaand tHe CHaOs tHeOrY Of finanCe

a credit crisis in china need not becoMe an econoMic one, WrItES jOHn FOlEY*

AustrAlAsiAn legAl Businessissue 11.0432 BANkINg & FINANCE

Will China have a financial crisis? And if so, would Chinese people be any worse off? The answers are not found in the country’s rapidly rising levels of debt, but in the potential for chaos when things go wrong.

China is sliding further along the scale of chaotic financial systems, but is not yet in the danger zone.

financial chaos might be described as the potential for one event to cause other unforeseeable ones. That might happen because of unexpected linkages. or it might be because people respond to developments in unpredictable or irrational ways. It’s close to what investor George Soros has called ‘reflexivity’. In Soros’ eyes, thinking actors are fallible, and that makes them prone to inappropriate and destructive actions.

A bit of unpredictability in the financial system is a good thing. freewheeling promotes innovation, and helps capital to go to where it’s needed, rather than where a centralised authority thinks it belongs. Chinese leaders are deeply troubled by the idea of chaos, or ‘luan’, but have tolerated the financial kind occasionally, say by letting in foreign investors, setting up stock markets and occasionally laying off state-sector employees.

Imagine a financial Chaos index. It starts at zero – total state control in a country where the government is entirely trusted. The authorities can print money to make problems go away, and there are no foreign creditors or trade partners to complain. Now picture a system with a score of 100. It has no trust at all, and its denizens are driven by fear and ignorance. only gold has financial value. At the height of its own financial crisis in 2007, the U.S. was probably around 70.

China used to be close to zero. Until 1978, there was really only one bank, the People’s bank of China, which dispensed investment funds following government orders. Later, new banks were created, but the state retained its virtual monopoly on credit. In that world, it didn’t really matter whether borrowers paid back loans or not. The mandarins, as owners of the whole banking system, could rewrite accounts and make losses disappear.

Twenty years later, things had got more chaotic. Private lenders and foreign investors proliferated. Claims on China’s borrowers were spread more widely, but the system remained pretty simple – probably a 10 on the financial Chaos index. Even when a financial institution failed and bad debts spiked, trust in the government to make things whole – at least for Chinese lenders and depositors – was absolute.

Then came the big bang. In 2010, banks stepped up a clever trick of repackaging credit into trusts and wealth management products that don’t appear on their balance sheets. This so-called shadow banking has thrived since. banks are still at the centre of the spider’s web, but the number of people with claims on Chinese companies has widened to include literally millions of depositors.

That means more room for chaos. Say a small business, whose debts were repackaged as a wealth management product, defaults. Tracking down its thousands of creditors would be a nightmare. Moreover, individuals are unpredictable. They might protest angrily if they don’t get their money back. or stop buying such products, creating a credit crunch. or pull their savings from banks that sold failed investments, leading to dreaded bank runs.

Despite that, China is probably only a 30-40 on the financial

Chaos index – more uncertain than in 1978, but less than the U.S. in 2007. That’s because as long as the state can credibly bury bad debts with new money, the financial system can remain more or less whole. At a push, the government could buy all outstanding “shadow bank” lending, estimated at $3.7 trillion. Trade partners and foreign investors would worry; moral hazard would result. but there wouldn’t be a social collapse.

China isn’t totally immune to self-destructive fear and ignorance. Environmental degradation could provoke chaos; so could corruption. Unproductive lending and too much control could harm the real economy, by giving people too much of what they don’t want, and too little of what they do. but provided the level of financial chaos stays low, a credit crisis, even if it does happen, needn’t be an economic one.*John Foley is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist.

AustrAlAsiAn legAl Businessissue 11.04 33BANkINg & FINANCE

how much capital do banks need? Ask the basel Committee of global banking supervisors, and it will recommend three percent of total bank assets. Ask tougher observers like the UK’s banking commission, and you’ll hear four percent. but ask Anat Admati and Martin hellwig, the economists behind the recent book The bankers’ New Clothes, and you’re in for a shock: they’re after 30 percent.

bankers greet this kind of talk with a bemused shake of the head. hiking capital, they claim, will just mean cutting the amount of lending in the economy by a proportionate amount. Super-high capital ratios would slash returns on equity to such an extent that banks would struggle to attract new private-sector investors to help increase lending. Ask anyone in the City and they will repeat, as if in a trance, that equity is expensive and pushes up the cost of providing credit.

Admati and hellwig tackle this argument head on. first, they argue that the idea of capital and lending being in opposition is baloney: capital – which should really be called “equity” to avoid confusion – is in the liability column of banks’ balance sheets. It

a new booK is ProvoKing soMe Fresh thought on caPital to assets settings, WrItES gEOrgE HAY*

helps to fund assets – or loans – rather than sitting unused in a box. banks with more equity can do more lending, not less.

The authors concede that banks’ RoE figures would fall if they had more equity. but any bank maintaining a 30 percent capital ratio will be significantly safer, which means that the cost of that equity should also come down. This is the “Modigliani-Miller” theorem, which states that in an idealised world companies would be indifferent between funding themselves with debt or equity. More loss-absorbing capital should also make it less likely that taxpayers will have to bail banks out.

Admati and hellwig’s analytical rigour is convincing. So why aren’t banks voluntarily increasing the amount of equity on their balance sheets? The cynical view is that bankers have an incentive to keep capital levels low – less capital means higher returns on equity, and bigger bonuses. They spend plenty of money trying to convince politicians and the general public that equity is expensive. The authors marshal plenty of examples, reminiscent of Charles ferguson’s depressingly plausible 2011 film Inside job, documenting how politicians, regulators and bankers are intertwined.

but the argument for dramatic increases in equity faces a more fundamental problem. banks are not necessarily subject to the normal dynamic, whereby debt becomes more costly as banks become more leveraged – and therefore more risky. Instead, taxpayer subsidies that mean big banks are bailed out in a crisis give them an incentive to borrow as much as possible. In the authors’ own analogy, banks are like homebuyers who put down tiny deposits on their houses but know they will get rescued by a rich auntie if anything goes wrong.

seeinGtHrOuGH BanKers’ wOOLLY tHinKinG

AustrAlAsiAn legAl Businessissue 11.04BANkINg & FINANCE34

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The problem for Admati and hellwig is that this means bankers’ objections have some logic. Adding more equity reduces the proportion of their loans that can be financed with artificially cheap debt. That’s bad for bonuses and shareholders, but also for small businesses and families striving to get onto the housing ladder: their borrowing costs may go up.

There’s something rotten about this status quo, though. Even if the system enables cheaper loans, it also means bank shareholders and employees are protected from facing the consequences of their risky behaviour: taxpayers – the rich aunties – are on the hook. When bankers dismiss higher equity levels they are cynically and opportunistically confusing their private gains with what’s good for society. They are like a chemical firm carping about the cost of insuring against potential losses from toxic spillages it has itself caused.

