With a judging panel including academics, business executives, entrepreneurs and innovators, the Partner of the Year Awards are peer-reviewed recognition of your capabilities in law and passion for driving the industry forward.
Linda Baxter is the Director, Continuing Professional Development and part of the senior management team at Leo Cussen Centre for Law. Having previously been in private practice followed by a regulatory investigative role, Linda also writes materials and trains legal practitioners in Ethics & Professional Conduct.
Prior to this appointment Dr Boersig worked as an Assistant Secretary in the Federal Attorney-General’s Department, responsible for a number of areas including Indigenous law and justice and human rights. Before joining the Attorney-General’s Department John practiced law in NSW, as a lawyer for the Aboriginal Legal Service and in private practice. He established the University of Newcastle Legal Centre and was Director of the Professional program in 1994. He was a part-time Presiding member of the Guardianship Tribunal for many years.
John has a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Sydney, and is an Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Canberra. He was awarded the Public Service Medal in the 2008 Queen’s Birthday Honours list.
Kiri is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at TurksLegal, a specialist commercial law firm who has established a strong reputation in the insurance, commercial and banking sectors.
Kiri works closely with the Chairperson and the Board, overseeing the day to day operations of the business, as well as developing the ongoing vision for the firm's future along with creating and implementing successful strategies and systems across our 200 strong East Coast practice.
Having over 15 years of experience across a range of business critical areas including Human Resources, Marketing, Business Development, Operations, Finance and IT, Kiri is able to provide solutions which deliver a competitive edge while meeting commercial realities.
Kiri is passionate about mentoring and developing future leaders and is always willing to share her experiences both personally and professionally to assist others in their pursuits. She currently mentors a number of females who are in different stages of their career progression.
Prior to becoming CEO of TurksLegal, Kiri was the Chief Operating Officer (COO) at an international accounting and business advisory firm.
Kiri’s other most recent successes have been winning Executive of the Year - 2020 Women in Law Awards and COO of the Year - 2019 Executive Awards.
Joseph Catanzariti AM is a Vice President of the Fair Work Commission, the national workplace relations tribunal.
Prior to his appointment to the Fair Work Commission, Joseph was a senior Partner of Clayton Utz and Practice Leader of the Workplace Relations, Employment and Safety Practice Group. Joseph was a trusted adviser to many of Australia’s leading companies and government departments. Joseph was also a highly experienced Commercial Litigator.
Joseph is a Visiting Professorial Fellow of the School of Law and the Faculty of Law at the University of New South Wales, and an Adjunct Associate Professor in Work and Organisational Studies, School of Business at Sydney University.
Joseph is the Chair of the College of Law.
Joseph is also co-author of Workplace Bullying published by LexisNexis.
He has previously held the positions of President of the Law Council of Australia, President of the NSW Law Society, Chair of the Workplace Committee of the Law Society of New South Wales (2000 - 2013), and Secretary of the Industrial Relations Society of Australia (1997-2011).
Joseph was awarded Life Time Recognition, Industrial Relations Society of Australia / Australian Labour and Employment Relations Association 2011, and the Industrial Relations Society of New South Wales in 2015.
Joseph is a fellow of the Academy of Law.
On 26 January 2016 Joseph was made a Member of the Order of Australia.
Ann-Maree David is an Executive Director of The College of Law, the largest provider of practice-focused legal education in Australasia. She has worked in the legal profession for over 30 years, in public and corporate sector roles and in private practice as a solicitor.
Ann-Maree has held a career-long passion for developing and delivering education and training programs to enable all involved in the delivery of legal services to thrive both personally and professionally.
In addition to leading the College of Law’s Queensland campus, Ann-Maree is Immediate Past President of Australian Women Lawyers and a Director of the Australian Gender Equality Council. She also chairs the Queensland Law Society’s Equity & Diversity Committee.
Ali joined LexisNexis in 2017 as Head of Legal for the Pacific Region. Ali and her team work with LexisNexis’ Australian and New Zealand businesses providing advice across issues from intellectual property and digital media through to privacy and competition laws.
Ali has held senior legal roles across a variety of industries internationally, including higher education, renewable energy and leisure. Ali’s focus is on working closely with the business to address both the opportunities and the challenges presented by rapid advances in technology, changing customer needs and the evolving nature of legal practice across the region and the world.
Tony Dormer is a senior adviser of a multi-discipline professional services firm that he established over 40 years ago and that merged in September 2017 to form Tricor Services (Australia) Pty Ltd www.tricorglobal.com The firm provides in-bound and out-bound business advisory, management consulting, tax and compliance, outsourced payroll and CFO services, bookkeeping, corporate secretarial services and financial investment services.
