The latest additions to the firm include a former Jetstar Airways chief legal counsel
Law Squared has snatched up some big names in the in-house legal sector as its latest hires.
Joanna Brand, Hannah Kane, Tess Hauser and Sean Sim have commenced with the firm. Brand has served as a non-executive director for Powerlink Queensland, and is a former GC and company secretary.
Brand has more than 25 years of experience in legal and governance matters. She has also served as GC and company secretary for Iris Energy, ME Bank, ASX-listed Billabong International, and Epic Energy. She was Jetstar Airways’ chief legal counsel under Qantas, and Senex Energy’s acting GC.
Kane was previously a corporate lawyer with Australian Red Cross Lifeblood; Hauser was regional legal head at Pepperstone, as well as company secretary. Sim was VicForests’ legal counsel.
“It’s rare for in-house lawyers to return to private practice. As a profession, we ought to be more alarmed by the talent drain that’s perpetuated by toxic ways of working. We’re proud to upend this trend and entice some exceptional legal talent back to private practice with our distinctive employee value proposition and commitment to doing law differently”, Law Squared founder and director Demetrio Zema said. “We’ve invested in hiring experienced in-house lawyers who bring strong commercial acumen, ensuring we provide the actionable, pragmatic, and legal insights needed to support business stakeholders”.
The new additions are set to cater to the firm’s core client base of mainly large corporate, not-for-profit, and multinational in-house legal teams, Law Squared said. In addition to advising the firm’s clients in the corporate and commercial and energy and infrastructure fields on ad hoc and project-based issues, the new hires will play significant roles in Law Squared as a Service (LSaaS) engagements.
“In-house expectations, ways of working, and priorities are totally different from private practice. Most conventional external legal providers don’t truly understand that, let alone have the specialist in-house skills to deliver”, Brand said. “As an experienced former GC, I can see enormous value for in-house legal teams in being able to access the skills and experience of a dedicated team of in-house specialists at Law Squared, rather than relying on a single secondee or contractor, while at the same time having total cost certainty”.
The new additions bolster Law Squared’s ranks across its Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane branches. The firm also boosted its disputes and litigation team with Nicholas Ryan Lawyers’ Gerard Maxted.