The value of The bankers’ New Clothes is that it sets all this out in clear and accessible terms over little more than 200 pages, without cutting corners: the notes alone are over half as long. The problem is how to get the banking firmament from where it is now to where Admati and hellwig think it needs to be. The authors’ preference – bans on dividends to shareholders and forcible state restructurings of weaker banks – would require politicians willing to not only take on Wall Street but also explain why cheap financing shouldn’t be extended to the poor and why potentially more taxpayer money needs to go into the financial sector. The authors’ hard line on capital means they also underplay regulatory reforms that are already under way: supervisors have made some progress in safely winding up failing institutions, and while new basel III rules may have only trebled capital requirements from a wholly inadequate starting point, they are better than nothing.

That doesn’t mean Admati and hellwig are any less right in their analysis of banks’ failings. but the sad truth is that when confronted with a choice between a freestanding banking system and one which periodically blows up but enables artificially low borrowing rates, politicians will tend to choose the latter. That means low bank equity – and overpaid bankers – could be around for a while yet.* George Hay is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist

AustrAlAsiAn legAl Businessissue 11.04 35BANkINg & FINANCE

LateraL Partner aPPOintMents

name practice area Coming from going to

alex robinson building/construction herbert geer hwl ebsworth

andrew buchanan Property herbert geer hwl ebsworth

andrew leece infrastructure King & wood Mallesons clayton utz

andrew Pitney building/construction corrs chambers westgarth hwl ebsworth

andrew tulloch transport dla Piper colin biggers & Paisley

Frank Krstic Property/development roads and Maritime services nsw colin biggers & Paisley

geoffrey giudice workplace relations Fair work commission ashurst

Jonathon hadley workplace relations hemming+hart dibbsbarker

Josh Paffey construction Mcinnes wilson norton rose

Paul deschamps building/construction herbert geer hwl ebsworth

sam Pearlman insurance Macgillivrays solicitors curwoods

terry Mclaughlin Management team (ceo) new Zealand institute of chartered accountants

duncan cotterill

tim sherman tax baker & McKenzie King & wood Mallesons

tim l’estrange disputes anZ bank Jones day

wayne Kelcey insovlency/ disputes cornwall stodart hall & wilcox

APPOINTMENTS

nZ: nEW CEO At DUnCAn COttErIllterry Mclaughlin has been appointed the new chief executive of duncan cotterill lawyers. Previously chief executive of the new Zealand institute of chartered accountants for the past five years, Mclaughlin was earlier executive director of audit new Zealand. as a chartered accountant, he has also had a stint as a partner with ernst & young. Mclaughlin returns to his christchurch hometown from wellington. Meanwhile, former duncan cotterill chief executive Janice Fredric will be pursuing a career as a professional director.

FOrMEr FAIr WOrK prESIDEnt jOInS ASHUrStgeoffrey giudice has joined ashurst australia’s employment practice as a consultant. giudice was president of the australian industrial relations commission between 1997 and 2009 and inaugural president of Fair work australia, serving between 2009 and 2012. he consults exclusively to ashurst.

l’EStrAngE jOInS jOnES DAYJones day has announced that corporate governance and commercial disputes specialist tim l’estrange has joined the firm in sydney as a partner in the global disputes practice.

l’estrange was previously general counsel at anZ bank and has spent 10 years with the bank in a range of senior local and overseas postings in europe and the u.s. he previously spent 23 years with allens arthur robinson, rising to managing partner and led the litigation group.

“[this] appointment marks another important step forward in Jones day’s global disputes practice, and a continuation and expansion of our critical mass in australia and around the world,” said tim cullen, the head of Jones day’s global disputes Practice.

HErbErt gEEr lOSES tEAM OF 14 tO HWl EbSWOrtHhwl ebsworth has announced the recruitment of a building & construction and property team in the sydney office. the team was previously at herbert geer. Paul deschamps and alex robinson have joined hwl as partners in the building & construction group and andrew buchanan has

joined the firm as a partner in the property group. the three partners have been accompanied by a team of 14 as part of the move.

“we are delighted that Paul, alex, andrew and their team have accepted our invitation to join hwl ebsworth,” said managing partner Juan Martinez.

COrrS’ MElbOUrnE HEAD MOvES tO HWl EbSWOrtHhwl ebsworth has recruited andrew Pitney to its building & construction team. Pitney previously held the role of partner-in-charge in the corrs chambers westgarth Melbourne office.

the appointment continues a series of movements out of corrs. last month norton rose announced the appointment of richard lewis, iain laughland and steve Johns as corporate partners from corrs in sydney while corrs M&a partners Jeremy davis, byron Koster and James rozsa were poached by Johnson winter & slattery.

KIng & WOOD MAllESOnS EYES CAnbErrA grOWtHKing & wood Mallesons has appointed a new special counsel and two new senior associates in canberra. the new appointees are special counsel chris trudinger, who specialises in securitisation and structured finance, senior associate stephen

timL’estrange

terryMcLaughlin

Geoff Giudice

APPOINTMENTSMasterman, who specialises in financial services, corporate and commercial law and senior associate hugh bannister, who specialises in telecommunications law.

the firm said in a statement that the appointments reflected an “ongoing investment in the canberra market” and noted that two new canberra partners, Paul crawford and dan Kynaston, had been appointed last year.

nOrtOn rOSE bOOStS brISbAnE COnStrUCtIOnnorton rose australia has announced the appointment of new brisbane construction and engineering partner Josh Paffey, who joins from Mcinnes wilson. the firm said that its construction and engineering practice now had 45 lawyers.

Paffey said that he was attracted by the prospect of joining a global firm. “the norton rose platform and quality of its international network will provide my clients with access to the highest quality legal advice available,” he said.

COrrS’ pArtnEr AppOIntED DEpUtY prESIDEnt OF tHE FAIr WOrK COMMISSIOnsenior corrs workplace relations partner val gostencnik has been appointed to the role of deputy President of the Fair work commission. corrs’ managing partner John denton announced that John tuck will take over as the national head of the firm’s workplace relations practice. denton also congratulated gostencnik on his appointment. “val is a deserving candidate for this honour,” he said. “not only is val one of the foremost experts in the running of the Fair work system, he knows the issues from every point of view. val will serve the commission and the people of australia well.”

DIbbS rECrUItS EMplOYMEnt ExpErt FrOM HEMMIng+HArtdibbsbarker has announced the appointment of employment and industrial relations lawyer Jonathon hadley as partner. hadley joins dibbs from hemming+hart.

hadley noted that his practice area continues to be busy owing to the constant stream of legislative change: “the continued announcements by the Federal government regarding changes to employment laws highlight the intricate and volatile nature of this area of

practice. i look forward to being able to assist clients and navigate them through the myriad of changes,” he said.

CUrWOODS bOOStS COMMErCIAl prACtICEcurwoods lawyers has boosted its commercial practice with commercial litigation and recoveries lawyer sam Pearlman.

Pearlman joins curwoods from Macgillivrays solicitors and has also worked at swaab attorneys and Jones King lawyers.

DlA trAnSpOrt ExpErt MOvES tO Cbptransportation lawyer andrew tulloch has joined colin biggers & Paisley (cbP), boosting the firm’s capabilities in trade and transport law and the supply chain and logistics field.

“with over 30 years’ experience in trade and transportation law, andrew brings great knowledge and experience of both maritime and aviation matters to the growing cbP trade & transport group. he has acted for insurers, airlines, road carriers and those involved in supply chain and logistics, as well as the offshore energy sector,” cbP managing partner dunstan de souza commented.

