Winners included the AustralianSuper legal department
The in-house legal market in Australia showed its strength with an excellent showing at the recently concluded 2022 Australasian Law Awards.
The AustralianSuper Legal Department triumphed as the Banking & Financial Services In-House Team of the Year, coming out on top in a loaded field of finalists that included the Airwallex Legal Team, CBA Corporate and Treasury Legal Team and the Judo Bank Legal team, as well as the legal teams from birchal, IMB Bank, UBS AG, Macquarie Capital and IFM Investors APAC. The awards judges described AustralianSuper Legal Department’s accomplishments over the past year as “a very impressive summary of what was clearly a very busy and complex year.”
Meanwhile, Youi Insurance’s in-house legal team nabbed the Insurance In-house Team of the Year award for having “successfully managed a range of complex external regulatory matters, while also creating internal value and scaling operations through the introduction of various efficiency measures designed in-house,” judges explained. The NSW Treasury Office of General Counsel was named the Clayton Utz Australian In-house Team of the Year for its “massive team contribution in the past year to significant projects, government programs and matters, amidst other important initiatives.”
In terms of individual wins, 3M Australia’s Shirley Lee stood out from a pool of talented young in-house lawyers that included candidates from Abt Associates and Enero to be crowned the Young In-House Lawyer of the Year (30 or under). Judges praised Lee’s “innovative approach to providing legal services inhouse and developing strategic approach to complex transactions.”
Nicole Graham of the NSW Land Registry Services came away with the big win for Australian In-house Lawyer of the Year for “an impressive package of projects delivered in 2021, alongside development of the team and contribution to diversity and inclusion and sustainability initiatives.”
The 2022 Australasian Law Awards winners were announced on 19 May.
