The firm has also promoted three to senior associate and two to senior solicitor
DLA Piper has recognised the work and expertise of one of its commercial litigators with a promotion to the partnership. The firm has also promoted three to senior associate and two to senior solicitor.
Alicia Murray has been elevated to partner, growing the firm’s female partner ranks to 41% of the whole partnership in NZ.
“We do have the best numbers in the profession at DLA Piper,” Murray said. “It was one of the reasons I came on board. There is a lot of lip service paid to gender equality, but in this firm gender is simply not an issue. It is so female-friendly.”
Murray is a strong advocate for gender equality and is president of the Auckland Women Lawyers’ Association. The firm said that her appointment is significant because it coincides with the 100th-year anniversary of Lyra Taylor becoming the first female partner of a law firm in New Zealand in DLA Piper's Wellington office.
DLA Piper said that every partner “goes through a rigorous partnership process” and Murray has completed each “global path to partnership” course of the firm. She has also interviewed with the global leaders of the firm. She will attend the annual global new partners’ conference to be held at the firm next year in the US.
Murray is a commercial litigation expert with more than 15 years’ experience in large-scale commercial disputes, including regulatory, investigations, restructuring, insolvency, and general commercial matters. She jointly leads the firm’s insolvency and restructuring team in New Zealand.
She said that the recent liquidation of CBL insurance is one of the major mandates she handled recently. “We are increasingly the go-to firm for insolvency matters. We are really in a growth phase here – it’s an exciting time,” she said.
DLA Piper has also announced that Julia MacGibbon, Kate Rogers, and Sophie Hudson have been promoted senior associate, while Sook Scorgie and Natalie Manning have been named senior solicitors.
Alicia Murray
