Lawyers Weekly, November 18, 2011

LEGAL LEADERS

IN-DEPTH

THIS WEEK

LEGAL SPOTLIGHT

Living legend Elizabeth Evatt

Why banning Facebook won’t work

Allens in Mongolia

Lawyers and the eurozone crisis

A STELLAR CAREER

SOCIAL NETWORKS

NEW FRONTIERS

BAD NEWS FOR SOME

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MOVERS AND SHAKERS The top 25 partner defections in 2011 How the top end of town rolls

Friday 18 November 2011

An excellent state of affairs.

In-house Brisbane | Construction

Melbourne | Employment

Sydney | Competition/Marketing

This leading Infrastructure player has a new role for a dynamic, commercially focused lawyer. Front-end, back-end or mixed Construction Law background required from a major law firm or in-house role in the construction or resources sector. Perfect opportunity for a first in-house move with a recognised listed company with a large, well-resourced in-house team.

Ref: BRI/4554/DS

An interesting and varied senior employment role exists in our client’s national team. You will advise on the full spectrum of contentious and non-contentious employment and industrial relations issues, take a lead role in industrial relations bargaining and mentor junior lawyers. Competitive salary package, great employee incentives and the step up in your legal career that you have been searching for are on offer. Ref: MEL/4532/OH

Exciting new opportunity with a focus on handling consumer law and marketing issues within this listed technology business. Varied work includes contracts, marketing & advertising advice, dispute resolution, Competition/TPA and regulatory advice. You will have around 5 yrs pae in Commercial Law and Competition/TPA or Marketing Law, preferably with IT, IP or Telco experience at a major law firm or in-house. Ref: SYD/4477/DS

4 – 8 years

Senior Associate

4 – 8 years

Perth | Legal Counsel

Canberra | Commercial

Sydney | Funds

Leading international mining business with global operations is looking to expand their team with an additional lawyer. Broad range of work available including corporate/ commercial matters, projects, employment and disputes.

Top-tier experience is required in one or more of these areas. This is a succession planning role with strong future career prospects so supervisory experience or aptitude are sought. Ref: PER/4355/DS

A competent commercial lawyer is sought to join this leading tech group. You will advise on an interesting mix of commercial agreements, tender responses & sales opp’s & work closely with the national sales team. Outstanding drafting skills essential, experience advising on the Competition and Consumer Act is desirable. Mid level lawyers from a corporate, commercial, IT&T or construction law background are encouraged to apply. Ref: CAN/4531/OH

Major player in the financial services sector have a new, Senior Legal Counsel role suitable for a dynamic funds management lawyer from a major firm or respected in-house team. High level experience required in advising on complex wholesale & retail Funds & Investment products (Australian & International) and related legislation including Corps Act (Ch 7). Existing mentoring or supervisory experience beneficial. Ref: SYD/4556/DS

4 years +

5 – 8 years

4 – 8 years

Private Practice Perth | Commercial Litigation

Melbourne | Project Finance

Sydney | Commercial/Corporate

Come join a team whose partners’ have been recognised as world leaders in their field. You will work on a variety of commercial litigation and insolvency matters amongst a culture that supports and provides hands on guidance to its lawyers. Commercial litigators with at least 2 years experience, a good understand of civil procedure and excellent communication skills should apply.

Ref: PER/4558/OH

Top tier firm is searching for a banking and finance lawyer with high calibre experience in project finance. You will be working with first rate partners, provided a strong work flow and great support from the firm with practice development.

You will work on major projects, cross boarder deals for blue chip clients particularly across Asia. This is a genuine long term opportunity with real prospects for progression.

Ref: MEL/4127/AM

This expanding national mid-tier firm has an opening for a corporate/commercial lawyer with at least 3 years of experience. To be successful in this role, you will have excellent drafting and technical skills, have previous experience working on a range of corporate transactions including mergers and acquisitions and working knowledge of the Corporations Act. Collegiate and friendly team.

Ref: SYD/4557/GG

2 years +

3 years +

3 – 5 years

Perth | M&A /B&F

Sydney | Property

Sydney | Corporate M&A/ECM

A new opportunity has opened up in this top tier firm’s Perth office to join their corporate team advising on an interesting mix of M&A, capital markets and corporate governance matters. This is a genuine career opportunity with great support and mentorship, an outstanding firm culture and impressive staff benefits. A minimum of 2 years M&A, corporate or B&F experience essential for this impressive role.

Ref: PER/4555/OH

An opportunity has arisen for a mid level lawyer with expertise in commercial real estate property transactions to join this busy group. The role will involve advising on all aspects of property transactions including assisting clients with: acquisitions and disposals, joint venture arrangements, property management, development projects, leasing and property financing arrangements.

Highly competitive salary and benefits on offer for the right candidate. Ref: SYD/4366/AM

This expanding top-tier firm has a new opportunity for a Senior Lawyer/ Senior Associate to join their highly regarded Corporate M&A and ECM group. You will gain first class experience working on mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, capital raisings, IPOs, corporate finance transactions, ECM and corporate restructurings for both private and public corporations. First rate client base offering top quality work and pathway for partnership available. Ref: SYD/4325/AM

2 years +

3 – 5 years

Senior Associate

Brisbane | Banking & Finance

Sydney | Commercial Property

Sydney | Competition

Premier national firm has a new opportunity for an experienced lawyer from a renowned banking and finance team or a top-tier firm. You will have the opportunity to work on a broad range of banking and finance transactions including acquisition finance, general corporate and project financing matters, both domestic and cross border leveraged finance, private equity transactions and debt restructurings. High level and challenging work.

Ref: BRI/4504/GG

New and exciting opportunity for a talented lawyer to work with leading partners, advising on a range of commercial property matters, including acquisitions and disposals, property developments, major leases, subdivisions and complex title issues. Knowledge of GST and other tax implications relating to property matters and strong negotiation and drafting skill essential. High calibre client base, challenging interesting work on offer.

Ref: SYD/4339/GG

An exciting opportunity for a junior competition lawyer has opened up in this international firm.

You will have the opportunity to work alongside industry leaders advising on a range of competition and regulatory matters. This is a firm that looks after its employees and offers genuine international secondment opportunities. This may just be the start of an impressive career that you have been looking for.

Ref: SYD/4526OH

3 – 4 years

3 – 5 years

For further information please contact one of our consultants for a confidential discussion: Alex McIntyre, Olivia Harvey, Gail Greener, Ralph Laughton and Daniel Stirling Sydney (02) 9231 3022 Melbourne (03) 8637 7317 or email dolman@dolman.com.au

2 – 4 years

“To provide a legal service accessible to the whole community is a huge challenge, [as is] ensuring that human rights and justice principles are followed through, and everybody has a chance to access justice”

Contents

regulars

IN-DEPTH: When it comes to social media in the workplace, businesses need to bite the bullet, accept it’s here to stay, and prepare for the worst.

Claire Chaffey reports

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movers & sHakers: Lawyers 1 1 / Weekly 1 1 / 1reveals 1 , the 7 : top 0 725 lateral PM partner moves of 2011

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THIs week: A round-up of the latest legal news In-DePTH: More law firms are signing up to measure and report on their environmental footprint, but are green goals being achieved?

Stephanie Quine looks at the industry’s latest sustainability report leGal sPoTlIGHT: As the debt crisis in Europe grinds on, transactional legal work remains paralysed by uncertainty. But market volatility is creating opportunities for Australian lawyers.

Stephanie Quine reports leGal leaDers: For Elizabeth Evatt AC, forging a long and illustrious career was no easy feat. But she did it, and her legacy is something for which many women can be grateful. She speaks to Claire Chaffey Career CoUnsel: Amid the current global uncertainty, law firms need to be flexible when it comes to workforce planning Folklaw: The lighter side of the law

Are your legal trainees ready?

At Griffith University, our Practical Legal Training courses can help you quickly grow your firm’s graduates to their full potential.

Our 32-week part-time Practical Legal Training courses can be undertaken online allowing students to work full-time.

We also offer Graduate Certificates that can complement your firm’s training programs, assist your trainees to meet admission requirements or help you to expand into different practice areas such as migration law.

We can help get your people work-ready to play their part in almost any area of the legal world.

To find out how our legal courses can help you bring positive change to your team, call (07) 3735 3230, email lpc@griffith.edu.au or see griffith.edu.au/legal-practice-centre

Based on fields of research at the 4-digit level in the Excellence in Research for Australia 2010 National Report.

l aw y e r s w e e k ly 18 n o v e m b e r 2 0 11

CRICOS 00233E | junior_GU30708_LW

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Elizabeth Evatt AC – See page 16

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Editor’sNote

Editor, Justin Whealing

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l aw y E r s w E E k ly 18 N o v E m b E r 2 0 11

What a great time to be a partner at a law firm.

With the influx of global firms, the rise of the boutiques, and large national firms looking to shore up their positions, many partners are being lured across town at a rate comparable with the transfer market in European football.

Of course, it wasn’t always like this.

Speaking to Lawyers Weekly last year, private practice legal veteran John atanskovic reminisced about the time he moved to allen allen & hemsley in 1990 after one decade as a partner at Blake Dawson Waldron. he noted that his move was considered “very unusual back then”, and raised eyebrows at both Blakes and allens.

Now, we have well regarded partners such as Matthew allchurch who, after 19 years as a partner at top-tier firms Clayton Utz and allens, has moved onto his third firm partnership at Johnson, Winter & Slattery. today, allchurch’s career trajectory is not unusual at all.

Well regarded firms like JWS are now regularly picking off partners from top-tier firms and, in many respects, they are holding a couple of aces in the private practice law firm pack.

With global firms such as Norton Rose, Clifford Chance and allen & Overy aggressively targeting the high-end work where the top-tier firms sit, boutique and competitive mid-tier firms are getting panel positions on the strength of their point of difference from the mega firms.

In this week’s cover story, Lawyers Weekly looks at the top 25 lateral partner movements (see page 18).

Of the top 25 “movers and shakers”, seven left top tier firms to join mid-tier or boutique firms. a further five left top-tier firms to join global firms. a staggering six partners also left Freehills for five different firms. the increasing importance of Perth in a national or global law firm’s australian network was also noted, with four partnership movements included, placing it just behind Melbourne, with five.

