About

Despite only being established since 1996, Transurban is a top 20 company on the Australian Securities Exchange. It manages and develops urban toll road networks in both Australia and the United States with its government clients. Comprised of 27 members, Transurban’s legal department is brimming with talent and is led by group general counsel, Julie Galligan. The size of the team increased to its current number to mirror the company’s recent growth and was also restructured to incorporate head of legal positions in each region the company operates in. Galligan says, ‘we aim to provide more than just legal advice, which can be outsourced to external firms, so we are constantly looking for ways to add value to the company’s business‘, which goes some in way in explaining why Transurban was ready to further invest in its own legal department. Furthermore, Transurban has been incredibly active in transactions for a number of years and in that time has been involved in numerous transactions in which the legal department played a key role in facilitating. Notable activities the ‘highly engaged and collaborative’ team has recently worked on include the acquisition of Queensland Motorways for over $7bn AUD and the development of Sydney’s NorthConnex motorway. On these key projects, the team has proved extremely efficient in covering all matters such as capital and debt raisings and finding new technology solutions whilst also supporting the day to day operations of the business. To manage the ever increasing workload, Galligan says, ‘we work hard to ensure that where possible, matters are worked on by lawyers in different regions, and we encourage the sharing of precedents and advice, both formally and informally’.