ClUtZ bUIlDS CAnbErrA WItH KWM HIrEclayton utz has appointed andrew leece as a partner in its canberra office. leece was previously at King & wood Mallesons and also spent three years as gc of canberra airport. he has significant experience in the areas of regulatory, infrastructure and utilities.

tAx: SHErMAn rEtUrnS tO KWMKing & wood Mallesons has bolstered its tax team with the appointment of prominent tax practitioner tim sherman as a partner in the firm’s sydney office. sherman will rejoins the firm on 1 July 2013 after a period at baker & McKenzie and his appointment follows the recent promotion of darren Mcclafferty to partner in Melbourne.

tAKEOvErS pAnEl AnnOUnCES nEW MEMbErSa recent announcement by the takeovers Panel of the appointment and reappointment of panel members includes lawyers from firms as set out

below. Please note that the full panel has 48 members and the list below is not exhaustive.

rEAppOIntMEntS

garry besson ashurst

ewen crouch allens

James dickson Piper alderman

sarah dulhunty ashurst

david Friedlander King & wood Mallesons

rod halstead clayton utz

rodd levy herbert smith Freehills

Jane sheridan arnold bloch leibler

laurie shervington squire sanders

robert sultan norton rose

nEW AppOIntMEnt

Fiona gardiner-hill herbert smith Freehills

InSOlvEnCY & DISpUtES: HAll & WIlCOx SnArES tEAM OF FIvEhall & wilcox has announced the appointment of an insolvency and commercial litigation team from cornwall stodart. the team is led by wayne Kelcey, who joins hall & wilcox as a partner while Katherine Payne has joined the firm as a special counsel. other members of the team joining hall & wilcox are adrian lasky, graeme scott and natalie ayoub.

“we recognised there is a real opportunity at hall & wilcox to build our insolvency practice and assist in further developing the firm’s service offering within the dispute resolution and banking area,” said Kelcey. “the reputation hall & wilcox has within the financial services sector was also very important in the decision to move – the firm acts for an extensive list of clients in this space.” Cbp MAKES KEY HIrE In prOpErtY & DEvElOpMEntFrank Krstic has joined colin biggers & Paisley (cbP) as special counsel in the property and development group.

Prior to joining cbP, Krstic was the Principal solicitor (Property and Planning) in the Maritime division of roads and Maritime services of nsw. in this role he drafted and negotiated leases and licences, provided advice on maritime prosecutions and enforcement matters and conducted commercial property and planning matters in the land and environment court and the supreme court. Krstic was also responsible for the creation of two new courts, the court of Marine board of inquiry and the court of coal Mines regulation.

Jonathon Hadley

andrew Leece

aFter a bleaK end to 2012, career ProsPects For lawyers are liKely to iMProve in 2013, though you will need to seiZe your chances. bEn AbbOtt rEpOrtS.

frOMtraGedY tO HOPe

careers guide2013

AustrAlAsiAn legAl Businessissue 11.0438 CArEEr guIDE

AustrAlAsiAn legAl Businessissue 11.04 39CArEEr guIDE

“the Most sought aFter PQe level is between three and six years, which is a level where FirMs see they can be Quite Productive and don’t need as Much hand holiding. they are also not as exPensive as a senior associate; at $160,000 they are an exPensive resource at that Point.”

naiman Clarke, managing director, elvira naiman

band which provides limited guidance as to what to expect salary wise.

however, the gloom is showing signs of clearing. Though strategic redundancies at large firms continued into january and these firms remain “ominously absent from the marketplace” as they consolidate international mergers and realign practices hit by the global economic slump, Paul burgess says they will likely now move forward after having evaluated their staffing needs.

Demand overall is expected to turn a corner. “So far this year there are positive signs,” burgess says. “We expect the market to gradually pick up and demand for lawyers to increase over the next 12 months.” however, improvements are likely to be patchy and incremental. “The market

The final quarter of the 2012 calendar year was a tough year for both lawyers and firms. With numerous redundancies across the board and firms struggling to avoid slipping further behind budget, opportunities were few.

The calendar year 2013 did not begin any better. Mahlab managing director Katherine Simpson says the overall recruitment market has been slower to get going than normal. “I have been doing this for a long time and our rule of thumb is that things start warming up around the third week of january. In Sydney that did happen, but in Melbourne it took three or four weeks longer than usual,” she observed. Naiman Clarke managing director Elvira Naiman added that the September election is further staunching hiring activity as the business enters ‘wait and see’ mode.

The private practice hiring activity in recent times has come from astute mid-tier firms and specialised firms have made the most of a good market to pick up talent. however, even this wave may be beginning to slow.

Across the board, Naiman says lawyers will be unlikely to see firms hiring for growth, but instead filling positions only if they do not have existing talent.

Indeed, firms are on the whole taking longer to hire than normal, perhaps waiting to see what other strong candidates are lurking around the corner.

As for employees, burgess Paluch’s Paul burgess says the decision has often been to hold off on planned career moves until the market improves. “They are presuming they will have more options once it does or in rare cases are concerned a new employer may make redundancies on a last on, first off basis,” he says.

Senior associates who would have been looking at partnership in a more buoyant market are those who have faced the most pressure, due to their significant salaries which now appear expensive in slower practices. In some cases, firms have made them redundant and reallocated their work.

“The most sought after PqE level is between three and six years, which is a level where firms see they can be quite productive and don’t need as much hand holiding,” says Naiman. “They are also not as expensive as a senior associate; at $160,000 they are an expensive resource at that point.” juniors are finding it “very difficult” if they have only gained up to two years PqE.

The salary landscape is also sapping morale. Naiman says although in published salary surveys it may appear that salaries have increased, she argues there is “enormous inconsistency” between firms and lawyers, that salary survey increases are often not supported by real-world experience, and that over the course of the GfC, salaries have not kept up with CPI. She give the example of a three-year PqE associate being on anything from $60,000 to $115,000 – a broad


appears to be waiting for general transactional work to pick up before hiring commences with any earnest,” says burgess. “This is unlikely to change radically until overseas economies pick up and that appears to be some time away.”

nEW SOUtH WAlESAustralia’s most global city, Sydney is still struggling through the after effects of the global financial crisis, with opportunities in banking and corporate in particular still very difficult to come by. Naiman says no particular practice could be said to be booming in Sydney, though she says there are some areas – like IP for example – with a complete dearth of new roles. however, there is cause for optimism, with roles being seen – from mid-tier firms – in construction, commercial litigation, insurance and tax. Demand is for local talent rather than returning international lawyers, due to an abundance of local talent on the ground. Partners who can deliver clients in Sydney are in a good position to move, particularly from top to mid-tiers or boutiques.

vICtOrIA Melbourne shows similar characteristics to Sydney. The big story is the disappearance of the top tier firms, still dealing with the tail end of the financial crisis as well as structural changes as a result of international mergers. Redundancies from this tier have lasted into january in Melbourne. As a result, partnership

“so Far this year there are Positive signs. we exPect the MarKet to gradually PicK uP and deMand For lawyers to increase over the next 12 Months. the MarKet aPPears to be waiting For general transactional worK to PicK uP beFore hiring coMMences with any earnest. this is unliKely to change radically until overseas econoMies PicK uP and that aPPears to be soMe tiMe away.”