New frontiers and battlegrounds on the legal landscape are emerging. Firms’ links with legal process outsourcing providers are being heralded, while allens has just opened an office in Mongolia (see page 6) - a shrewd move in an emerging market.

Top Ten sTories online this week 1 Banning Facebook at work no solution 2 Tracking your every move 3 Internet users ignoring consequences 4 New website for depressed lawyers 5 Tweet fails at work 6 Repairing the paradox 7 Bolt decision fair: Lawyer 8 What the west can learn from sharia law 9 Lawsuit launched to recreate wedding with ex 10 Allens makes Mongolian move nexT week We all know that Perth is booming, but what about Queensland?

Lawyers Weekly takes a look at what is keeping lawyers in the sunshine state busy, the opportunities, and what we can expect in the next few years.

ediTorial board Lawyers Weekly is delighted to have the following industry leaders on its editorial board andrew grech Managing director, Slater & Gordon

nick abrahams Partner, Norton Rose

will irving Group general counsel, Telstra Corporation

helen Mckenzie Deputy managing partner, Blake Dawson

sharon cook Managing partner, Henry Davis York

Joe catanzariti Partner, Clayton Utz

David cowling Partner, Clayton Utz

robert Milliner Chief executive partner, Mallesons Stephen Jaques

ewen crouch Chairman of partners, Allens Arthur Robinson

Megan Pitt Director, Australian Government Solicitor

sue gilchrist Partner and practice leader (intellectual property group), Freehills

lucinda smith Partner, Thomsons Lawyers

abouT us Publisher: John Nuutinen editor: Justin Whealing Deputy editor: Claire Chaffey senior Journalist: Briana Everett Journalist: Stephanie Quine Designer: Ken McClaren sales executive: Toby Chan subscribe toDay Lawyers Weekly is published weekly and is available by subscription. Please email lawyersweeklycustomerservice@reedbusiness.com.au All subscription payments should be sent to: Locked Bag 2999, Chatswood D/C, Chatswood NSW 2067 aDvertising enquiries: Advertising enquiries: John Nuutinen john.nuutinen@reedbusiness.com.au (02) 9422 8931 (mob) 0402 611 177 Toby Chan toby.chan@reedbusiness.com.au (02) 9422 2545 (mob) 0404 652 800 Stephen Hogan stephen.hogan@reedbusiness.com.au (02) 9422 2290 (mob) 0425 270 832 eDitorial enquiries: Justin Whealing justin.whealing@lexisnexis.com.au (02) 9422 2832 All mail for the editorial department should be sent to: Lawyers Weekly, Level 1 Tower 2, 475 Victoria Ave, Chatswood NSW 2067

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the next step in your career...

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Randstad Legal — Our aim is to deliver the highest quality service under one strong brand name. Visit www.randstad.com.au/legal

private practice Litigation

Melbourne, 2+ Years PAE

Property

Melbourne, 1+ Years PAE

This top-tier firm is looking for a Litigator to join their team. You will be working on large scale class actions, product liability and general litigious matters. This is a fantastic opportunity for someone who wants to set up their career. Strong academics are essential to secure this role.

E: renata.braukamper@randstad.com.au T: 03 9590 2265 Ref: RB 46819

Our client is a well regarded firm who is looking to add a commercial property lawyer to their thriving team. You will be working on everything from retail leasing through to large scale development work. You will be positioned to work alongside a reputable partner with excellent mentoring on offer.

E: renata.braukamper@randstad.com.au T: 03 9590 2265 Ref: RB 46811

Tax Litigation

Commercial Property

Brisbane, 5+ Years PAE

Brisbane, 3-6 Years PAE

As an experienced tax litigation solicitor you will be exposed to high quality and challenging work with a firm that offers international exposure and a clearly defined career path. This is an exciting opportunity to build your tax career with a firm that’s going places.

E: kieran.wrafter@randstad.com.au T: 07 3031 3219 Ref: KW46035

Reputable Queensland based firm has an exciting opportunity for an experienced property solicitor to join their growing practice, be exposed to large scale off the plan developments and strata title and body corporate issues. With an easy going team and mentoring on offer, this role will certainly give your career a boost!

E: kieran.wrafter@randstad.com.au T: 07 3031 3219 Ref: KW45130

Risk Management (Part-time)

IP Litigation

Sydney, 4-5+ Years PAE

Sydney, 3+ Years PAE

With a reputation for being one of the most collegiate CBD Law firms with extensive international presence, a rare opportunity has now become available.

Will suit a lawyer with a corporate/commercial and/or litigation legal practice background within a mid or top-tier firm. Work/life balance and flexibility.

E: eva.arelic@randstad.com.au T: 02 8298 3852 Ref: EA46912

Premier IP Practice Group of CBD firm seeks an experienced IP Litigation lawyer. You will be engaged in high profile matters with a focus on patent litigation, copyright and trademark enforcement catering to international brand names. Work in a down-to-earth, fun and relaxed environment.

E: eva.arelic@randstad.com.au T: 02 8298 3852 Ref: EA46962

Construction

Corporate/Commercial

Sydney, 3-6 Years PAE

Well regarded mid-tier firm seeks a construction lawyer to join its well established and successful group. Work is predominantly back-end disputes for a mixture of leading clients in relation to high profile construction projects. You will need experience gained at a well regarded practice and excellent academics.

E: sian.harwood@randstad.com.au T: 02 8298 3846 Ref: SH47179

Sydney, 3-5 Years PAE

National firm which truly recognizes the value of its staff is seeking a talented lawyer to join the commercial group. You will act for a wide variety of clients including medical and pharmaceutical companies and will advise on business formations & structures, commercial relationships, M&A and franchising.

E: sian.harwood@randstad.com.au T: 02 8298 3846 Ref: SH47235

in-house Senior Counsel

Sydney, 6+ Years PAE

An excellent opportunity to join a busy legal team providing legal advice on a range of contractual, regulatory and compliance matters. To be successful you will have experience in negotiating a broad range of commercial contracts including service, property, IT agreements and marketing material.

E: kelly.roberts@randstad.com.au T: 02 8298 3850 Ref: KR47226

Corporate Legal Counsel

Sydney, 4+ Years PAE

Join a leading Australian organisation; the legal team works very closely with the functional areas of the business assisting with identifying and managing legal risks, problem solving and providing commercially sound legal advice. In order to be successful in this role you should have experience in corporate and commercial law.

E: kelly.roberts@randstad.com.au T: 02 8298 3850 Ref: KR47054

thisweek

The Web

Victoria LSB AWARDS $3.7 MILLION IN GRANTS THE VICTORIAN Legal Services Board (LSB) has injected $3.7 million into 15 projects aimed at enhancing Victoria’s justice system. Several grants were awarded through the major grants stream of the LSB’s grants program, which distributes funding to projects aimed at improving the administration of laws, increasing access to justice, improving legal services, and informing and educating the wider community about legal services. The prevention of violence against women was chosen as a priority theme.

Norton Rose chairman named EOWA diversity leader Norton Rose Australia’s (NRA) chairman, Sally Macindoe, has been named Diversity Leader for the Advancement of Women by the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency (EOWA).

Macindoe was presented with the award on 9 November at the EOWA Business Achievement Award. She was recognised for her commitment to diversity at NRA where she oversees the development and execution of the firm’s diversity strategy.

Since 2005, NRA has doubled the number of women working flexibly and more than doubled the number of women at partnership level.

Bolt decision fair: Lawyer A leading defamation lawyer who has taken on the likes of Alan Jones said he was not surprised Andrew Bolt lost his case. Patrick George, a Sydney-based partner with global law firm Kennedys, said while the recent Federal Court case involving Herald Sun journalist Andrew Bolt found he had breached the Racial Discrimination Act, the decision had ramifications on the conduct of the press in many areas. “

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Allens moves into Mongolia ALLENS ARTHUR Robinson has become the first Australian law firm to open an office in Mongolia.

The firm finalised a lease agreement on premises in the capital, Ulaanbaatar, earlier this month.

Allens has been eyeing an office in Mongolia for some time now, with the firm joining the Business Council of Mongolia in August as a precursor to last week’s announcement.

One of the firm’s biggest clients, Rio Tinto, is also a member of the Business Council of Mongolia and is acting on the joint venture Mongolian Oyu Tolgoi project, the world’s largest undeveloped copper and gold mine.

Allens also counts the First Reserve Corporation – one of the world’s largest private equity consortiums – , Extract Resources Limited and Calibre Global as clients for whom the firm acts in Mongolia.

Energy and resources partner Erin Feros (pictured) told Lawyers Weekly “the fact that so many of our clients are up there now” was the main reason for the establishment of a base in Ulaanbaatar.

“It is important to be linked into the business community,” said Feros. “We found it is a different culture, a different way of doing things. We really do need to have face-to-face meetings, and you need to understand what is going on and have your eyes and ears on the ground to provide it.”

Allens will not initially have any staff permanently based in its Mongolian office.

Hong Kong-based partner David Wenger will be the firm’s chief Mongolian representative. Feros said Allens deliberately chose to pursue a model where staff would be on the ground in Mongolia on a case-by-case basis.

“What we have found is that we are doing work for a variety of clients, and the relationship partners and their staff are the ones going up there,” she said. “To have a generalist on the ground isn’t really what we see

as necessary in that market to help us follow our clients into the new region.”

It is expected that Allens staff from the firm’s Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai offices will predominantly service the Ulaanbaatar office. Energy and resources partners such as Feros, her Brisbane-based colleague and infrastructure specialist Ren Niemann, the firm’s Rio Tinto relationship partner Scott Langford, and Kate Axup, who is relocating from Melbourne to be the firm’s chief representative in Beijing from 2012, are also expected to regularly be in Mongolia.

Only a handful of global law firms have offices in Mongolia, with Anderson & Anderson LLP, Lynch & Mahoney and large Chinese firm Lehman, Lee & Xu amongst those with a dedicated office in Ulaanbaatar.

