LOD appoints new senior manager to Auckland office

LOD has appointed Anna Ashmore as senior manager for legal, risk and compliance services in its Auckland office.

Ashmore joins the firm with a wealth of experience in financial services and commercial law, advising on legal, risk and compliance obligations. She has worked with a major New Zealand law firm and with a UK bank.

Ashmore has practiced both in-house and in the public sector; recently, she served as a senior lawyer for the Financial Markets Authority (FMA).

“Anna’s strong legal skill-set and experience (including regulatory experience gained from working at the FMA) is the next step in the development of LOD’s law firm offering in the New Zealand market,” said Louise Unger, head of legal, risk and compliance services NZ at LOD.

Unger will be working together with Ashmore and senior manager Jason Mitchell to lead the firm’s disruptive law firm offering in the country.

Mitchell joined LOD in November of last year, and brings to the legal, risk and compliance services practice experience gleaned from his work with the Bank of New Zealand, where he served as an in-house counsel, and from his tenure at Russell McVeagh.

“The New Zealand market is still largely entrenched in using traditional BigLaw firms to outsource legal advice work to,” said LOD general manager NZ Stephen Mullins. “However, we are now seeing an increasing awareness of the role of NewLaw models like LOD through which legal risk management help can be right-sourced, leading to more fit-for-purpose advice, and at the right price.”

The firm launched its Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington offices last year following its acquisition of lexvoco.