Paul Burgess, Burgess Paluch

“career in law


1) learn from the bestPerhaps it goes without saying: lawyers should be ensuring they put their hands up for seminars and training and development, find genuine and commited mentors, and gain exposure to the best possible matters at their firm.

2) Avoid ‘odd’ movesThe grass is not always greener on the other side. Some candidates have opted for detrimental moves, such as taking a generalist role after training up in one specialisaton, or trading a pedigree firm for one without progression opportunity. Make sure you weigh up the pros and cons before making your next move.

3) get a job, quickIf you are out of a job due to redundancy, here’s a tip on timeliness: get back into the workforce as soon as possible. The longer you are out of the law, the harder it is to convince someone to take you back in. In these cases, just about any job or location will do.

4) be realisticMcCullough Robertson senior hR consultant jessica Sharpe says “overly demanding and unrealistic” candidates risk putting off potential employers. Demonstrate commerciality by adjusting your expectations to the market.

5) Consider ‘upping sticks’Partners in both Perth and Darwin say more good lawyers should consider moving for work, and would be welcome if they do. Advantages include access to some of the better matters in the country.

6) be smarter, betterbeing ‘smart’ is now a given. Lawyers are increasingly required to demonstrate commerciality, a good legal ‘bedside manner’ or relationship skills, a focus on exceptional service as well as passion and a can-do attitude.

7) get career advice Recruiters provide career counselling on what it takes to structure a successful career, and offer a line of sight on local and international opportunities. you won’t be alone; they are counselling more than ever before.

8) Consider other optionsIn-house teams continue to consider private practice lawyers. Likewise, many legal practitioners are finding their way into more general business roles, and these alternate career paths are worth considering.

9) Keep pedallingIn cases where lawyers are more or less happy at their firm and their practice group is busy, the advice from Naiman Clarke’s Elvira Naiman is simply to “put their head down, and keep pedalling”. Things are bound to turn around soon.

10) Do what you loveWith mental health problems rife among junior private practice lawyers, making sure all those billable hours are going towards something you are passionate about is critical. The role should meet your aspirations and lifestyle goals.

ALb ASKED ThoSE IN ThE KNoW foR SURvIvAL TIPS ThAT WILL hELP yoU SWIM IN A SINKING job MARKET. hERE ARE ThE ToP IDEAS.

10 tIpS FOr SUrvIvIng 2013’s jOb MArKEt

opportunities at these firms likewise are few in the near term.

Mid-tiers have been keen to take up the slack in new hiring, particularly at the mid-PqE level, though areas such as property and employment remain quiet. Recruiters say that regional and smaller boutiques are also doing well, and IT and technology recurs as a practice where some roles have materialised.

M&A and corporate continues to languish, and it is in this area that senior associate level lawyers have been under particular pressure in Melbourne.

QUEEnSlAnDhaving ‘bubbled ’ through the financial crisis in a show of resilience to external factors, brisbane fell on harder times last year. With a swathe of public sector redundancies early in the year, the latter

“Previously, FirMs would Just be generally active in the MarKet and on the looKout For talent. the attitude was that they were going to have the growth anyway, so even iF you have to carry soMeone For a short Period oF tiMe, that worK will be covered.”John McClain, CeO, Jackson Mcdonald


BPL2

665

Our client is a national organisation with its head offi ce in Adelaide. It is a leader in its fi eld and delivers a range of dynamic projects and programs across Australia. It has extensive land-holdings and operates businesses in the tourism and pastoral sectors.A rare opportunity has now arisen for a highly skilled and professional lawyer to lead our client’s in-house legal section as General Counsel. The role is responsible for overseeing the client’s legal services and directly manages other solicitors and administrative support staff. The General Counsel is part of the senior management team, and reports directly to the Chief Executive Offi cer. The role will be well suited to a senior practitioner with a minimum of 5 years PAE in either a commercial law fi rm or a comparable in-house counsel role. The successful candidate should have worked extensively in commercial and property

law. A background in administrative law, construction law, indigenous land rights law, employment law and intellectual property would also be highly regarded. The candidate should be able to deliver complex and strategic legal advice, have highly developed communication skills with a range of audiences, and have highly developed problem solving capabilities. The role involves participating in strategic and high profi le projects, developing strong relationships and infl uencing cross-function teams and senior management throughout the organisation.An attractive salary package will be offered to the right candidate commensurate with qualifi cations and skills.To have a confi dential discussion or obtain a more detailed Position Description, please ring Doron Paluch or Paul Burgess on 03 8676 0302 (BH) or email a CV and cover letter to [email protected]. Your CV will be confi dentially provided to our client.

General Counsel Rare Opportunity in a National Organisation Leader in its fi eld

Asia and off-shore www.bplr.com.au

Singapore Litigation Lawyer 5+ PAEOur client is a well known US fi rm with a global presence. Their emerging Asian offi ces are quickly building a strong reputation among major corporate clients. Of particular prominence is their expertise in product liability matters, where they assist and advise major manufacturers across broad sectors on complex product liability issues. The opportunity has opened in their Singapore offi ce for a 5+ PAE lawyer who has fi rst and foremost, strong litigation skills. While particular attention will be given to those applicants with specifi c product liability experience, the fi rm is willing to consider hands-on litigators who have experience litigating on complex and technically dense matters, such as engineering faults, construction claims, complex insurance matters and the like. Fluency with an Asian language, including Chinese, Korean or Japanese, will be highly considered.The successful applicant will be paid well, with support given for relocation. This is a great opportunity to locate your career within a strong and growing brand, offering excellent scope for career progression.For a confi dential discussion, call Paul Garth on 03 8676 0342 or email a CV to [email protected]

Hong KongSenior Associate - EmploymentJoin this leading global fi rm in a rare chance to take your honed skills into an off-shore market. Suitable to a senior and autonomous employment lawyer, at senior associate or special counsel level, this role represents a chance to take on a lead role in a growing and dynamic market. Like other Australians practicing in Hong Kong, you will be challenged and immersed in this role as you use both your personal and legal skills, and become a key contact for clients. The fi rm is only considering strong and confi dent lawyers who back themselves for this client facing position. The role offers some cross border work within Asia particularly, and the ability to create and grow relationships within other offi ces of this global juggernaut. It will offer sponsorship, relocation and a good salary. Language skills not required. To discuss this rare option, or for other options for employment lawyers nationally or globally, call Paul Burgess in confi dence on 03 8676 0372 or email a CV to [email protected]

Cayman Islands Corporate / Commercial or Funds 2-4 PAE Ever considered working in the Cayman Islands? Beautiful location with international quality work. This is a rare opportunity for an Australian lawyer to re-locate and work on corporate and/or fi nance/funds matters in a top international environment. Very large salary package and relocation assistance on offer and potential lucrative tax benefi ts.This is a new opportunity to work alongside an Australian qualifi ed, down-to-earth partner (who was placed at this fi rm by Burgess Paluch Legal Recruitment). Together with his colleagues he seeks a lawyer with 2-4 years of post admission experience in transactional corporate and / or fi nance / funds work (You will need to have 3 years PAE by the time you hit the ground in the Caymans – which could be any time before October 2013). You will work on a wide range of legal issues while sustaining excellent working relationships with colleagues and clients. The work on offer is broad, interesting, and often high profi le.You will enjoy getting to the core of issues being conscious of the effect your decisions may have on a business. Enjoy a unique quality of work / quality of life mix.For a confi dential discussion, call Doron Paluch on 03 8676 0302 or email a CV to [email protected]

half was described by recruiters and firms as ‘grim’, having brought legal recruitment to a ‘standstill’.