In March this year, DLA Piper announced it had entered into a formal association with Mongolian firm C&G partners.

R E W IND

Olympic cyclists Cadel Evans and Shane Kelly were special guests at Ernst & Young’s corporate cycle day on Sunday (13 November) in Melbourne. Setting the pace amid business people, Evans used the event to call for better cycling infrastructure and greater tolerance among road users.

Executives in the power industry met last week to discuss the implications of Labor’s recently passed carbon policy. The AGL chief executive called for greater certainty for long-term investors in the industry by way of a bipartisan agreement on the policy.

Up to $341 million in building contracts for the National Broadband Network in South Australia and the Northern Territory have been awarded to Syntheo – a joint venture between companies Lend Lease and Service Stream. Syntheo is set to design and construct the network over two years, potentially with a four-year extension.

Negotiations on tariff-free trade agreements between Australia, the US and several Asia Pacific nations have been met with cautious questioning by business and trade experts. Experts want further evidence that an agreement among member nations of the Trans-Pacific Partnership will benefit Australia significantly more than the existing Australia-US FTA.

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thisweek

Freehills and Clayton Utz advise on joint venture Deal name: Joint venture between Pacific Equity Partners and Swedish consumer goods company SCA to invest in SCA Hygiene Australasia’s operations Key players: Freehills, Clayton Utz, Minter Ellison

Freehills and Clayton Utz have jointly advised Pacific equity Partners (PeP) on its joint venture with sCa, a swedish global consumer goods company.

Under the joint venture, PeP and sCa will invest in the expansion of sCa hygiene australasia’s (sCaha) operations, which span australia, new Zealand and Fiji. sCaha manufactures and markets a number of leading brands, including sorbent, Purex, handee Ultra and libra.

Corporate partners Philip Kapp and Mark Williamson led the Clutz team advising on the joint venture arrangements, while Mark Crean, hayley neilson and Kristin stammer were the lead Freehills partners advising on the M&a, banking, and intellectual property aspects of the transaction. involving parallel negotiations in australia and sweden and various interdependent commercial and legal workstreams, the transaction required close collaboration between PeP, Freehills and Clutz across a large number of practice areas, including M&a, iP and banking.

The deal, structured as an equal joint venture, is innovative for the australian private equity market, where 100 per cent acquisitions are more typical.

Kristin stammer, a Freehills iP partner,

Hayley Neilson, partner, Freehills

noted that the structure gave rise to a number of challenging commercial and legal issues, which required managing an array of brand, technology and supply issues “in order to deliver value to PeP in australasia whilst preserving sCa’s global iP rights”.

Macquarie Capital advisors acted as financial advisor to PeP whilst investec australia and Minter ellison acted for sCa. Commenting on the joint venture structure, Kapp said it required his team to “think outside the square”.

DE AL MAKERS

Tony Ryan

Shannon Finch

Anne-Marie Neagle

Firm

Ryan Lawyers (Royal Group Holdings)

Mallesons Stephen Jaques Mallesons Stephen Jaques (Goldman Sachs and Macquarie (Insurance Australia Capital (Australia) Limited), Group), Chapman Tripp Gilbert + Tobin (Catalpa Resources), Allens Arthur Robinson (Newcrest Mining)

Deal name

Establishment of new Sofitel So Singapore

Proposed capital raising by Evolution Mining

New Zealand bond issue and IAG capital raising

Area

Hotels and Tourism

Corporate

Finance

Value

Undisclosed

$152.5 million

$118.9 million

Key players

Ryan Lawyers’ Tony Ryan

Mallesons’ Shannon Finch

Mallesons’ Anne-Marie Neagle

Movers & Shakers

D E A L O F T HE W E E K

CGW hires litigation dispute resolution lawyer Queensland-based firm Cooper Grace Ward has appointed a lawyer to its litigation and dispute resolution group. Former Doyle’s Construction Lawyers solicitor Melanie Thorley will focus on providing construction, engineering and facilities management advice within the infrastructure team.

Thorley also regularly volunteers at Nundah Community Legal Service.

Arnold Bloch Leibler adds three partners Former Landerer & Company director Jonathan Caplan (pictured) is the most recent recruit to Arnold Bloch Leibler’s Sydney office. Rick Narev joined ABL at the beginning of October, as a commercial and corporate partner from Freehills, and Nathan Briner joined as a banking and finance partner from SJ Berwin. Caplan will join ABL in late November as a partner to lead the firm’s property and development practice.

Kemp Strang recruits partner Patrick Dwyer has joined Sydneybased commercial law firm Kemp Strang as a partner in the banking and finance practice. The firm’s managing partner, Michael Joseph, said that Dwyer’s appointment will allow Kemp Strang to provide an even broader range of legal services.

Dwyer was formerly a partner at Langes and, before that, held a general counsel role at GE. Former Gadens Partner joins PCS People + Culture Strategies (PCS) has appointed Kathryn Dent as a director. Dent joins PCS from Gadens Lawyers where she was a partner in workplace relations.

Joydeep Hor, PCS managing partner and founder, said Dent’s values and skills complement the firm’s business model.

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thisweek

Corrs appoints diversity manager Corrs Chambers Westgarth has appointed Lisa Annese, a former programs director of the Diversity Council Australia (DCA), to a newly created role of diversity manager.

Annese’s chief aim will be to push through more women into senior positions at Corrs.

“In a nutshell, my aim is to improve the female representation of lawyers in very senior roles at Corrs,” Annese (pictured) told Lawyers Weekly.

Annese has also worked with the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency (EOWA), where she helped develop the first census of ‘Australian Women in Leadership’, the first ‘Business Achievement Awards’, the creation of the ‘Employer of Choice for Women’ citation, and the development and implementation of the policy framework for the EOWA Act (1999) with Australian businesses.

Annese co-authored Chief Executives Unplugged: CEO’s Get Real About Women in the Workplace and has ties with United Nations organisations, including the UN Global Compact, the UN Alliance of Civilisations and UN Women.

Diversity council chair Christine Covington said Annese’s appointment reinforces Corrs’ commitment to its 2015 Diversity Strategy.

Annese will be responsible for driving the firm’s participation as an industry partner in the Melbourne Business School Gender Equality Project.

Annese will also be tasked with publishing an ASX Guideline compliant diversity policy.

no place for litigation funding in Us The class action litigation funding model, which now plays a significant role within australian shareholder class actions, would struggle to prosper in the United states.

Discussing the future of corporate class actions last week at the global legal network alFa International’s 2011 annual client seminar, hosted by Tresscox lawyers, strasburger & Price partner David cibrian said it would be an “uphill battle” for litigation funders to succeed in the United states because of the presence of contingency fees, which are absent in australia and england. citing the gender discrimination class action against Walmart, which involved 1.5 million female employees and constitutes the largest certified class action in Us history, the Dallasbased cibrian described the efforts by the Us supreme court to move away from the abuse of class actions and the “get rich quick schemes” within the employment practices area. “a lot of litigation that has some substance is not really intended to address some sort of grave injustice ... which should be at the core of class actions,” he said. “Decades ago in the United states, when you had wholesale environmental contamination, where entire communities were affected, you could see the class action, from a public policy standpoint, having a reason for being. We have really gotten away from that.”

In contrast to the strength of class actions in the

United states, it’s a different picture in europe. london-based charles Russell partner John sykes discussed the decline of class actions in england, which has heightened during the recent market turmoil. “class actions, and the availability of them, are a political issue,” said sykes. sykes said some of the reasons why there are more class actions in the Us as compared to europe, where their prevalence is also waning, include the United states’ opt-out procedure for class actions (as opposed to europe’s opt-in procedure) and the existence of contingency fees.

The fact that losers of a class action in england pay the winner’s costs presents a huge potential liability and discourages class actions, according to sykes. sykes added that an opt-out system, similar to the Us, was proposed in england back in 2008 but later rejected by the government.

new website for depressed lawyers a neW website launched on 8 november will ensure lawyers and law students struggling with depression do not feel alone, according to the president of new south Wales Young lawyers (nsWYl). speaking to Lawyers Weekly after the nsWYl Mental health and Wellbeing website’s launch, Daniel Petrushnko said he hopes students and young lawyers will feel more supported when they use it.

“We want to get the word out there, to students and those suffering from stress and anxiety, that they are not alone,” he said. “We are all in this together.”

The website includes a

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section in which anonymous young lawyers share their experiences.

One of the profiles features lisa, 29, who says, “In my fourth year at university, I suffered an episode of major depression. I had always been an anxious and stressed student but had just assumed that was normal and it didn’t seem to affect my marks as I was receiving distinctions and high distinctions ... My parents were really scared and took me to see a doctor. I was referred to a psychiatrist who said I had experienced an episode of major depression. she said that it is possible to have depression without there

being a triggering event, such as a death in the family or a relationship breakup”.

The site also features information about the prevention and detection of mental illness, statistics, where to seek help, as well as a media and resources section and a section tailored to students.

“The site is not just about the negatives,” said Petrushnko.

“It is also about awareness building and empowerment.”

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thisweek

Australian and western economies can look to sharia law when developing their commercial arbitration systems. That was the message from a prominent international lawyer who delivered a national lecture last week. Justin Whealing was there Sharia law, the general law in islam, is a controversial topic.

Essam al Tamimi, a Dubai-based senior partner with al Tamimi & Company, confronted this straight off the bat when addressing hundreds of lawyers around the country last week (8 November). “it is a subject that sometimes upsets people, that people can take very personally, because it is related to their religion,” he said. “it is also a subject that is highly controversial in a number of discussions, especially in recent years with associations and certain movements.” with that out of the way, al Tamimi, the head of the largest law firm in the Middle East, then spent the next hour articulately and thoughtfully delivering a lecture on the topic of islamic influences on international arbitration. while al Tamimi delivered his address from the Ceremonial Court of the Federal Court in Sydney, it was streamed to lawyers in the Federal Court premises in Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth. invited to speak by Clayton Utz partner Doug Jones, who is also the president of the Chartered institute of arbitrators, al Tamimi said that despite its political connotations, sharia law should not be disqualified from being a topic of discussion as it applies to many areas of civil and legal life. “islamic religion gets involved in the transactional side of life, and does not confine itself to the Mosque, to my bedroom, to my house and to the praying carpet. it gets outside that to tell me how i should behave in my training, how i should pay, and what is legal,” he said. “islamic law is relevant to commercial transactions and doing business.”

