Australian Corporate Lawyer - Autumn 2016

theAustraliancorporatelawyer
WHERE TO NEXT WHEN YOUR GRASS IS
ALREADY GREEN: HOW TO PROGRESS
YOUR CAREER FROM WITHIN
This article explores the myriad of career options for in-house counsel
Nicola Phillips
Nicola is an Executive Consultant at Mahlab
Recruitment (Vic). As a former lawyer, she
thoroughly enjoys working in the profession,
assisting lawyers who want to work in-house to
secure great roles and build great careers.
John Egerton
John is the Manager, Corporate (NSW) at
Mahlab Recruitment with extensive experience
in searching and sourcing lawyers and
company secretaries at all levels across various
industries including a significant number of
General Counsel and senior level legal positions.
John has also successfully recruited lawyers for a
government bodies and statutory corporations
throughout Australia.
In 2003, Annette Carey joined Linfox
Logistics as Legal Counsel. In 2015, she
was appointed Chief Executive Officer,
with responsibility for a business that
generates close to $2 billion in revenues and
employs 6,500 people. Back in 1993, just 10
years before Annette first joined Linfox, inhouse
counsel were working hard to prove
their value to their businesses and have a
voice. More than 20 years later, the role of
in-house counsel is well and truly entrenched
and thriving. Annette is the supreme example
of how the perception of ‘the company
lawyer’ has transitioned from being seen as
a roadblock, to instead being viewed as an
inspirational leader.
While Annette’s story is still relatively rare for a
lawyer in Australia, there are many examples
of lawyers who are taking on broader
responsibilities than just legal, or moving
into non-legal roles. Many are achieving
this without having to leave their existing
organisation. So how is it done?
Lawyers are constantly seeking new
challenges. How many times have we heard:
How can I learn more and where am I headed
professionally? In-house counsel consistently
cite working close to the business as one of
the key drivers for working in the corporate
sector over private practice. At least 50
percent of in-house legal teams in Australia
are comprised of just one to five lawyers.
So it is not long before team members can
outgrow their roles and yearn for more. This
applies equally to general counsel and more
junior legal counsel.
The expanded legal role is the most common
way lawyers build on their expertise and
maintain interest. Debra Tegoni is Executive
General Manager Legal & Regulatory and
Company Secretary of Crown Melbourne
Limited. Debra’s responsibilities have included:
legal, governance and company secretary,
compliance, risk, insurance and internal
audit, responsible gaming (part of CSR),
specific group projects and being a part
of the Crown Resorts Foundation Advisory
Board (philanthropic activities). Debra was
provided this broad array of responsibilities
as they are viewed as being aligned to legal,
and regulatory and compliance based in
nature. Areas such as CSR, crisis management
and philanthropy have evolved “through
executive discussions around my areas of
interest and ability to value add in a way that
is beneficially aligned with the business needs
and strategy.” Debra has taken on training and
study in various areas to ensure she is “job
ready,” including a Masters of Law and a senior
executive MBA.
Nevenka Codevelle at APA Group enjoys an
expanded role comprising four functional
areas: legal, company secretary, group
compliance and office management. She
is also heavily involved in external affairs.
Nevenka welcomes broader responsibilities
because she believes “breadth is critically
important to understanding the business
and the environment in which it operates,
enabling greater contribution at a more
senior strategic level.” If you want greater
responsibility, the task is on you to make it
known within your company.
At Ramsay Health Care Limited, Group
General Counsel John O’Grady oversees risk
in addition to legal and company secretarial.
For John, “The risk management role presents
an opportunity to work closely with all key
aspects of the business. The role of chief
risk officer is very satisfying because one
can develop a solid working relationship
with senior executives as well as the risk
management committee. “I very much
enjoy the risk management role because it is
focused on the future, assisting the company
to manage both existing and emerging risks.”
Like Nevenka, John’s advice is to “let other
key players in the organisation know of your
interest [beyond legal] and what you are
doing to develop the specialist skills in that
area such as undertaking additional course
work. It also helps to offer to assist others in
your area of interest, so that you have the
opportunity of learning on the job.”
Some organisations provide lawyers with a
“try before you buy option” when it comes
to taking on a non–legal role. This is usually
achieved by way of internal secondment
into the business. Toyota Motor Corporation
Australia has a system of rotating employees
across divisions and providing opportunities
for international secondments and temporary
assignments. For the members of the legal
team, these opportunities provide a deeper
28 VOLUME 26, ISSUE 1 – AUTUMN 2016