Naiman says overall deal flow is slow, with new projects and energy roles drying up. opportunites include commercial litigation and insurance due to major projects reaching ‘live’ stage, as well as employment work.

Like in other places, mid-tier firms have taken an aggressive ‘talent grab’ approach to recruitment following the consolidation of top tier firms, and well-run and well-resourced boutiques are more bullish. firms are now more likely to demand candidates have genuine reasons to live in brisbane.

WEStErn AUStrAlIAWhile Perth has been a saving grace for job opportunities and was described as ‘frenetic’ last year, the situation has deteriorated somewhat. The mining and resources boom has tapered off since August 2012, causing firms to sit back and realise growth may not be as linear and they may need to be more cautious.

“Previously, firms would just be generally active in the market and on the lookout for talent,” says jackson McDonald CEo john McClain. “The attitude was that they were going to have the growth anyway, so even if you have to carry someone for a short period of time, that work will be covered.”

Now, firms are being selective, but general optimism remains.

opportunities include traditional construction, infrastructure, and energy lawyer demand, as well as commercial litigators and workplace lawyers. Property is languishing, while M&A is patchy. firms still welcome interest from Eastern seaboard lawyers.

SOUtH AUStrAlIAA sluggish economy has seen a competitive batch of local South Australian firms either strategically reduce fee earner numbers or remain relatively static over the last 12-18 months. The three local firms with offices in Eastern seaboard states have bucked this trend slightly, though their recruitment is focused in those states rather than locally. With little economic growth being seen, there is a paucity of opportunity for mid-level talent looking to move to partnership, which is disappointing for a talent base that is largely locally sourced, and has a culture of loyalty. however, there may be light at

IntErnAtIOnAl, glObAl & tOp tIEr

MID tIEr

pQE level Yearly salary (AUD) Yearly salary (AUD)

1 year 77,000 – 97,000 65,000 – 90,000

2 years 85,000 – 115,000 80,000 – 115,000

3 years 95,000 – 140,000 90,000 – 120,000

4 years 105,000 – 145,000 100,000 – 140,000

5 years 115,000 – 160,000 105,000 – 150,000

SA1 140,000 – 170,000 130,000 – 170,000

SA2 150,000 – 190,000 140,000 – 180,000

SA3 165,000 – 210,000 150,000 – 190,000

SA4 180,000 – 230,000 160,000 – 220,000

SA5/SC 190,000 – 315,000 165,000 – 290,000

Source: JLegal (Salaries quoted are estimates for the Sydney legal market in 2013)


the end of the tunnel, with Piper Alderman partner Tony britten-jones saying a number of local baby boomer partners are likely to soon begin stepping into retirement.

nOrtHErn tErrItOrYDarwin may just be the source of opportunity lawyers are lacking elsewhere. Law firms have been actively building capacity in the Northern Territory capital in anticipation of an increase in legal work over the next three years, largely as a result of both direct and spin-off work from Inpex’s LNG processing facility, a project with a 60-month lifespan. Clayton Utz managing partner Mark Spain says while not experiencing the doom and gloom of the Eastern

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while Perth has been a saving grace For Job oPPortunities and was described as ‘Frenetic’ last year, the situation has deteriorated soMewhat. the Mining and resources booM has taPered oFF since august 2012, causing FirMs to sit bacK and realise growth May not be as linear and they May need to be More cautious.


Law firms have for some time been labelled backward creatures when it comes to managing and developing talent. however, firms are improving, and experts say they will need to adapt their approach to a ‘me, myself and I’ generation to hold on to their best people.

University of queensland director of postgraduate coursework programs Dr Alan Davidson says that today’s law students have more career paths open to them than ever before. “Although a large number of graduates will still go into private practice, many are now taking up in-house counsel roles or careers within government, business, politics and social policy,” he says. “Globalisation has also made career options considerably more interesting; for example, the merger activity we’ve seen in Australia is opening up opportunities for lawyers to gain valuable international experience in law offices or on projects overseas.”

In fact, statistics show about 40 percent of law graduates don’t go into law.

To hold onto talent, firms will need to adapt, and a case in point is education, training and development. Psychsafe Consulting founder and principle consultant

Rebecca Michalak says lawyers will increasingly demand to be given more individualised and tailored approaches to learning and development. “They are not looking for a blanket ‘one size fits all’ approach to training. They want to see elements individualised for them, not just a training schedule,” she says.

Indeed, universities such as the University of queensland are increasingly developing new and taiored coursework for lawyers demanding specialised skills and knowledge that will prepare them for the diverse roles of the future.

“Student demand for more internationally transportable skills and knowledge, combined with a growing need for specialisation, has had a significant influence on the postgraduate law course subjects we offer each year, and on the choice of business stream courses students can include within their law program,” Davidson says. The university draws on a wide range of expertise when developing courses, including a former judge of the Supreme Court of queensland, a State Director for the Commonwealth ombudsman, a Counsellor with the WTo Secretariat in Geneva, and specialists in mediation and international commercial arbitration.

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law.anu.edu.au/masters-program

seaboard, firms remain cautious, but will snap up good quality candidates if given the opportunity. Construction and major project experience is in demand, while senior litigators and workplace relations and safety lawyers are also expected to do well. The market is expected to be impacted slightly by a restructuring at the Department of justice, the territory’s largest employer of lawyers.

AUStrAlIAn CApItAl tErrItOrYGovernment departments and agencies are under budget pressure in Canberra, due to an efficiency dividend that rewards annual savings. The result? Much of the legal talent on the move has been in-house government lawyers from senior associate level and above, who are in greater numbers seeking opportunities in other government departments, or are even seeking greener pastures at private practice law firms. Maddocks partner in charge of Canberra, Simonetta Astolfi, says these senior lawyers need to be able to bring work to firms from their government deparments to be considered. The upcoming election is contributing towards a market largely in ‘caretaker’ mode, with firms on the whole only recruiting for replacement and generally running very lean practices.


nEW ZEAlAnDAccording to Chapman Tripp managing partner Andrew Poole, New Zealand legal market conditions are often a bellwether for Australian firms, and firms there have been battling a very challenging legal market for many years.

The recruitment market is described as flat, and firms are now being more strategic in reallocating work rather than recruiting when a lawyer departs a firm, or are waiting for some time until they find the right person.

jill Pitches from McKenzie Ellis names commercial property, high-end corporate and commercial as well as finance as areas where this recruitment lull is more obvious. Lack of local demand is translating into mid-level lawyers choosing to ride out the storm at their existing firms or looking to international markets.

Any senior practitioners on the move need to be able to deliver a client base.