Speaking to Lawyers Weekly before the lecture, al Tamimi said that sharia law and the system of arbitration and settling disputes developed in tandem with each other. he said western countries such as australia could benefit by understanding those links.

“The principle of arbitration, and the use of arbitration to settle disputes, existed during the early period of islam,” he said. “The word ‘arbitration’ was used in the Koran.” al Tamimi also addressed broader issues, such as whether the appointment of female judges was compatible with sharia law. he said that iraq has over 70 female judges and his

Essam Al Tamimi in the Sydney Federal Court last week

own country, the United arab Emirates (UaE), has 10 female judges.

“There is no specific prohibition against a female judge,” he said. “arbitrators need to have the same qualifications as judges, and if the only judge available and qualified is a man, then there will be no female arbitrators.”

leaving controversy behind

al Tamimi flew to Sydney on 5 November after being the chair of the host committee at the international Bar association (iBa) Conference in Dubai which finished on 4 November. he confirmed with Lawyers Weekly that political authorities in Dubai altered the topic headings of five of the 170 topics discussed, including replacing reference to the “death penalty” with “capital punishment” in one session. al Tamimi said this decision was taken so as not to offend neighbouring countries affected by recent political demonstrations and regime changes. “we had a request from UaE authorities to change the headings on certain topics,” he said. “we don’t want to be seen to be hosting a conference in Dubai during the current arab Spring which someone might construe as sending missiles out of Dubai into those territories.” he said that none of the speakers at the conference, attended by around 5,500 lawyers, was changed and that he “would not accept” any alterations to the substance of those discussions. al Tamimi also said the 13 israeli delegates were not subject to restrictions and were given “the red carpet treatment” when in Dubai.

US/UK Update

what the west can learn from sharia law

DLA nabs Linklaters Angel Former Linklaters partner Tony Angel has left for the partnership of DLA Piper, reports The Lawyer. Serving alongside global chairman Francis Burch Junior, and working closely with CEOs Sir Nigel Knowles and Lee Miller, Angel will work on the refinement and execution of DLA Piper’s global strategy. Specifically, he has been tasked with improving financial performance and recruitment outside of North Ameria.

Church responsible for priest abuse A high court ruling has deemed the Catholic Church responsible for sexual abuse by a member of its clergy, reports The Guardian. The ruling sets a precedent which will make it easier for victims of clerical sexual abuse to bring claims against the church. The judge said there were important features of the church-priest relationship, like the provision of the premises and the clerical robes, which must be considered.

Christians appeal ruling on gay refusal A devout Christian couple, who were told to pay compensation for banning a gay couple from sharing a double room at a hotel they own, have launched an appeal, reports The Guardian. Peter and Hazel Bull were ordered to pay £3,600 ($5,592) compensation to Martyn Hall and his partner, Steven Preddy, who were refused the room. Challenging the decision, the Bull’s said they did not mean to disrespect the gay couple, but believed that sex before marriage was “wrong”.

IBA slammed for ignoring women Lawyers at the recent International Bar Association (IBA) conference in Dubai criticised the event for omitting sessions on women and other issues, reports The Lawyer. Only one event on women eventuated, and there were none on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues, despite those issues being sanctioned at the IBA conference last year.

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indepth

banning Facebook at work no solution When it comes to social media in the workplace, businesses need to bite the bullet, accept it’s here to stay, and prepare for the worst. Claire Chaffey reports

B

anning social media in the workplace is not an option for businesses, even if they are afraid of reputational damage and time wasting, according to experts in workplace and social media law.

Speaking at a conference last week on drafting social media policy for the workplace, Vivienne Storey, the general manager of Sydney-based boutique firm BlandsLaw, said attempting to ban the use of social media in the workplace is useless, and businesses are better off accepting it and preparing accordingly.

“If you’re scared about what people are going to say about you [on social media], they are going to say it anyway,” she said. “It is better to engage in the discussion. Be involved ... Banning social media is not an option. Don’t blame the tool.”

BlandsLaw was holding the seminar for a variety of not-for-profit, government, media and pharmaceuticals companies with the aim of helping them draft an effective social media policy and allay some of their fears.

“People want to know how far they can expect to control an employee’s behaviour out of hours. How far-reaching can a social media policy be in terms of personal social media use?” Storey told Lawyers Weekly.

“They are worried about reputational risk, and disclosure of confidential information and intellectual property. They are concerned about social media becoming an excessive distraction at work, resulting in loss of productivity. They want to know what to include in a social media policy and how to implement it.”

Earlier this year, the chief executive officer of Deloitte Digital, Pete Williams, told a legal conference that law firms that don’t embrace social media will become irrelevant.

Williams addressed the Janders Dean Law Firm Knowledge & Innovation Conference in Sydney in September under the topic, ‘Social Media – Friend, Foe or Unstoppable Force?’

He said he believes social media is an unstoppable force, and that law firms should “get on board” with social media forums such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Common sense does not have common features One key mistake businesses make when drafting social media policies, said Storey, is advising employees to simply use “common sense” when tweeting or posting comments on Facebook. This, she said, is not sufficient to protect businesses from reputational damage, especially when “common sense” means such different things for different generations.

“A policy which asks for common sense is not good enough,” she said. “What common sense is differs between the generations and the sexes. You can’t define it.”

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indepth Storey also said it is essential that employees are made aware of the very public nature of what they are doing when using social media, and fully understand the risks and responsibilities involved.

“A lot of people don’t understand the public nature of social media,” she said. “[It is] about as public as you can imagine. It’s permanently public, and people don’t get that.”

Last week, DLA Piper released the results of a survey that revealed close to two-thirds of internet users are clueless when it comes to their legal rights and responsibilities online.

According to the survey, 63 per cent of users have little or no awareness of their rights and responsibilities when posting comments on social media sites, and 52 per cent of Twitter users do not consider whether their tweet could be in breach of the law before they send it.

Duncan Calow, a partner in DLA Piper’s UK intellectual property & technology (IPT) group, said the online community is displaying a lax attitude when it comes to thinking about the potential consequences of using social media.

“Social media is ultimately about individuals, and we can see that younger generations especially display a more laissez-faire attitude towards the policing of social media,” he said.

“However, recent the A D _ L WA L S Nevents O V 1such 8 _ as 1 1 . London p d f riots P a and ge 1 celebrity Twitter scandals may have begun to challenge

this perception that the online environment is – or indeed should be – free of regulation.”

According to Alec Christie, a partner in DLA Piper’s IPT group in Sydney, while the survey was undertaken in the UK, the results are likely to be very similar in Australia.

“The survey results raise interesting questions about how Australia should consider regulating social media usage: new dedicated legislation, self-regulation through a code of conduct or more prescriptive terms and conditions, which are enforced,” he said.

Storey said that ensuring employees are aware of the realities behind social media is one way to minimise risk.

“When you start to consider [how public it is], it might “A lot of people don’t just influence what you’re tweeting,” she said. understand the public Storey pointed to the approach of the Department of nature of social media. Justice (DOJ) in Victoria as being an effective example [It is] about as public of how employees can be educated about the potential as you can imagine. It’s ramifications of using social media, as well as their permanently public, responsibilities in relation to what they say on such sites. and people don’t get The DOJ produced a four-minute video, which it made that” public on YouTube, in order to bring awareness about social VIVIenne Storey, generAl media into the workplace. mAnAger, BlAndSlAw Storey said this is now an essential part of training in the workplace. don’t want to be unemployable in the future 1 4 / 1 1 / 1 1 , 1 : 1 6 P “You M because of what you put out in public,” she said. lw

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legalspotlight

In your debt As the debt crisis in Europe grinds on, transactional legal work remains paralysed by uncertainty. But market volatility is creating opportunities for Australian lawyers as they mobilise their global networks and help businesses escape the squeeze on capital. Stephanie Quine reports

A

s we approach the final furlong of 2011, financial trouble in Europe appears far from over. Despite the efforts of political leaders to resolve the eurozone debt crisis, market anxiety continues and law firms wait to see how the gloom will pan out.

Clifford Chance Sydney finance partner Scott Bache says his team has felt the “paralysis of the market” over the last four to six weeks, but there has still been an increase in work compared to the firm’s previous financial year (which begins from 1 May).

“We have found a significant uptick in work right through to summer, particularly in continental Europe, which is quite surprising if you read the press,” says Bache.

This can be partly attributed to cashed-up European companies looking to deploy their assets in other parts of the world.

Given the underperformance in sections of the European economy and changes to the regulatory landscape for banks, Bache says he is beginning to see signs across a range of industries in Europe of businesses looking to “potentially divest assets and bring that money back to shore up their own balance sheets”.

Baker & McKenzie, which opened an office in Luxembourg last year and an office in Istanbul this month, is experiencing a freeze on large corporate deals already in the pipeline.

The national managing partner of Bakers’ Australian offices, Chris Freeland, explains that while 39 per cent of the firm’s global revenue intake came from Europe (inclusive of the Middle East and the firm’s only African office in Cairo), the growth has not been what it has been in Asia.

“We’re hoping that by Christmas there will be some more clarity around the economic situation globally, because [the market in Europe] has definitely been getting tougher in recent times,” he says.

German domination For Europe’s biggest economy, the turmoil has produced multiple side effects. With a falling currency and low interest rates, German businesses are paying lower risk premiums and benefiting from the European Central Bank’s

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(ECB) historically low benchmark interest rate.

“Germany is very busy across a whole heap of areas, especially in M&A and financial-related products,” says Clifford Chance partner Danny Simmons.

