Juno Legal bolsters team

Three senior legal counsel join as demand for bespoke in-house legal services increases

By Sol Dolor

Juno Legal has enlisted three senior legal counsel as the firm sees a rapid increase in demand for bespoke in-house legal services.

Sarah Graydon, Sally Parker, and Jenny Spillane have become Juno lawyers, joining Matt Farrington, Marissa Flowerday, and Helen Mackay.

Graydon, who joined the firm from New Zealand Post, where she led the in-house team, has legal experience in corporate, commercial, health, and telecommunications. She said she was attracted to the firm because of the opportunity to work with a variety of in-house legal teams and the Juno crew, who she likes, respects, and thinks would make good colleagues.

Parker has worked in commercial and technology teams at national law firms and companies. She is the former New Zealand legal counsel and company secretary of Nokia New Zealand. She has advised on legal, governance and commercial matters including complex and high value technology projects.

Parker says she feels fortunate to be able to lead and contribute to important legal work on a part-time basis. “The flexibility of project work is allowing me to resume my legal career while still meeting my family commitments,” she said.

Spillane’s practice is concerned with commercial matters, with a particular focus on the telecommunications industry. She has held senior roles at TelstraClear, DB Group, and Russell McVeagh. She is also a former president of the In-House Lawyers Association of New Zealand.

“I am new to the model of providing flexible resourcing for an in-house legal team, having previously been employed within teams for long periods of time,” she said. “I am enjoying it even more than I anticipated. I think it is the mix of working within the collegial team environment balanced with the flexible model that appeals to me.”

Juno Legal is building a collaborative practice of experienced in-house lawyers who all have in-depth knowledge of the in-house legal function. They work as embedded lawyers in existing in-house legal functions, advising start-ups and businesses without internal counsel, helping in-house legal teams sharpen their focus and lift their performance, and helping teams use technology better to achieve more effective and efficient outcomes.