Regulation and compliance is expected to continue the uptick in demand for advice in the financial services sector over the long term, while construction and infrastructure will also require more lawyers as the government focuses on developing resources including oil, gas and coal. Christchurch rebuild work will be a boost towards the end of this year, and Poole singles out Chapman Tripp’s Maori-focused Te Waka Ture group as a niche area for headcount growth.


In-HOUSEThe in-house market remains a bright spot for legal recruitment across a country where lawyers are finding other new opportunities hard to unearth.

“There is a steady flow of roles coming onto the market in what has otherwise been a tough market for lawyers,” says burgess Paluch director Paul burgess.

Roles include opportunities in the otherwise tough Sydney and Melbourne markets, with Mahlab managing director Katherine Simpson saying teams in Melbourne are even growing, not just replacing their staff, though these roles are primarily at the mid-level to junior level. Naiman Clarke’s Elvira Naiman agrees in-house opportunity is at the four to eight year PqE level, with companies offering somewhere between $120,000 and $200,000 for these younger guns.

however, recruiters name a few caveats. “Some of those roles have at their core a significant cost-savings focus,” says burgess. Simpson agrees, noting that corporate and institutional clients are remaining extremely vigilant in terms of their spend on legal services. “however, they still represent strong options for lawyers struggling to gain traction in a difficult economy.”

A second issue is that many of the roles are advertised as contract positions, usually for terms of six to 12 months. This follows a trend for in-house teams to engage legal talent on a short-term basis at the first instance, with a view to making roles permanent depending on workflow and the candidate. “occasionally these are maternity leave and long service leave contracts, but more and more they are permanent roles dressed up as contracts initially, allowing both parties to take a breath and observe each other,” Simpson says. “Candidates are more likely to go for them as they see them as quasi-permanent.”

vacancies at general counsel level have become virtually non-existent, as senior lawyers hold on tight to their roles in an ultra-competitive band of the industry.

“People who have really senior roles in-house aren’t moving,

according to chaPMan triPP Managing Partner andrew Poole, new Zealand legal MarKet conditions are oFten a bellwether For australian FirMs, and FirMs there have been battling a very challenging legal MarKet For Many years.


and there just aren’t that many opportunities out there for senior lawyers to move,” says Naiman. In fact, Naiman says a structural problem contributes to this dearth of top roles. “Up to the 10 or 12-year level, every legal role is stratified, but beyond the 12-year mark you are up against everyone else.”

Recruiters find it difficult to name trends in industry, though a few name IT companies as having been relatively active in Sydney and Melbourne, including some rare greenfield opportunities at senior lawyer level. In Perth, which is much quieter than last year as the mining boom winds down, roles in energy and resources predominate. banks, meanwhile, remain absent from the market, electing to redeploy lawyers from their own multilayered in-house teams in a market where they are focused heavily on productivity and efficiency.

The Australian Corporate Lawyers Association (ACLA) views the in-house job market with hope. In research published in mid-2012, the association found that 48 percent of in-house teams were planning to put on additional staff over the next two years. CEo Trish hyde said this intention will continue to translate into jobs. “The research showed in-house teams are growing, and there is an indication from general counsel that they plan to bring more people on board,” she says. “The timing of this recruitment might be uncertain, with some businesses perhaps choosing not to put forward new projects until after the election, but the indication is strong that growth in in-house counsel is still planned.”

Indeed, 81 percent of survey respondants expected workflow to increase, and only two percent thought it would decrease, with 65 percent believing the legal function would increase in importance to their business. ACLA has witnessed the biggest membership growth over the last three years in WA, followed by queensland, as a result of the commodities boom. Membership is still growing in NSW and in victoria. In New Zealand, it is also expected that in-house teams will retain or grow numbers.

the in-house MarKet reMains a bright sPot For legal recruitMent across a country where lawyers are Finding other new oPPortunities hard to unearth.


1. wHat MOtivated YOu tO Pursue a Career in Law? i originally studied psychology and combined it with law after my first year at university. i was attracted to law as it covers a range of skills and subjects and is a highly transferrable degree which provides a range of career opportunities.

2. wHat aBOut an in-HOuse POsitiOn aPPeaLed tO YOu?i commenced my role as a secondee so it was a great opportunity to experience the industry and the culture of the organisation before accepting an in-house position. as an in-house lawyer you often hold a multi-faceted role. the range of matters i work on and the opportunity to work closely with my clients in a dynamic legal landscape makes each day in my role unique, challenging and fulfilling.

3. Has earninG YOur Masters at tHe COLLeGe Of Law HeLPed tO furtHer YOur Career? is tHe COurse usefuL in terMs Of YOur Current rOLe?the masters has definitely enabled me to further my career. i have already been able to apply many of the skills i have learnt. i chose

the masters to assist in facilitating my transition from private practice to in-house and to develop a range of practical skills applicable to all in-house lawyers. a lot of other courses on offer were not relevant to an in-house lawyer’s role. the opportunity to obtain practical skills through the masters to apply in the in-house environment has been a valuable experience. the course assists with the technical and specialised components of the in-house role. there are a considerable range of topics offered which apply to a broad range of industries. whilst studying is of course an additional time commitment, i would highly recommend the masters course.

4. wHat adviCe wOuLd YOu Give tO reCent Law Grads LOOKinG tO start tHeir Careers?i would suggest that law graduates try and diversify their experience as much as possible. you don’t want to become trapped in an area which you are not particularly interested in. even if you are placed in a particular area as a graduate, ask other areas for opportunities if they arise. also ensure that you seize network opportunities both internally and externally.

5. wHat is tHe Best Career adviCe YOu Have ever reCeived?don’t burn any bridges, treat everyone respectfully. you don’t know where people may pop up in the future!

6. wHat are YOur LOnG-terM Career GOaLs?My long-term aspirations would be to complete the company directors course and eventually move to a general counsel position.

...with Alicia burgemeister, legal Counsel viterra ltd, glencore grain pty ltd and graduate, the College of law, Master of Applied law (In-house practice)

qa&AustrAlAsiAn legAl Businessissue 11.04 51CArEEr guIDE

AwArDS AustrAlAsiAn legAl Businessissue 11.0452

2013 Finalists revealedALb is pleased to present the finalists for the 2013 ALb Law Awards.

The ALb Law Awards celebrates its 10th anniversary in 2013 – 10 years of celebrating the top firms, deals and lawyers. The Awards will occur on the 30th May at the Sydney Town hall and promises to be a memorable night of entertainment and networking.

one group of people who have been busy behind the scenes are the ALb Awards judging panel, who have completed their review of the submissions and are now ready to reveal the nominations which received the most votes in each category. We present these findings below and look forward to revealing the ultimate winner in each category on the 30th.

AUSTRALASIAN 2013

ALb Awards 2012

AwArDSAustrAlAsiAn legAl Businessissue 11.04 53

Q: Who are the judges?A: The exact composition of the panel varies from year to year, but generally the panel is comprised of 30 to 40 individuals from the legal profession. This year’s panel consisted of 33 judges, 20 of whom were from the in-house side of the profession and the balance being a good mix from boutique, mid tier and top tier firms. A clear majority of our judges are at the senior level (partner or GC equivalent), although we also make allowance for participation by the rising stars of the profession and lawyers who have recently retired from these roles.