Tony’s personal specialist skills and extensive experience are around taxation services, mergers and acquisitions, business valuations, corporate restructuring, as well as business planning and business development issues generally. His entrepreneurial style and ability to 'think outside the square', has enabled Tricor to provide clients with a level and style of service that is unique among business advisory and accountancy practices.
From 2007 to 2019 he was a Board Member and/or Councilor with the NSW Business Chamber. He was elected President in February 2014 and held the position of Deputy President as well as Chairman of the Audit and Compliance Committee, Chair of the Business Environment and Economics Committee within the NSW Business Chamber. He now serves as a Past President.
He was also the former Chairman of Kreston Australia and New Zealand and was previously one of eight Directors on the international board of Kreston International, a position he held for seven years. Kreston is one of the largest networks of independent accounting business advisory firms in the world.
He also serves as a non-executive director on Profit and Not for Profit Boards.
Tony is a Fellow with Chartered Accountants (FCA), Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (MAICD) and Chartered Tax Adviser (CTA) with the Taxation Institute of Australia.
Prior to developing his practice, he had extensive experience at General Manager level with several leading private organizations. This commercial experience is a major ingredient in his philosophy and the range of services offered by him.
He also co-authored a book on leadership titled “Born to Lead?” with Charisse Grey
Tony is available for selective Director appointments.
Rebecca has advised developers and landowners on industrial, commercial and residential development projects, is on the board of Mackillop Rural Community Services and now works as general counsel at PAYCE Consolidated Limited.
Glenn is a passionate and driven corporate and transactional lawyer, specialising in mergers and acquisitions and complex commercial arrangements.
Glenn advises both Australian and international clients on a range of corporate and commercial matters, including corporate transactions, advisory work, joint ventures, capital raisings, shareholder arrangements, corporate structuring and reorganisations, as well as directors’ duties.
He is an experienced negotiator and provides our clients with accurate, succinct and practical solutions to challenging and technical issues.In addition, Glenn has been recognised as a Leading Corporate/M&A Lawyer (Small & Mid-Market Matters – NSW) in Doyles Guide 2018 and has also been listed in Best Lawyers over the past four years for Equity Capital Markets Law and M&A Law. Glenn has also received recognition as one of Australia’s leading lawyers in private equity (IFLR 2012, ALB 2009, ALB 2007).
Geraldine Johns-Putra is an experienced corporate lawyer and expert in enterprise governance, purpose, business & human rights and modern slavery. She runs her own practice in Melbourne focussing on enterprises seeking purpose, and actors in the impact economy. She is legal advisor to not-for-profits making an impact in this space, including B Lab Australia & NZ and Impact Investing Australia. Her purpose is to use the law to build more purposeful enterprises & ecosystems for a happier world.
She has over 20 years' experience practising law in Australia, the UK, Hong Kong and China. She has worked with large global and Australian law firms and was a partner of a top-tier Australian law firm for several years. She sits on the Council of Monash University.
Sue Kench is the Global Chief Executive and Co-Chairman China of King & Wood Mallesons, Asia’s leading international law firm.
Sue took on the Global Chief Executive role in 2017 after leading the firm in Australia for four years as Chief Executive Partner, Australia. Sue was the first woman in Australia to lead a top tier law firm in that role and is the first Australian female to lead a global law firm and a China firm.
Sue works closely with the Global Chairman and the firm’s International Management Committee to lead the firm’s international growth strategy. Sue is based in Hong Kong and spends significant time in China and Australia.
She became a Partner of legacy Mallesons Stephen Jaques in 1996 and has held a number of board, management and leadership positions in the firm over the past two decades.
Amongst her many professional achievements, Sue has received a number of accolades and acknowledgements for her impact and influence on the legal profession in the Asia Pacific. These include:
• AFR Power List 2020 – Legal
• The Lawyers Weekly Lawyer of the 21st Century award recognising her significant professional achievements between 2000 and 2020 (2020);
• Doctor of Letters honoris causa from Macquarie University in recognition of her extraordinary contribution to the law (2019);
• The esteemed ‘Legal leader’ award, at the Financial Times Innovative Lawyer Awards, in recognition of her significant role in driving King & Wood Mallesons growth and success across APAC (2018);
• The Australian Financial Review’s Top 100 Women of Influence (2018); • The Lawyers Weekly Executive of the Year award (2017).
Sue is on the Board of Directors of AUSTCHAM Beijing and is a member of The Wall Street Journal CEO Council, Chief Executive Women and the Business Council of Australia.
Sue is married with three children.
Pepe is committed to assisting families to separate in a better way, working with her clients to resolve their family law matters sensibly, with purpose, and minimal financial strain, empowering them to move forward and begin the next chapter in their lives.
Practicing family law for over 12 years, Pepe is trained in conflict management coaching, advanced collaborative law and Human Services. She is also a qualified financial mediator and parenting co-ordinator, both of which are services that we also offer.