Clifford Chance has 62 partners in Frankfurt alone who act for many industrial companies. Simmons says that Germany has a long history of investing in resources and in manufacturing in Australia.

spanish energy

“We have found a significant uptick in work right through to summer, particularly in continental Europe, which is quite surprising if you read the press” Scott BAchE, pArtnEr, clifford chAncE

Lawyers in demand in Europe: -Banking and Finance -Restructuring -Litigation -Projects -Construction -Competition

With Italy and Spain’s combined government debt resting at $3.5 trillion dollars, according to Global Economist Ken Courtis, Spain’s economy is performing dramatically worse than Germany’s.

Despite high levels of activity in the European renewable energy market – an area where Spanish companies are quite sophisticated (second only to Germany in terms of installed capacity of renewable energy in the world) – Bakers associate Megan Flynn says “there is little opportunity for [Spanish companies in this industry] to grow in Spain”.

Flynn recently returned from a five-month secondment in Barcelona where she advised clients, across a range of sectors, on doing business in Australia.

“I advised on distribution arrangements – because they are quite unique in Australia compared to the European market – taxation queries and general corporate and government compliance issues,” says Flynn.

Australia falls “very, very far behind” Spain’s level of renewables capacity, explains Flynn, so there are “currently and likely to be more Spanish renewable project developers in Australia” in the near future, which is handy, given the recent passing of Australia’s carbon tax.

However, Spain is relatively unsophisticated in terms of carbon trading and other climate change law, explains Flynn.

“Part of my secondment involved giving lots of presentations on the basics of emissions trading ... to try to educate our existing and potential new clients on ways for them to engage in that market,” she says. “Because in Australia, that area of law is more advanced, or we are perhaps more aware of it,” she says.

Clifford Chance Sydney corporate partner Richard

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legalspotlight

Graham, who also works in the renewables space, has observed “quite a deal of activity” in the firm’s European and London offices in terms of work sourced from the engineering and procurement side for assets such as wind farms, as well as the refinancing of those assets.

updates as to what’s happening with each of the MF global businesses in their relevant jurisdictions … There are very few firms who are equipped to be able to handle this scale of work globally,” says Bache.

Global connections

After a positive start for recruitment in early 2011, the mood is now more cautious, according to legal recruiters.

Largely due to ongoing economic uncertainty in Europe, Taylor Root’s International associate director Karlie Connellan says most of the roles in Europe now are in private practice and “require very specific experience and language skills”.

Michelle Mills, a director in the London office of Marsden Group, says that in terms of specific experience, finance lawyers with skills in project finance, leveraged finance, derivatives, asset finance and structured finance “have all been in demand in recent months”.

Whilst Taylor Root recruits for in-house roles in the UK and Europe, Connellan says these roles can be sourced in the local market and are typically not open to foreign lawyers 1 4“Many / 1 1 lawyers / 1 1 , are now considering 1 0 : 4 6 A Mmultiple locations [in Europe] in the quest to move abroad,” says Conellan. lw

Flynn says she utilised the resources of Bakers’ Sydney office in order to answer particular queries for her Spanish clients in the same way lawyers in other global firms, such as Clifford Chance, are mobilising their networks to leverage legal work off the back of European instability.

“We were the firm that advised on the set-up of the European stability fund,” explains Bache, adding that there is much work being done around the fund and its structure at the moment.

Cliffford Chance is also involved with work surrounding the international derivatives broker MF Global, which filed for bankruptcy protection on 31 October after liquidity problems arose from its investments in European bonds.

“For us it has just involved revisiting the work that we landed for various clients post-Lehmans,” says Bache.

A D _our L WJ E N O Vsite 1 8 _ 1 is1 now . p an d fMF P a ge 1 “On firmLintranet there Global page and people are plugging into that page for regular

Cautious hires

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legalleaders

Fair crack of the whip For Elizabeth Evatt AC, forging a long and illustrious career was no easy feat.

But she did it, and her legacy is something for which many women can be grateful.

She speaks to Claire Chaffey

W

ith a family like hers, Elizabeth Evatt AC was probably never going to be ordinary.

Her father, Clive Evatt, was a brilliant advocate and leading light in Australia’s labour movement, and her uncle, Dr Herbert Vere “Doc” Evatt, was arguably one of Australia’s most influential lawyers and political leaders.

Clive and Doc Evatt were both recognised as being brilliant orators, men of principle, and well ahead of their time.

It’s not surprising, then, that Elizabeth Evatt also became known for these traits.

Pursuing a career in law at the behest of her father, Evatt was the youngest student to ever commence a law degree at Sydney University – at a time when there were only a handful of women venturing into what was a male-dominated world.

This didn’t bother Evatt too much, though, and the girls banded together in their segregated common room to show the boys how things were done – which she did, by winning the University Medal and being the first-ever woman to do so.

After being admitted to the New South Wales Bar in 1955, Evatt won a scholarship to study at Harvard University. She attained a Masters in 1956 and, soon after, began working as a barrister in London.

Evatt was to spend many years in London, and although the Bar would not always be her home, the challenges she faced would always remain.

“There weren’t very many women lawyers in London. It was harder for women to get a start at the Bar in those days,” she says. “There were one or two women silks, but it wasn’t until the mid-60s that a woman was appointed to the bench. Things moved as slowly there as they did here. In the 70s, things started to move more quickly, but in the 50s and 60s, things went rather slowly.”

Taking the high road In 1968, Evatt made a decision which would take her career in a very different direction: she left the Bar to join Lord Scarman at the English Law Commission – a decision which Evatt says was partly due to the difficulty of having a family whilst juggling a career at the Bar.

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legalleaders Evatt receiving a lifetime achievement award from the NSW Law Society last month

In 1973, Evatt returned to Australia, taking up the role of deputy president of the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission. One year later, she embarked on an adventure which she says was the highlight of her illustrious career: the Royal Commission of Human Relationships.

Evatt was named chairman of the Commission, working alongside Anne Deveson and Felix Arnott, and was tasked with exploring intimate and family relationships during a time of significant social change.

“We took the opportunity to go all around Australia and have public hearings and private discussions, go to lots of places and meet with lots of people,” she says. “It was a fantastic opportunity to get an overview of Australia and the social and legal issues that people were dealing with at that time. That was a very special time. It was when the women’s movement was strong and there was a real feeling of change in the air.”

For one thing, Gough Whitlam had been running the country (and had indeed sanctioned the Commission) and was determined to elevate the status of women and achieve equal opportunity – so much so that Evatt credits Whitlam with facilitating much of her career success.

“I have been fortunate,” she says. “I happened to be reasonably well placed in the Whitlam era, which came as it did in the time of the women’s liberation movement.

They coincided, so women were given more opportunities then.”

In 1977 – the same year Whitlam resigned as leader of the Labor Party after losing yet another election – Evatt handed down the Commission’s final report.

She had, in the meantime, been appointed as the founding chief judge of the Family Court of Australia – another achievement she cites as a career highlight, and a position she held until 1988.

“To provide a legal service accessible to the whole community is a huge challenge, [as is] ensuring that human rights and justice principles are followed through, and everybody has a chance to access justice”

achieving social justice

The ongoing battle

When the 1990s arrived, Evatt’s focus became dominated by human rights and social justice issues.

In 1988, she had been appointed president of the Australian Law Reform Commission, during which time she also chaired the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. In 1992, she was the first Australian elected to the United Nations Human Rights Committee.

From 1995 to 1998, Evatt was the parttime Commissioner of the Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission and, between 1998 and 2007 she served two consecutive terms as a judge of a tribunal of the World Bank, during which time she was also elected as a Commissioner of the International Committee of Jurists.

Evatt’s career has been remarkable, spanning many decades and bearing witness to great change.

“The legal profession has changed in step with the way that our society has changed,” she says. “Australia has changed enormously in its economic infrastructure. Years ago, we were seen as primary production, but now we’ve got major commercial enterprises of all kinds, and the legal profession has increased considerably in its service to the corporate sector.

“For so many firms, that is pretty well all they do. They have combined with each other, not just around Australia, but internationally, so the legal profession has become national and international, and far more diverse and more into corporate and commercial areas.”

This corporate focus, says Evatt, means adhering to issues of justice and human rights has become increasingly difficult for lawyers.

“The greatest challenge they’ve got is to provide a decent service to the public without charging too much. Lawyers are very expensive for people, and there is not enough legal aid around for most,” she says.

While Evatt says the growth of alternative legal groups, such as the Public Interest Advocacy Centre, and the network of community legal centres is an extremely positive development, she still sees a career in law as a struggle for women.

“Women lawyers face the same challenges that have always been there: to get a fair crack of the whip in the profession as well as manage home and family,” she says. “Despite the fact that the younger generations of men do pick up family duties – and I think that is great, far more than in my generation – the ultimate burden does rest on women. It has been hard for women at the Bar and in practice to pursue those types of careers.”

But Evatt points out that many women have managed to do it – and one must include her in that honour list – but, at the age of 78, she now prefers to “work behind the scenes” with groups such as the ICJ and the New York-based women’s group, Equality Now. When asked if there are any more major achievements up her sleeve, Evatt simply laughs. “I am 78, darling! Don’t ask me what’s next – it’s too grim to think about!”

We can perhaps forgive her for swapping grand ambition for cycling, gardening, writing and music these days, especially given she has achieved the rare honour, earlier this year, of finding herself on a special edition postage stamp alongside other “eminent women” Eva Cox AO, Germaine Greer and Anne Summers AO. “I had to hide my face when I went into the Post Office earlier in the year,” she laughs.

“But it is tremendous that we were recognised in that way. All our women friends – the feminist friends – were all quite happy to have that recognised.

“We were representatives, really, of a wider movement.” lw

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mainstory

Moving on up A Change of view: top-tier to mid-tier

s some of Australia’s largest national law firms went global in 2011, including DLA Phillips Fox which merged with DLA Piper in May, the Australian legal industry experienced mass partner defections as members of the profession rejected the summons of global firms in favour of national or mid-tier firms. With a number of partners taking their teams with them, it was the mid-tier firms that snapped up the most talent for the year – from both the global and top-tier firms. Just like last year, it was the presence of global firms in Australia and large national firm mergers which shook up the profession in 2011.

Name: Adam Levine Firm left: Mallesons Stephen Jaques Firm joined: Middletons Location: Perth

In March, M&A and capital markets partner Adam Levine left Mallesons Stephen Jaques to join the partnership of Middletons.

