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

I am regarded as a highly sound resource and trusted leader for both the legal team and business across all experience levels. Some of the highlights of my career at Vocus include being the lead in-house lawyer on the 2020 debt refinancing with Vocus’ syndicated facilities, totaling over US$1.1bn, negotiating several large-scale customer contracts and working on several key strategic projects with overseas counterparties stemming from Vocus’ northwest cable system.

Importantly, this year, the legal team has revolutionised the way it operates and engages with the business, via the use of LawVu. As part of a small team of lawyers responsible for driving the change, I have worked with LawVu to tailor the platform specifically to the needs of each division in the business and have been an integral part in the change management program to successfully rollout the platform to the executive and senior leadership teams.

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

A strong legal team is a cohesive legal team where everyone pulls their weight and shares knowledge. This means that everyone needs to be open about giving and receiving feedback, being transparent about challenges they are dealing with, and be willing to teach others and be taught, as no one knows everything.

What is the biggest risk to your industry or organisation and how are you contributing to prepare your organisation for this?

Considering the recent Optus saga, the biggest risk is reputational risk due to a data breach. The legal team works very closely with the information security division and all teams that receive customer data, to ensure that our legal obligations are crystal clear, and our protection measures are in line with Vocus’ risk management framework.

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

The main challenge has been adapting to the in-house environment after working in private practice for several years. The way that you communicate and present solutions and advice in the fast-paced in-house world is very different. Concise, quick, strategic advice and telling the recipient exactly what they need to know in the context of the business’ objectives, is a skill that in my view is only properly homed in the in-house environment.