Company: Herbert Smith Freehills
Title: Senior associate
Age: 29
Bianca Marcocci is a senior associate in the head office advisory team (HOAT) at Herbert Smith Freehills. She provides practical advice to directors, C-suite executives, general counsels and company secretaries and genuinely enjoys building authentic relationships with her clients. Marcocci has helped large listed companies improve their governance practices (including corporate culture and non-financial risk management) by conducting deep-dive reviews and advising boards on opportunities for improvement. She has a passion for assisting companies improve their whistleblowing programs and promoting ‘safe to speak up’ cultures. With the introduction of new whistleblowing laws in 2019, Marcocci’s years of interest in this area paid off – she was the driving force behind HOAT’s whistleblowing practice in that year and supported companies with considered advice and training on their internal reporting practices. She is also frequently called on to navigate contentious issues such as CEO succession and shareholder activism. She assists not-for-profit organisations with governance on a pro-bono basis and is an active member of the corporate social committee. Marcocci provides ongoing training to clerks and graduates and assists in Herbert Smith Freehills’ recruitment initiatives. Finally, she is passionate about promoting mental health and wellbeing in the legal profession and is the firm’s ‘Mental Health Champion’.