“Do you remember that old guy from The Shawshank Redemption that had been in prison for most of his life, and he gets out and he can’t survive – he just doesn’t know what to do with himself?” laughed Levine when talking about leaving Mallesons. “That is how I felt. For the first few weeks I thought, ‘What do I do?’ I realised that I had been institutionalised … It was a bit of a culture shock, but I am happy to say that I am being re-institutionalised over here now.”

Levine said moving firms has given him the opportunity to find a niche for himself in an exciting legal market. “A few months down the line, I really feel that I am getting some ways towards doing that.”

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2011 has been a time of change and uncertainty. As Europe continues to fight off an ongoing debt crisis and global firms continue their Australian onslaught, the Australian legal market has witnessed a number of major lateral partner moves.

Lawyers Weekly presents its Top 25 movers & shakers of the year

Name: Stephen Kerr Firm left: Freehills Firm joined: HWL Ebsworth Location: Melbourne

After 15 years as a partner at Freehills, Stephen Kerr left the top-tier in March this year to join HWL Ebsworth’s commercial team in Melbourne.

Kerr joined the firm along with Freehills executive counsel Teresa Torcasio, bringing with him a depth of expertise in mergers and acquisitions, private equity, complex due diligence and broad commercial skills.

While at Freehills, Kerr led the firm’s commercial contracting team. He was also previously a partner at Corrs Chambers Westgarth.

Name: Neil Pathak Firm left: Freehills Firm joined: Gilbert + Tobin Location: Melbourne

In March, Gilbert + Tobin announced the addition of top-tier mergers and acquisitions partner Neil Pathak to the firm’s Melbourne office.

Joining G+T from Freehills, Pathak was brought in to lead the firm’s Melbourne M&A team. “I’m really excited about growing something in Melbourne,” explained Pathak. “There’s going to be a challenge in the sense that the brand isn’t well known yet in Melbourne, but that’s the excitement of it.”

At the same time as Pathak’s appointment, the firm also announced it had secured Tony Bancroft, a specialist in major corporate and commercial transactions, who joined G+T’s Sydney team after spending 30 years at Mallesons.

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mainstory

Name: Deborah Templeman Firm left: Minter Ellison Firm joined: Gilchrist Connell Location: Perth

Deborah Templeman made headlines in August when, only days after the announcement that global firm Squire Sanders would be establishing a Perth office with 14 Minter Ellison partners, she decided to join a boutique firm instead.

An insurance and corporate risk partner, Templeman, who had been with Minters for 20 years, announced her intention to start up the Perth office of specialist insurance firm Gilchrist Connell. She took senior associate Justine Siavelis, associate Bradley Baker and several lawyers and support staff with her.

“My clients wouldn’t know Squire Sanders and wouldn’t see the logic,” she told Lawyers Weekly. “It also enables us to have lower overheads ... The model suits us.”

Gilchrist Connell also has offices in Sydney and Adelaide and, since parting ways with Thomsons Lawyers in 2008, has grown its practice by 50 per cent.

Name: Natalie Gullifer Firm left: Freehills Firm joined: Lander & Rogers Location: Melbourne

After deciding it was time for a change, financial services expert Natalie Gullifer made the move from Freehills to Lander & Rogers, taking with her a team of seven.

Leaving the partnership of Freehills, Gullifer left the top-tier for Lander & Rogers on 1 June, along with Peggy Haines, Beth McConnell, Marlene Hewer and three other staff.

A Freehills partner since 2004, heading up the firm’s Melbourne superannuation and financial services team, Gullifer took with her 15 years of experience in financial services regulation, including funds management, superannuation and anti-money laundering.

A partner at Freehills between 1995 and 2009, Haines is a senior lawyer who has worked exclusively in superannuation and financial services for the last 20 years. She joined Lander & Rogers as a consultant.

“Every client that we had at Freehills has followed us to Lander & Rogers and we’ve also won some new clients, which has been great,” said Gullifer.

Name: Matthew Allchurch Firm left: Allens Arthur Robinson Firm joined: Johnson, Winter & Slattery Location: Sydney

In a recent article in the Australian Financial Review, Allens Arthur Robinson chief executive partner Michael Rose said his firm had not suffered any headline departures this year.

Lawyers Weekly disagrees. The loss of Matthew Allchurch to Johnson, Winter & Slattery was a blow to the blue-chip firm.

Allchurch is one of Australia’s most well-regarded banking and finance lawyers, having been a partner at Allens for 10 years and Clayton Utz for nine years prior to that. His client list included Westpac, ANZ, Macquarie Bank and Deutsche Bank.

At JWS, he is pursuing an altogether different strategy.

“I saw an opportunity to develop a high quality top-end debt finance practice that is acting for borrowers not aligned with banks and financial institutions, after 25 years acting for banks,” he told Lawyers Weekly. “I didn’t think I could execute that strategy at Allens in a way that I could foresee that it might operate at JWS.” JWS is well known for poaching top-tier partners. In addition to Allchurch, this year the firm has taken Austin Bell from Blake Dawson, Calum Henderson from Norton Rose, and Marko Komadina from Gilbert + Tobin.

Name: Michael Palfrey Firm left: Clayton Utz Firm joined: Sparke Helmore Location: Canberra

Sparke Helmore snapped up four lawyers from Clayton Utz this April. Public and administrative law expert Michael Palfrey joined Sparkes, bringing 11 years’ experience gained in the legal branches of the Department of Finance and Deregulation, Department of Health and Ageing, and the Therapeutic Goods Administration.

“The transition’s been very good because I’ve come to a firm that has government as its core focus, so there’s support and resources dedicated to the industry I specialise in,” said Palfrey, whose role changed from senior associate at Clutz to partner at Sparkes.

Palfrey now advises on Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) matters and general statutory interpretation, including FOI and privacy law.

Former Clutz consultant and associate professor in constitutional law at the Australian National University College of Law, James Stellios, also joined the firm.

The four appointments followed the firm’s 2010 appointment of five government specialists, including partner Richard Morrison from Clutz.

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mainstory

Think global, leave locals

Name: Adam Stapledon Firm left: Freehills Firm joined: Allen & Overy Location: Sydney

After four years as a partner at Freehills, Adam Stapledon left to join the Sydney banking practice of Allen & Overy (A&O) in April.

“Based on our internal and external due diligence, Adam is without question one of the most highly-regarded finance practitioners in Australia,” said A&O managing partner Grant Fuzi.

Having previously worked at Shearman & Sterling in London, Stapledon has also lectured on syndicated lending courses at the University of Sydney and is a regular presenter at the Asia Pacific Loan Market Association documentation seminars.

Name: Tony Sparks Firm left: Freehills Firm joined: Allen & Overy Location: Sydney

Sometimes a single event can sum up a long-term trend. Tony Sparks joining Allen & Overy was one such event. The wellregarded capital markets and M&A lawyer was seen as one of Freehills’ rising stars at the time he suddenly departed for Allen & Overy after six years in the partnership.

So why did he do it?

“It was really the pull factor,” he told Lawyers Weekly. “The practice is focused on transactional work, which is all about what I do. We have set our stall out to be that here.”

Sparks said his client base from “the old shop” hasn’t changed too much.

“The reception from clients of mine when working at A&O has been excellent and I expect to be, and have been, working for broadly the same clients,” he said. “There are different corporate clients here, like Chi-X, but I think the focus of my work will be the same.”

Former Freehills partners Aaron Kenavan and Chris Roberston joined A&O last year.

Name: Warwick Painter Firm left: Allens Arthur Robinson Firm joined: DLA Piper Location: Sydney

After 11 years as a partner at Allens Arthur Robinson, finance expert Warwick Painter joined the Sydney corporate team of DLA Piper on 12 September.

With another 14 years of experience gained as in-house corporate counsel at Westpac, including six years as head of Corporate and Institutional Legal at the bank, Painter said the decision to move from a top-tier Australian firm to the global network of DLA Piper was a personal one.

“Australia is increasingly becoming part of a globalised world of business and, in my experience, clients in the legal finance sector are, almost without exception, part of a broader international business structure,” Painter told Lawyers Weekly.

Name: Nick Dunstone Firm left: Henry Davis York Firm joined: Clifford Chance Location: Hong Kong Name: Amanda Turnill Firm left: Clayton Utz Firm joined: DLA Piper Location: Sydney

Life sciences and pharmaceutical lawyer Amanda Turnill left top-tier firm Clayton Utz to establish a new practice at DLA Piper in Sydney.

Joining the firm’s litigation and regulatory group on 1 June as a partner, Turnill began the process of establishing a team of lawyers to support her life sciences practice.

“I’m working closely with a number of pharmaceutical and medical device clients and have been sharing referrals and introductions across several international offices,” she said. Prior to joining Clayton Utz, she was a partner at Lovells (now Hogan Lovells) in London, having practised there for more than a decade.

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The well-regarded banking and finance firm Henry Davis York is used to punching above its weight, being on the panels of the big four banks in Australia and regularly taking partners from the top-tier. However, the defection of well-known partner and restructuring specialist Nick Dunstone to Clifford Chance in Hong Kong last month was a notable coup for the magic circle firm, signalling that more lateral hires are on the way. “Over the last three years, our strategy has been to expand our best practices in the region, adding depth and breadth to areas that matter to our clients,” Asia Pacific managing partner Peter Charlton said in October. “Nick’s appointment continues that trend, and will help our restructuring and special situations team grow.”

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Weapons of mass defection

Name: Melanie McKean Firm left: DLA Piper Firm joined: HWL Ebsworth Location: Canberra

Name: Tony Conaghan Firm left: DLA Phillips Fox Firm joined: Thomsons Lawyers Location: Brisbane

Tony Conaghan and eight other Brisbane-based DLA Phillips Fox partners defected to Thomsons Lawyers after voting against the integration of DLA Phillips Fox with DLA Piper in May this year.

This addition helped Thomsons expand its national reach into Brisbane and, according to Thomsons’ chief executive partner, Adrian Tembel, the new Brisbane office would assist the firm to achieve its $100 million revenue goal.

