General counsel | Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)
Connie Carnabuci
General counsel | Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)
My team and I have managed over 170 content deals and events including Invictus Games; Stargazing Live; War on Waste; The Letdown, Harrow, Splendour in the Grass; and Garma Festival. We undertook other important non-content related commercial work including a construction contract for the replacement of cladding on the ABC Ultimo building and a Master Services Agreement with Telstra.
Litigation-wise, there were around 100 distinct complaints in the last year, including defamation proceedings brought by Craig McLachlan concerning two 7.30 stories broadcast in January 2018 relating to his conduct during a stage production of the Rocky Horror Show in 2014. A witness summons was issued to ABC journalist Louise Milligan requesting her to produce all documents in relation to the preparation of a 7.30 broadcast concerning Cardinal George Pell, and her book Cardinal – the rise and fall of George Pell.
Regarding policy, I have advised on a number of matters including preparation of the supplementary submission to the Competitive Neutrality Inquiry, assisting the “Right to Know” coalition with submissions concerning reform of the Defamation Act 2005 (NSW), and assisting on the Departmental and subsequent Senate inquiry into allegations of political interference in the ABC.
They must show a high degree of empathy for the issues that matter to the client and adopt a partnering mindset, understand client objectives, priorities and concerns, and help them develop solutions that work from a legal and policy perspective. Communication should be clear and in plain language that is quick and easy to understand.
We currently use iManage for matter and document management; Contract Express for legal automation of some low value, low risk and BAU contracts; DocuSign for electronic signing of agreements; and Progenitor as a company-wide contract management system.
The recent decision in Voller v Nationwide News Pty Ltd has the potential to impact our business and we will be closely watching the appeal. The introduction of the ASP Privacy Code last year has required us to implement a comprehensive privacy framework and build a culture of privacy awareness, including assessing the privacy impact of new projects.
All executives have been briefed on our diversity and inclusion policy and KPI’s which were developed by the executive leadership team, and as a senior executive I feel it is incumbent on me to ensure that the diversity and inclusion values are modelled in daily work practices with the legal department.
Creating an environment that develops and encourages talent, providing active mentoring and supervision, as well as developing key practice skills as well as technical legal capability. Providing flexible working arrangements and identifying opportunities to raise the profile of high potential talent in cross-divisional projects is also important.
My executive team and I have worked hard to actively build a “culture of innovation” within the ABC legal team. This has two aspects; one technical, the other human. Simply deploying technology, without making corresponding work flow and cultural changes, will not deliver the desired benefits. Our objectives behind building a legal innovation culture are to better manage risk, improve overall consistency and quality of work, build capacity and improve reporting and accountability.
Like most in-house legal teams, we are under increasing pressure to “do more with less”. To create the necessary scale, we must find different ways of working and focus on the highest value and most mission-critical matters. We have automated certain BAU contracts, and supported the business with this pivot by rolling out training, creating a simple procedures guide and providing dedicated email support and contact for queries.
The adoption of DocuSign was accompanied by training on delegations and other risk management checks. Adopting electronic signatures has improved the speed with which documents are executed, as well as supporting our sustainability objectives by dramatically reducing paper. Our contract management system is a searchable repository of all contracts entered across the organisation, providing the business with procurement analytics and automated reminders about key terms such as expiry, and exercisable options.
We have developed protocols for file and document management which makes it easier and faster to search and retrieve information, improving efficiency and productivity and better managing risk. We took the time to consult widely on how each of our six practice areas were working to adopt a uniform best practice across the whole of the department. Driving consistency of systems means that the organisation has a more robust “corporate memory”, which is not dependent on any individual but which resides in the systems and work practices which are documented.
We have adopted a plain language approach to the drafting of our documents, advice and emails, using a contemporary tone of voice, providing succinct advice that is easy for clients to navigate and includes a clear “call to action”, explaining what we need from them. We use language economically and are working through a programme to revise our core market facing precedents to ensure a consistent look and feel.
Our ABC legal intranet page was redesigned to include clear descriptions, pictures and contact details for the head of each practice area and their teams. We have also created quick reference “fact sheets” for clients on frequently asked questions.
Most importantly, we have adopted a “Client Service Commitment”, which is available to clients on our intranet page. It promotes a culture of transparency and accountability by clearly explaining to clients what they can expect from us.
We subscribe to continuous improvement and encourage team members to bring forward practice improvement ideas. We advocate an incremental approach and will trial an idea and give ourselves permission to abandon an idea if it proves not to deliver anticipated benefits.
Head of legal - technology and property
Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)
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Head of legal - technology and property
Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)
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