Could you tell us a bit about your significant successes in your role?

Being the legal adviser on successful tenders and delivery of iconic infrastructure work in Australia has been a highlight of my role as I have always liked seeing physical things being built and feel a sense of satisfaction that these works will benefit current and future generations of Australians. It has also been very rewarding to do work in the renewables space and contribute to sustainable power.

My work is varied and has me involved in everything from disputes to corporate projects to training to dealing with regulatory and compliance matters. In previous roles, I have had the opportunity to run M&A activities, work in different jurisdictions and bring together global deals with multinationals.

On a personal note, I have had the privilege of working with many wonderful, highly capable and skilled people and treasure these relationships.

In your opinion, what are the qualities and skills needed to form a strong legal team?

Legal expertise is a given, but what really creates a strong legal team is the ability to manage and develop a team of people. I’m a big believer that having a leader with integrity and emotional intelligence makes all the difference.

It is important to have a clear vision of how the legal function partners with the business to achieve organisational objectives; the team will be high performing when the team understands the business risks and has the structure and relationships in place to help manage these risks.

Forming a strong team requires leadership by example and setting the right tone for the team. It’s important that the team leader is ‘present’, accessible and spends time with the team. It requires mentoring and looking for opportunities to develop and stretch the lawyers’ skills and experience and it also keeps things interesting!

What challenges have you overcome to get to the position you are in today?

A challenge for me personally is communicating complex legal issues to executives concisely. I have discovered over time that ‘less is more’ and how much of a difference it can make to get the presentation of information right. This promotes useful and robust discussions, which is ultimately what is needed to move forward on important issues.