Conaghan, an intellectual property, information technology and franchising lawyer with more than 30 years’ experience, was joined by ex-DLA partners Philip Byrnes, James Daniel, Andrew Kelly, Ron Eames, Michael Marshall, Chris O’Shea, Philip Dowling and Eugene Fung.

Name: John Poulsen Firm left: Minter Ellison Firm joined: Squire Sanders Location: Perth

In August, a global law firm, Squire Sanders, announced it would be entering the Australian legal market in October.

No surprises there, given that global law firms are arriving in Australia with the regularity of Shane Warne tweets about Liz Hurley.

Squire Sanders then announced it would be taking 14 partners from a top-tier firm. Then we had a news story.

As Clayton Utz might wryly comment, it was déjà vu all over again.

John Poulsen suddenly went from being the Perth managing partner of Minter Ellison to the Australian managing partner of Squire Sanders, with 13 former partners of Minters joining him.

To rub salt into Minters’ wounds, its four remaining partners had to find new digs, with Squire Sanders commencing operations in Minter Ellison’s office.

“DLA Piper, Norton Rose, Clifford Chance and Allen & Overy had all entered the local market, and it really made us stop and think about not just the current generation at the firm, but also the future generation,” said Poulsen when talking to Lawyers Weekly in August. “That made us think global, not national.”

The defection of Melanie McKean with an additional five partners from DLA Piper in Canberra almost brought to an end the global firm’s presence in the capital.

McKean, Richard Garnett, Lex Holcombe, George Marques, Michael Will and Stuart Imrie all left DLA Piper shortly after its formal integration to join HWL Ebsworth, which established an office in Canberra in August.

The client list of the departing six partners included the Australian Federal Police, Department of Finance and Deregulation, Housing Industry Association, Medicare Australia, Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, and Australian Taxation Office.

McKean counted the Department of Defence as a key client. In April, Defence Minister Stephen Smith appointed her along with DLA Piper special counsels Dr Gary Rumble and Professor Dennis Pearce to head a review into allegations of sexual and other abuse in the armed forces.

Smith later dubbed the report the “DLA Piper” report. But with Pearce and Rumble joining HWL Ebsworth in October, that moniker is now highly questionable.

Name: Mark Keam Firm left: Piper Alderman Firm joined: KJK Legal Location: Adelaide

Long-time Piper Alderman partners Mark Keam, Tracey Kerrigan and Neville John left the national firm this year to start an Adelaide-based workers compensation firm, KJK Legal, on 4 October.

KJK Legal was the result of a strategic decision by Pipers to drop its workers compensation practice in favour of a focus on dispute resolution, corporate law, employment relations, and property and projects.

“We’ve had an extremely long association [with Pipers] so there’s a fair degree of loyalty between the two firms,” said Keam.

Name: Phil Keays Firm left: Sparke Helmore Firm joined: Moray & Agnew Location: Perth

In March this year, Phil Keays and his insurance team from Sparke Helmore jumped ship to Moray & Agnew, helping the firm to further its national expansion with a new office in Perth.

Keays was appointed to head up Moray & Agnew’s new Perth presence, along with his team of five from Sparke Helmore, including consultant Dr Brenda McGivern, special counsel Nicola Frampton, senior associate Tracy Bennett, lawyer Verginia Serdev and graduate lawyer Anna Miolin.

With plans to move offices at the end of the year, Moray & Agnew’s Perth practice currently has nine staff on board.

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mainstory Name: Phil Breden Firm left: Gilbert + Tobin Firm joined: Blake Dawson Location: Sydney

Thinking and moving laterally

After 14 years at Gilbert + Tobin, M&A lawyer Phil Breden joined Blake Dawson in April.

During his time at G + T, Breden led a number of significant transactions across the energy, resources and industrial sectors, including advising Royal Dutch Shell on its $3.3 billion partial sell-down of its interest in Woodside Petroleum.

“Having sat across the table from Phil on a number of occasions, I know what an accomplished practitioner he is and I am very pleased that he is joining forces with us,” said the national head of Blake Dawson’s M&A team, Marie McDonald.

Name: Peter Tredinnick Firm left: DLA Phillips Fox Firm joined: Moray & Agnew Location: Sydney

Following the 28 January announcement that DLA Phillips Fox would integrate with DLA Piper on 1 May this year, DLA Phillips Fox partner Peter Tredinnick jumped ship to Moray & Agnew, taking with him a team of lawyers, including DLA special counsel Belinda Marshall.

“His appointment and that of his team represents a significant expansion of our professional indemnity and directors and officers practice,” said Agnew managing partner Michael Pitt at the time.

Name: Peter Stirling Firm left: Blake Dawson Firm joined: Mallesons Stephen Jaques Location: Melbourne

Last week, Mallesons Stephen Jaques took the head of the Blake Dawson Melbourne corporate team, Peter Stirling. He will officially begin work in Mallesons’ M&A team in early 2011.

Before joining Blakes, Stirling was the deputy general counsel for the ANZ Bank. “[Stirling] is a fantastic, client-focused corporate lawyer with wide-ranging skills, great energy and who wins the trust of clients,” said Mallesons M&A practice group leader Craig Semple.

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Name: Iain Rennie Firm left: DLA Phillips Fox Firm joined: TressCox Location: Sydney

In what was the continuation of a tough period for DLA Phillips Fox, TressCox Lawyers announced in March that the firm was appointing Iain Rennie as a partner in the firm’s national corporate and commercial practice in Sydney.

Rennie’s defection was the latest blow to DLA Phillips Fox leading up to its formal merger with DLA Piper in May. Earlier in the month, 10 lawyers from the firm’s Brisbane office left to join Thomsons Lawyers.

“There are always a number of reasons involved when making a decision to move firms, and for me it has been the right decision,” Rennie told Lawyers Weekly.

Name: Michael Westaway Firm left: TressCox Firm joined: HWL Ebsworth Location: Melbourne

The rapid expansion of HWL Ebsworth saw the appointment of TressCox partner Michael Westaway as a partner in the firm’s property practice.

Westaway will join HWL Ebsworth’s Melbourne office later this month, taking with him a team which includes associate Matthew Powell.

Westaway was snapped up for his experience acting for Australian private and public companies, listed property trusts, property developers and aged care providers on commercial property transactions, including sales and acquisitions, commercial and retail leasing, joint ventures and developments.

He was a senior associate with Lander & Rogers from 2002 until 2005, when he was made partner.

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mainstory

Now for something a little bit different

Name: Richard Winter Firm left: Westpac Firm joined: Middletons Location: Sydney

A former in-house counsel at Westpac, Richard Winter announced his move into Middletons’ banking and financial services group as a partner in July.

Before going in-house, Winter spent several years as a lawyer in private practice.

“I really enjoy being in the front line and negotiating deals which is something I only got limited exposure to while in-house. I am very business focused but I very much enjoy the practice of law and ultimately I realised the best way to combine that dual focus was to go back into private practice,” he said.

Name: David Watson Firm left: Mars Firm joined: Baker & McKenzie Location: Sydney

Name: Matthew Stutsel Firm left: Freehills Firm joined: KPMG Location: Sydney

Freehills lost one of its most prominent partners in September when Matthew Stutsel, a 17-year veteran of the firm, took up a position with KPMG. Stutsel was a partner in Freehills’ fund management team and said at the time that he was leaving the firm on good terms and simply could not turn down KPMG’s offer.

“As well as being able to work closely with the corporate tax team here, we help the advisory business in planning and executing transactions and provide specialist support to the audit teams, so there is a large degree of interaction and team work,” he said at the time.

The Freehills dirty half dozen Of the 25 top partner movements according to Lawyers Weekly, six were from Freehills. While this doesn’t represent in itself a view the firm is losing its prestige with the top end of town, the loss of high-performing partners Tony Sparks and Adam Stapledon to Allen & Overy sums up the modern malaise of a national law firm. The loss of Neil Pathak and Matthew Stutsel was also felt keenly by the firm.

David Watson and his wife wanted to come home. The Australian was based in the USA as the regional general counsel, North America, with Mars. For the previous seven-and-a-half years he had lived in London, Dubai, Jordan, New York and Washington DC, and the former Minter Ellison partner decided some stability was on the cards.

Watson had used Bakers extensively in his role at Mars, and he describes it as a “funny situation” to go from being a supplier rather than a buyer of legal services.

As part of the firm’s corporate markets team, Watson will look to beef up the firm’s credentials in the food and agribusiness space.

“The magic circle firms are principally full equity partnerships, while Bakers uses what I would describe as the federated model,” he told Lawyers Weekly. “It has a greater global footprint, is truly global in its DNA, and has ‘real’ offices in these jurisdictions [in Asia], with lots of locals in them doing local work.”

You say goodbye, I say hello: the DLA Piper merry-go-round Where do we start with this one? DLA Piper has had a turbulent first eight months in the Australian legal market. It lost eight highly-credentialed partners in Brisbane when the firm was still DLA Phillips Fox, and then, while the ink was still wet after the formal integration, six of its eight partners in Canberra left, almost closing the office of the Department of Defence’s firm of choice. Sydney partners Iain Rennie and Peter Tredinnick also didn’t hang around when the Fox ran to the Piper’s tune. However, while the firm lost many, it also picked up the wellregarded Amanda Turnill and Warwick Painter from Clayton Utz and Allens Arthur Robinson respectively.

L AW Y E R S W E E K LY 18 N O V E M B E R 2 0 11

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100th Birthday Book Sale Celebrate with us!

Save over 50% off LexisNexis titles including bestsellers and eBooks in our 100th Birthday Sale.

For more titles included in the sale please go to www.lexisnexis.com.au/birthdaysale

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career

counsel

Flexibility needed in workforce planning Amid the current global uncertainty, law firms need to be flexible when it comes to workforce planning.

According to recruitment consultants from Hays, with world economies at varying stages of crisis and recovery, the utilisation of temporary staff has become more valuable than ever – and not just for junior positions. now, temporary assignments encompass very senior positions within business. “during uncertain economic times, temporary assignments have the obvious benefit of allowing workloads to be completed at the same time as maintaining headcount flexibility,” says Hays director grahame doyle. “this bank of temporary workers can flex with an organisation to mitigate the effects of the unknown.”