In 2020, Pepe created the The Kind Lawyers, and with 8 other family law professionals, is driving a movement that is all about changing the conversation about divorce from one of combat, to kindness. Her innovative approach to family law has seen her and Balance Family Law recognised with over 23 national and international awards and accolades, including Boutique Law Firm of the Year at the Australian Law Awards 2020, Family Law Partner of the Year at the Partner of the Year Awards 2021, and Sole Practitioner of the Year at the Australian Law Awards 2021.
Pepe is a Director of Pacifica Congress, a not-for-profit organisation that brings together family law professionals from the Pacific region who are working together to ensure that children and their families are better equipped to overcome the harm caused by family conflict. She is also an active member of the ACT Law Society’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee, the Canberra Collaborative Family Lawyers, and the Australian Association of Collaborative Professionals. Pepe is also the Co-Chair of Connecting Lawyer Mums, an organisation that seeks to provide networking and community connections to parents practicing law.
Rachel is general counsel and company secretary at Nine Entertainment Co. Holdings Limited, leading a team which manages the diverse array of legal issues which arise across the business. Prior to joining Nine Entertainment Co. in 2015, Rachel was a partner at Gilbert + Tobin for many years where she specialised in mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance and compliance.
Rachel is a director and company secretary of Giant Steps, a charity which runs schools for children and young adults with autism in Sydney and Melbourne.
Anna Lozynski is an award winning executive general counsel & author, turned Change Agent, Advisor and Influencer.
Starting out at a major Australian law firm, she has spent the majority of her legal career in-house working in the banking, automotive and cosmetics industries. In 2021, Anna has donned her entrepreneurial shoes, and started her own business, on a mission to help law and business adapt to the digital age, launching her own Advisory service.
She believes that innovation is invigorating, change is energising and efficiency will never go out of fashion.
In addition, she is an Advisory Board Member to Mys Tyler (a fashion tech startup), She Breaks The Law (a global female innovator network), and sits on the CLOC (Corporate Legal Operations Consortium) Australia Chapter.
Described as a change agent, Anna is a sought-after commentator, mindset coach and consultant both domestically and internationally – seeking to shift the dialogue in order to propel the corporate world forward.
You are invited to join Anna’s online communities @legallyinnovative and LinkedIn as well as @annaloz on Clubhouse.
Scott is a General Counsel with extensive experience advising listed entities in regulated environments . Scott’s pragmatic approach ensures the organisations he acts for maintain good standing with regulators, their peers and the broader community, while being able to confidently deliver the experiences expected by consumers. Scott has led teams of varying sizes and particularly enjoys helping junior lawyers develop their skills and understanding of complex commercial environments.
Damian is one of the founders of the innovative Australian firm, Marque Lawyers where he heads up the Dispute Resolution team.
Damian has almost 30 years’ experience as a commercial litigator with specialist expertise in the areas of international arbitration and cross border dispute resolution. He has run international arbitrations in London, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Singapore.
He is recognised as one of Australia’s leading lawyers in the field of Dispute Resolution by Legal 500, Best Lawyers and the Chambers Global and Asia Pacific Guides. In 2018 he was named the Arbitration Lawyer of the year by Best Lawyers. He is a Visiting Professorial Fellow at UNSW.
Troy Swan is the Group General Counsel and Board Member of the $1.3 billion office products company Winc. Winc was formed following the acquisition and merger of Staples, OfficeMax and Corporate Express in Australia and New Zealand by leading US based private equity firm Platinum Equity.
He has been publicly recognised as one of Australia's leading corporate lawyers and was previously an Australian Lawyer of the Year and an Australian General Counsel of the Year triple finalist. He was also the Association of Corporate Counsel Global Member of the Year, from over 43,000 lawyers worldwide, with this being the first time this honour was ever awarded to a lawyer outside America.
He became only the second Australian lawyer to win the International Value Champions Award in San Francisco and was also named the Association of Corporate Counsel Winner for Excellence in Corporate Social Responsibility.
Known for his business judgement, he is highly active within the legal and business community, being named a Judge at the Australian Law Awards, New Zealand Law Awards, Corporate Counsel Awards, Partner of the Year Awards and the 30 Under 30 Law Awards.
He is a long standing Member of the Law Society Corporate Lawyers Committee, is a regular commentator and speaker on legal and business affairs and leads an award winning legal team based in Sydney, Australia.
Adrian Tembel is an economics and honours law graduate of the University of Adelaide. He began practising corporate and technology law in 1993 at his law firm Thomson Geer. He became a Partner of that firm in 1997 and its Chief Executive Partner in 2009. He is also a part-time Commissioner of the South Australian Productivity Commission and a Director of the Hackett Foundation.
