44 of the legal industry's top experts and leaders combed through an excellent crop of Excellence Awardees to determine the big winners
Australasian Lawyer would like to extend its thanks to 44-strong panel of judges who took on the challenge of combing through an excellent crop of Excellence Awardees to determine the big winners at the 2023 Australasian Law Awards.
Legal experts and industry leaders across both the private practice and in-house markets reviewed the submissions of the shortlisted candidates across 32 categories that showcased remarkable achievements by lawyers, firms, and other members of the legal profession. Among this year’s judges is NSW Treasury GC Charles Cho, who along with his team took home the trophy for Clayton Utz Australian In-house Team of the Year last year.
“It’s a privilege to ‘give back’ by participating as a judge and assessing this year’s winners”, Cho said. “Being a judge made me appreciate how hard won these awards are given the quality of the applications!”
Cho added that the quality of the nominations was “one of the hardest aspects of being a judge”.
“A tip for future applicants for awards is, given the quality of the applications, make sure your nominations provide some unique elements that make you stand out from the crowd”, he advised.
Joining Cho on the judges’ panel are the following:
Chris Ahern – partner, Jones Day
Teresa Allan – vice president | general counsel and ethics & compliance officer, Capgemini Australia & New Zealand
Ben Allen – partner, Dentons
Kerry Awerbuch – partner, Gadens
Shane Barber – managing partner, Australia, Bird & Bird
Claire Bibby – founder & managing director, Claire Bibby
Rehana Box – partner, Ashurst
Lucinda Browne - head of people and legal, Brighte Capital
Anna Buchly – partner, Bell Gull
Cindy Chen – executive director, Novm
Genevieve Collins – CEP, Lander & Rogers
Dan Cootes - head of legal, SE Asia & Australasia, Beyond Limits
Melissa Corbutt - head of legal – APAC, Bravura Solutions
Emma Covacevich – deputy CEP, Clayton Utz
David Cullen - group general counsel – legal & governance, AMP
Campbell Davidson – partner, Squire Patton Boggs
Zina Edwards – partner/head of finance, Hamilton Locke
Janya Eighani - managing partner, Lehman Walsh Lawyers
Jaime Frasca - senior legal director & company secretary, ANZ, Dell Technologies
Sarah Godden - senior executive lawyer | assistant secretary of the Bargaining and Coverage Branch within the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations Attorney-General’s Department
Anne Haggar - global legal lead – strategic partnerships, Accenture
Emma Hardy - senior legal counsel – operations and disputes, Tri-Star Group
Georgina Hey – partner, Norton Rose Fulbright
Kiley Hodges – partner, Sparke Helmore Lawyers
Paul Hopkins - managing partner, Carter Newell
Katrina Johnson - general counsel, WiseTech Global
Melissa Keane – partner, Allens
Sue Kench - appointment to International Management Committee AU and global chief executive (HK), King & Wood Mallesons
Jodie Masson – partner, Massons
Scott Menck - senior legal counsel, Aurecon
Ilona Meyer - general counsel and company secretary, Nuix
John Nerurker - CEO, Mills Oakley
Nick Nichola - managing partner, Australia, K&L Gates
Dorothy Pawlukowski - legal head, National Australia Bank
Kristy Redfern - general counsel, AIA Australia
Geoff Simpson – partner, Allen & Overy
Lyndall Stoyles - group general counsel & GE sustainability, external affairs & legal, Telstra
Troy Swan - general counsel & company secretary, Winc and OfficeMax
Michelle Thomsen - group executive – general counsel, QIC
Sarah Tinsley - general counsel & company secretary, Culture Amp
Stipe Vuleta - managing director – strategic advisory, Chamberlains Law Firm
Kelly Witts - senior legal counsel, IMB Bank
Swee Yue Tan - group counsel, AGL Legal
The full list of winners for the 2023 Australasian Law Awards can be found here.
To be notified on the opening of the submissions for the 2024 Australasian Law Awards, sign up to the Australasian Lawyer newsletter.