Q: Do all judges vote in all categories?A: No. judges are not permitted to vote in a category if they have a conflict of interest and they can also abstain if they feel that they do not have the expertise to judge a particular category.

Q: Does Alb participate in the judging?A: No. The only situation where ALb will participate is if the scores are tied at the end of the judging process. In that event – and only in that event – the Editor will have a casting vote.

Q: How are the finalists determined?A: judges cast votes on a “3-2-1” basis, with “3” representing first preference. once the votes are tallied, the highest scoring nominations are named as finalists.

Q: Why are there differing numbers of finalists across the categories?A: The number of finalists is dictated by the size of the pool of nominations and the spread of votes. An evenly spread vote will result in more finalists being named; conversely a narrow concentration of votes will result in only the highest nominations being named.

Q: Why are there no finalists for the Australia Deal of the Year?A: This category recognises the deal which received the most votes overall. If a deal was nominated in more than one category, the higher score is chosen. As the contenders are, by definition, likely to be the deals which won their individual respective categories, finalists are not revealed until the night of the awards.

a QuicK exPlanation oF the Judging Methodology is also in order and to this end, here are soMe FaQs and answers relating to this Process.

ALb Awards 2012


AUStrAlIAn DEAl tEAM OF tHE YEArfINALISTS•Allen & overy - Energy & Resources Team•Allens - Project finance Team•baker & McKenzie - Major Projects Team•Gilbert + Tobin - Corporate M&A Team•herbert Smith freehills - M&A Team•King & Wood Mallesons - M&A Team

AUStrAlIAn DEAlMAKEr OF tHE YEArfINALISTS•Andrew bullock - Gilbert + Tobin•Gary besson - Ashurst•Marie McDonald - Ashurst•Nicholas Pappas - King & Wood Mallesons•Philippa Stone - herbert Smith freehills•Rebecca Maslen Stannage - herbert Smith freehills

DEbt MArKEt DEAl OF tHE YEArfINALISTS•Algeco Scotsman Group’s refinancing•Crown retail subordinated hybrid notes offer•fortescue Metals bond offering•fortescue Metals term Loan b financing•Leighton senior notes offering

EnErgY & rESOUrCES DEAl OF tHE YEArfINALISTS•AGL acquisition of interests in Loy yang•fortescue Metal Group Term Loan b facility •Ichthys LNG Project financing •Whitehaven Coal Aston Resources merger plus

acquisition of boardwalk Resources•yancoal Australia and Gloucester Coal merger

EQUItY MArKEt DEAl OF tHE YEArfINALISTS•Calibre Group IPo•CbA issue of PERLS vI and concurrent

PERLS Iv reinvestment offer•fonterra Shareholders’ fund IPo•Sell-down of shares in qR National

InSOlvEnCY & rEStrUCtUrIng DEAl OF tHE YEArfINALISTS•fitness first global restructure•hastie Group Insolvency•Nine Entertainment Group Restructure•Pike River Coal Receivership

DEAl AWArDS: Finalists


M&A DEAl OF tHE YEArfINALISTS•Cubbie Station acquisition•foxtel acquisition of Austar United Communications•Glencore acquisition of viterra•Pacific Equity Partners - Spotless Group Acquisition•Sydney Desalination Plant Privatisation

nEW ZEAlAnD DEAl OF tHE YEArfINALISTS•AMI Insurance sale to IAG•fonterra Capital Restructure (Trading Among farmers)•haier acquisition of fisher Paykel•vodafone acquisition of TelstraClear from Telstra Corp

nEW ZEAlAnD DEAl tEAM OF tHE YEArfINALISTS•bell Gully Corporate/Commercial•Chapman Tripp Corporate•Russell Mcveagh Corporate Advisory team•Simpson Grierson Corporate/M&A

nEW ZEAlAnD DEAlMAKEr OF tHE YEArfINALISTS•Cathy quinn - Minter Ellison Rudd Watts•Graeme quigley - Russell Mcveagh•james Gibson - bell Gully•Roger Wallis - Chapman Tripp

prOjECt FInAnCE DEAl OF tHE YEArfINALISTS•Australia Pacific LNG financing•brookfield Rail - WA track expansion•fortescue Metals Group Loan•Ichthys LNG Project•Sydney Desalination Plant Privatisation

AUStrAlIAn DEAl OF tHE YEArfinalists to be named on night – please see introductory text for explanation

ALb Awards 2012


ADElAIDE FIrM OF tHE YEArfINALISTS•finlaysons•fox Tucker•Kelly & Co

brISbAnE FIrM OF tHE YEArfINALISTS•Carter Newell Lawyers•Cooper Grace Ward•hopgoodGanim•McCullough Roberston

COrpOrAtE CItIZEn FIrM OF tHE YEArfINALISTS•Clayton Utz•DLA Piper •Gadens•Gilbert + Tobin•herbert Smith freehills•King & Wood Mallesons

CSr FIrM OF tHE YEAr fINALISTS•herbert Smith freehills•King & Wood Mallesons

EMplOYEE HEAltH & WEllbEIng AWArD fINALISTS•herbert Smith freehills•Clayton Utz•Gilbert + Tobin•Landers & Rogers

EMplOYMEnt SpECIAlISt FIrM OF tHE YEAr fINALISTS•Australian business Lawyers•fCb Group•harmers•People+Culture Stategies

InnOvAtIvE USE OF tECHnOlOgY AWArDfINALISTS•Clayton Utz•Corrs Chambers Westgarth•Sparke helmore Lawyers

FIrM AWArDS: Finalists


InSUrAnCE SpECIAlISt FIrM OF tHE YEArfINALISTS•Carter Newell Lawyers•Curwoods•Sparke helmore•Wotton + Kearney

IntErnAtIOnAl lAW FIrM OF tHE YEArfINALISTS•Allen & overy•baker & McKenzie•Norton Rose•Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & flom•Sullivan Cromwell

Ip SpECIAlISt FIrM OF tHE YEArfINALISTS•Davies Collison Cave•Griffith hack

MAnAgIng pArtnEr OF tHE YEArfINALISTS•Chris freeland - baker & McKenzie•Gavin bell - herbert Smith freehills•Sharon Cook - henry Davis york•Tony o’Malley - King & Wood Mallesons

MElbOUrnE lAW FIrM OF tHE YEArfINALISTS•hall Wilcox•herbert Geer•Landers & Rogers•Mills oakley

pErtH lAW FIrM OF tHE YEArfINALISTS•Allion Legal•jackson McDonald•Lavan Legal

SYDnEY lAW FIrM OF tHE YEArfINALISTS•Gilbert + Tobin•henry Davis york•Truman hoyle

ALb Awards 2012


AUStrAlIAn In-HOUSE tEAM OF tHE YEArfINALISTS•AMP Legal & Governance•bhP billiton Legal Team•foxtel Legal Team•qIC Legal•UbS Legal & Compliance•virgin Australia In-house Legal & Corporate

bAnKIng & FInAnCIAl SErvICES In-HOUSE tEAM OF tHE YEArfINALISTS•Westpac Group - Legal & Secretariat•qIC Legal•UbS Legal & Compliance