However, doyle adds that temporary workers do not only offer benefits during times of uncertainty but are important for a long-term workforce management plan. “given emerging skills shortages, it’s also about the ability to access specific skills and broaden the pool of talent, rather than restricting your search to only candidates looking for a permanent role,” he says. “interestingly, the growth in temporary employment has been driven by employees themselves. Many people want greater flexibility in their working arrangements and consequently there is a huge temporary

my

Talent wars

43 % 41 %

next move

Olivia Harvey, private practice consultant, Dolman

of US employers continuously recruit when they don’t have an open position in case a position opens up down the line

of these employers said this approach has shaved off at least three weeks, on average, from time-to-hire

Source: CareerBuilder survey, 2 November 2011

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candidate pool who are only interested in temporary assignments.”

But according to the latest Michael Page Employment index, the global uncertainty has not impacted hiring decisions for 58 per cent of Australian employers and 23 per cent will be increasing their headcount in the fourth quarter. “recruitment levels within the professional labour market are varied but the overall picture is still one of sustained hiring activity,” says Michael Page Australia / new Zealand managing director Phillip guest.

“We are also starting to see companies recruit more broadly across their business to include operational and back-office functions as employers look to establish the right teams to support growth in 2012.”

l aw y e r s w e e k ly 18 n o v e m b e r 2 0 11

Q A

As a junior lawyer preparing for a job interview, what questions should I ask?

You are half way there: your experience and CV have been impressive enough to secure an interview, and now for the most important part – the interview. It may not seem like rocket science, however many junior lawyers underestimate the importance of asking the right questions in an interview.

Once you have reviewed the firm’s website, partners’ profiles and gleaned information on the firm’s reputation, you will need to stop and think about the nuts and bolts of how the team operates, future progression and firm culture.

Questions to focus upon include: Team structure: How is work delegated? Who will instruct me?

What are the reporting lines? How much client interaction will I be given?

Work: Will I work in one specific

practice area or will my work take a broader focus? Will I work under one partner or will I be a shared team resource?

Training and development: What mentorship and training programs are offered? Is this structured or ad hoc?

What are the criteria for career development and how long would it take for me to become an associate?

Culture: Ask your interviewers why they joined the firm and what a typical day of theirs looks like? How would they describe the firm culture and what traits would their ideal candidate possess?

In addition to the above, it is also important to consider the order of your questions. The last set of questions focusing on firm culture, for example, are designed to help develop a rapport with your interviewers and should therefore be left until the end of the interview to help create a lasting impression of you and your interview. w w w.law yersweekly.com.au

folk

R e a d t h e l at e s t Folklaw online

law soy you think you can sue?

www.lawyersweekly.com.au/folklaw

An AmericAn inmate is suing the Florida prison system for subjecting him to “cruel and unusual punishment”.

Why is this a laughing matter, you ask?

Let’s just make it clear that this guy is not in Guantanamo, and the reason for which he is suing is the lack of pork he gets a dinner time. And this, apparently, is enough to be in breach of the eighth Amendment of the United States constitution.

Folklaw has reported on the contentious nature of pork in prisons before, but this time, the scenario is even more ludicrous. cBS Tampa reports that eric Harris, a 32-yearold pedophile serving a life sentence, is arguing that the Lake correctional institution’s decision to serve meat-reduced meals is significantly affecting his quality of his life.

To Harris’s aid has come the Weston A. Price Foundation, a special interest group with an apparent jihad against soy products (only in America). The group has vowed to cover legal costs and plans to launch a class action with other prisoners, prison guards and ordinary meat-loving taxpayers.

Apparently, the foundation began hearing complaints from Florida prisoners back in 2009 when cooks began replacing 70 per cent of meat with soy substitutes.

As a result, the prisoners claim to be suffering a whole range of health problems, including chronic constipation (eased only by debilitating diarrhoea), vomiting, fainting, heart palpitations

Harris immediately regretted having that second serving of soy sausage

and mysterious rashes.

According to Harris, this constitutes cruel and unusual punishment.

A spokesperson from the Department of corrections clarified that meals are half soy, half poultry, and that serving 100 per cent meat would double the $47 million food budget.

American courts have previously held that prisons must serve nutritious meals to inmates, but this does not mean they have to adhere to a prisoner’s idea of home cooking.

The spokesperson said their meals do indeed meet standards and comply with federal nutrition guidelines.

Folklaw wonders whether adherents to some of Paddington’s, Fremantle’s or St Kilda’s trendiest cafes will also soon begin to suffer such debilitating, cruel and unusual side effects ...

Tweet fails at work Shaun knew he shouldn’t have sent that tweet, but just couldn’t fight against his inherent stupidity

HAve yoU ever said something about your boss that you regret? on a social media site where your comments are there for all and sundry to see? Forever?

At a seminar on the risks of social networking held by BlandsLaw this month, we were treated to a PowerPoint presentation showing just why

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workplaces need to have strict social media policies in place.

Having enjoyed a chuckle at the misfortune (or stupidity) of others, Folklaw thought it apt to share with you 10 of the world’s best, worst-ever tweets about work. The only drawback is that we don’t know whether these people actually kept their jobs ...

1. “new attractive man at work.

He is what makes sexual harassment in the workplace acceptable.”

2. “i absolutely hate my boss. ***.”

3. “Something i don’t feel bad about today: playing hooky from work with evan on this cold, rainy day. Don’t feel bad at all for it.”

4. “i’d sure love to see my name on a check this size. Too bad it’s the boss man’s (attaching a

l aw y e r s w e e k ly 18 N o v e m b e r 2 0 11

link with a photo of her boss’s massive pay check, complete with bank details).”

5. “i hate it when the iT, admin and finance people are lazy and i cannot get my reports out!!!

F*cK U! i know it’s December, but WorK!” 6. “i do surveys with optus customers at work. i would never go with them!”

7. “i just got to work (oracle) and i am doing as little as possible.”

8. “Huh, with my boss on twitter, maaaybe i should take down that sexy picture of her... but her reaction will be priceless!”

9. “Having sex dreams of people you work with makes for an awkward day.”

10. “Hate my job!! i want to tell my bosses how dumb they are and how meaningless this job is, then quit, and be happy!”

Lawsuit launched to recreate wedding with ex A LAWyer from United States firm Goodwin Procter has decided to take on a rather peculiar case involving a groom’s fury over the quality of his wedding photos.

As The New York Times reports, lawyer Frederick mcGowen is representing plaintiff Todd remis of manhattan in a bizarre case in which remis hopes to be compensated for his disappointing wedding photos.

Disappointed that the last dance and bouquet toss were not captured by H&H Photographers, remis the groomzilla is suing the photography studio and demanding that he be repaid not only the $4,100 cost of the photography, but also a whopping $48,000 to recreate the entire wedding and have it reshot in new york by another photographer. As you do.

The idea of spending almost $50,000 may seem extravagant enough, but there are a few other minor details making this demand a little more difficult – and strange. reliving his wedding day will probably be a little tricky given remis’s wedding took place back in 2003 and he has since divorced his wife, who has apparently returned to her homeland of Latvia and has not yet been located. “i need to have the wedding recreated exactly as it was so that the remaining 15 per cent of the wedding that was not shot can be shot,” testified remis.

While Folklaw is struggling to see why a lawyer would take on such a case, The New York Times reports that the plaintiff’s father, Shepard remis, is a litigation lawyer at the same firm as the plaintiff’s lawyer. The plaintiff has claimed that he is paying his lawyer himself.

H&H Photographers are defending the case, which they have described as “an abuse of the legal system”.

Although Justice Doris Ling-cohan of the State Supreme court in manhattan dismissed the majority of the lawsuit grounds, she has allowed the case to proceed to determine whether there was a breach of contract.

According to The New York Times, remis, who has been unemployed since 2008, and his lawyer did not return phone calls.

No photographer in the world was going to make these two look good, and they knew it!

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Finding support The Foundation’s objective is to decrease distress, disability and the causes of depression and anxiety in the legal profession www.tjmf.org.au

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Leading Magic Circle firm is seeking construction lawyers with experience in the power, energy, infrastructure and commercial property sectors.

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Our client is in the investment/agricultural sector and is closely linked to the Government. It is now seeking a projects/construction counsel with strong law firm and/or in-house experience to join its small team. Extremely interesting and challenging work. Ref: 25393GP. 5-8 years

This market leading Magic Circle team covers debt, equity and equity-related issues including Rule 144A offerings, structured products and MTN and other debt issuance programmes. You will receive a salary at the top of the market. Contact us now Ref: 165700.

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4-6 years

Tokyo

Leading energy practice with this top-tier UK firm is looking for associates across all levels with quality experience gained at a reputable international firm.

Experience in power, minerals and infrastructure projects essential. Competitive international salary rates. Ref: 172100.

2-10 years

Paris

International law firm in Paris is seeking a top-tier asset finance lawyer to join its reputable team. The ideal candidate will have 2 or more years’ experience gained with a strong finance practice at a top UK, US or international law firm. Excellent salary and career prospects available. Ref: 866849.

2+ years

For International roles, call Karlie Connellan or Joanne Bews on +61 (0)2 9236 9000 or email karlieconnellan@taylorroot.com.au or joannebews@taylorroot.com.au For Australian Private Practice roles, call Matt Harris or email mattharris@taylorroot.com.au For Australian In-House roles, call Brian Rollo or email brianrollo@taylorroot.com.au For Melbourne roles, call Tim Fogarty on +61 (0)3 8610 8400 or email timfogarty@taylorroot.com.au Please note our advertisements use PQE purely as a guide. However we are happy to consider applications from all candidates who are able to demonstrate the skills necessary to fulfil the role.

THE SR GROUP . BREWER MORRIS . CARTER MURRAY . FRAZER JONES . PARKER WELLS . SR SEARCH . TAYLOR ROOT LONDON . DUBAI . HONG KONG . SINGAPORE . SYDNEY . MELBOURNE