Could you share an example of a time when you came up with an innovation that improved how your legal team works and did not come at a large expense?  

As a team, we are constantly striving to find ways to be more effective and efficient in the way in which we provide legal advice to the business and this is reflected in the key deliverables that I set for the team each year which includes at least a 30% focus on legal operations and legal team efficiencies through improved capability, technology and training.  A key aspect of the role of legal counsel is to provide practical and commercial advice to the business. I foster this approach through supporting team members to undertake secondments within the business at various stages (including sending special counsel to roles in each of the customer, safety, and company secretarial and governance teams). At the same time, I provide the opportunity for other legal counsel to step up into the special counsel roles to develop their leadership skills and expose them to more strategic aspects of the business, while backfilling the more junior roles, therefore ensuring any additional costs are minimised. In circumstances where in-house legal teams tend to have a flat structure, the secondments together with the increased opportunities for acting roles has resulted in significant development of capability and experience which ultimately leads to career development, succession planning and a better service for our clients.  

What are the most significant cases or transactions that you have recently been involved in?  

My role encompasses all aspects of legal practice, including competition and regulatory matters, corporate and commercial matters, strategic acquisitions, and partnerships, managing significant litigation, employee and safety matters and regularly reporting to the board and senior executives. Some recent examples of the major transactions I have worked on include acting as lead lawyer in the groundbreaking long-term 10-year agreement between Aurizon and coal customers in the Central Queensland Coal supply chain which introduced significant regulatory reform in Queensland and created long term certainly for Aurizon and its coal customers; acting as lead lawyer in the successful Supreme Court and Court of Appeal litigation against certain coal customers relating to the Wiggins Island Rail Project worth over $200m; and acting as key lawyer in the integration of the One Rail business (incorporating the 3000km Tarcoola to Darwin rail line) into Aurizon following the $2.35bn acquisition in 2022.  

What is a cause, business related or otherwise, that you care about, and why?  

The mental health and wellbeing of my team and the broader business is a cause close to my heart and I have been an advocate for these issues for a number of years. White Cloud Foundation is a Queensland based charity whose mission is to provide early access to free mental health services for those suffering from depression, anxiety, and mental health issues, particularly in remote rural areas. Having raised a significant amount of money for White Cloud almost four years ago (by abseiling off some cliffs as part of the Leaping Ladies fundraiser), and publicly spoken about my passion for what White Cloud does, I was asked to join the board three and a half years ago. We have successfully launched our tele-mental health services since then and have a very successful meals for mums program across Australia, where we deliver meals to new mothers who are struggling to cope and suffer from peri-natal depression.