EnErgY & rESOUrCES In-HOUSE tEAM OF tHE YEArfINALISTS•AGL Group Legal•bhP billiton Legal Team

In-HOUSE lAWYEr OF tHE YEArfINALISTS•Amanda Laing - Nine Entertainment•Lynette Ireland - foxtel•Mike Cronin - fonterra

InSUrAnCE In-HOUSE tEAM OF YEArfINALISTS•Allianz Australia•AIG Insurance•Zurich financial Services Australia

InvEStMEnt bAnK In-HOUSE tEAM OF tHE YEArfINALISTS•Macquarie bank•Morgan Stanley Australia Legal•UbS Legal & Compliance

nEW ZEAlAnD In-HOUSE tEAM OF tHE YEArfINALISTS•Auckland Council Legal Services•fonterra Legal Team•Legal Group - The Treasury

In-HOUSE CAtEgOrIES: Finalists


ALb Awards 2012


AvAntIQAvantiq® specialises in multinational online and offline trademark, domain and company name search services. founded in 1986, our innovative approach to global trademark searching has earned us a reputation as an industry leader. our team operates from offices in Luxembourg, United States and Australia, complemented by more than 100 associate attorneys worldwide.Contact: Amanda Treleavan, General Manager - oceaniaP: 08 8374 2453E: [email protected] W: www.avantiq.com

bUrgESS pAlUCH lEgAl rECrUItMEnt burgess Paluch is a leading legal recruitment group with significant experience in local and international markets. Utilising a strategic approach and providing accessible, pro-active advice, burgess Paluch is one of the leading legal recruiters in Australia. burgess Paluch focuses on creating successful outcomes for both lawyers and law firms. Contact:Paul burgess, DirectorT: 03 8676 0372E: [email protected]: www.bplr.com.au

award sPonsors

COrrS CHAMbErS WEStgArtHCorrs Chambers Westgarth is a premium independent law firm committed to driving Australia’s competitiveness and its economic engagement with Asia. Corrs is regularly recognised for its high profile work and is the only large national law firm to be awarded ALb Gold Employer of Choice 2011-2012 two years in a row. As a national firm with strong partnering relationships globally, Corrs is ideally placed to support national and international clients. Contact: Natasha Stevenson, Senior Manager – External CommunicationT: 07 3228 9307E: [email protected] W: www.corrs.com.au

gIlbErt + tObInGilbert + Tobin is a leading corporate law firm and a key player in the Australian legal market. They work on transactions and cases that define and direct the market. The firm’s reputation for expert advice extends across: mergers and acquisitions, private equity, capital markets, banking and finance, real estate and projects, tax, competition and regulation, communications and technology, intellectual property and litigation..Contact: Danny Gilbert, Managing PartnerT: 02 9263 4000E: [email protected]: www.gtlaw.com.au

HUOn Ithuon IT are industry renowned Legal Technology Specialists, with a focus on providing strategy, IT management, systems integration,& 24x7 support to range of professional service organisations. Established in 1989, huon IT has established long term partnerships with firms across Australia, with offices in both Sydney & Melbourne. Working alongside both management and technical departments within their client’s organisation, huon IT helps to align technology systems with executive vision to maximise business performance.Contact: Damian huon, Chief Executive officerT: 02 8401 8000E: [email protected]: www.huonit.com.au

IpAThe IPA’s vision is building professional excellence, achieved by our members’ commitment to the highest standards of professional and ethical conduct through their adherence to our continuing education requirements and professional code of practice. We work cooperatively with regulators and consult with our members frequently to ensure that Australia has one of the most effective and efficient insolvency systems in the world. Contact:Leanne Carter, Publications and Marketing ManagerP: 02 9290 5770 E: [email protected] W: www.ipaa.com.au

AUSTRALASIAN 2013


jlt jLT is part of the jardine Lloyd Thompson Group of companies, an international group of Insurance brokers, Risk Management Consultants and Employee benefits Specialists and one of the largest companies of its type in the world. jLT provides clients total solutions tailored to their unique risk and insurance needs through a combination of specialism, innovation and geographical reach. jLT’s Employee benefit Specialists provide consultancy and administration services to corporate and private clients across a wide range of company paid and voluntary employee benefits including health, Group Risk insurance and Life Insurance.Contact:Stuart Whitbread, General Manager - benefit Solutions P: 02 9290 8023 E: [email protected] W: www.jlta.com.au

lAWMAStEr 100% Australian since 1988, LawMaster is designed as the ultimate practice resource for lawyers. LawMaster is the most integrated and complete system available in Australia for seamlessly managing both back and front office requirements of legal practices. our easy to access solution provides everything in one system using Microsoft platforms for reliability and excellent risk management.Contact: Robert LairdDirector - Sales, Marketing & AlliancesP: 1300 135 214E: [email protected]: http://www.lawmaster.com.au

lAW In OrDErEstablished in 1999, Law In order is the leading supplier of hardcopy and electronic document processing services to the Australian Legal Industry. Providing specialised technology and document management solutions to over 1,300 law firms, corporations and government agencies nationally; Law In order prides itself on a reputation of innovation and versatility whilst maintaining core values of Integrity, Excellence, Teamwork & Leadership. Contact Tisha Kelemen, National Sales & Marketing ManagerP: 02 9223 9200E: [email protected]: www.lawinorder.com.au

ALb Awards 2012


rUSSEll MCvEAgHWe are regarded as New Zealand’s premier law firm. Russell Mcveagh has an extensive and celebrated history of representing New Zealand’s leading corporations and financial institutions.Contact: Gary McDiarmid, CEoP: 64 9 367 8091E: [email protected]: www.russellmcveagh.com

SIgnAtUrE COnSUltIngSignature Consulting is an Australian privately owned premium recruitment consultancy dedicated to servicing the Legal and Accounting markets. At Signature we believe that people are the most important aspect of a business and career choices are one of the most important decisions people make. We combine recruitment expertise and market knowledge to strategically partner with clients and candidates to achieve the very best recruitment outcomes. Contact Steve Cole, Director P: 0410 344 723 W: www.signatureconsulting.com.au

SpArKE HElMOrE lAWYErS Sparke helmore Lawyers is a firm of 600 people working from eight offices across Australia, serving the needs of the insurance, government, financial services, mining, construction and property sectors. our expertise spans corporate and commercial to construction, workplace to insurance, structuring to superannuation, mining to manufacturing, and property to procurement.Contact Rhett Slocombe, National Practice Group Leader - Insurance P: 02 9373 3555 W: www.sparke.com.au

ALb Awards 2012

thursday 30 May 2013, sydney town Hall

10 yEAr ANNIvErSAry OF tHe aLB austraLasian Law awardsThe ALb Australasian Law Awards is the highlight of the legal industry calendar and provides a spectacular evening of celebration, networking and entertainment. The night is dedicated to recognising and rewarding the achievements and excellence of legal teams and individuals across Australiasia. Come and celebrate our landmark year at this prestigious event.

For all enquiries including sponsorship opportunities, please contact paul Ferris on 02 8587 7114 or [email protected] orpeter ratcliff on 02 8587 7543 or [email protected]

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