eCLANZ June 2011

In This Issue

A word from our President

Christchurch on our minds

In-house Interview

NZ Winners at the ALB Australasian Law Awards

In-house News

In-house Legal Jobs

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Welcome to the June edition of eCLANZ

A word from our President

As I write this we approach the shortest day of a year that has already delivered many challenges but which has also demonstrated the resilence and the sense of community and collaboration of our people. It is, though, a time to look forward - to the days getting longer, the economy getting stronger, and the opportunity to showcase our country to visitors and viewers across the world as we host one of the largest sporting events in the world.

It is heartening to see the collaboration that exists in the wider community is present in the legal profession. It was a pleasure to attend the recent Wellington branch dinner and speak with lawyers across our profession and hear their positivity.

It is also a privilege to work with a great group of in-house lawyers on the committee representing your interests. Shortly we will be meeting for an annual strategy day in which we will finalise workplans for the coming year to ensure we meet the needs and interests of our members. I repeat the invitation to communicate with me on any issue affecting in-house counsel. You can do so by emailing me at

president@clanz.org.

Jeremy Valentine - CLANZ President

Christchurch on our minds

Allister Davis & Helen Mackay

We are thinking about our Canterbury members as they battle through the latest swarm of earthquakes to hit the region. It was inspiring to hear Allister Davis, Canterbury-Westland Branch President speak at the Wellington Branch Dinner last week and it was heartening for CLANZ to be able to tell Allister there is a cheque for over $3500 on its way for the Canterbury Branch Benevolent Fund.

This Fund will be used to help earthquake affected practitioners in the region and the other $3500 raised from CLANZ's "Recipe for Canterbury" fundraisers is on its way to the Salvation Army's Canterbury Earthquake Appeal.

In-house Interview - Community Involvement

Every year CLANZ celebrates the voluntary work that our members undertake with the CLANZ-Wigley & Co. Community Contribution Award. There are a large number of CLANZ members active in all sorts of community groups from as small as a creche committee up to national charities. As in-house lawyers we are unable to provide direct pro-bono work for the organisations we volunteer with but our legal skills, knowledge and passion are still very relevant and useful. At the very least we are all very experienced in minimising spending on external legal advice!

One of our members who has taken up the challenge of charity work is Betsyn McHardy of the ANZ legal team in Wellington. She has become a trustee of a new charity So They Can which supports and educates some of the poorest children in Kenya. eCLANZ asked Betsyn about her involvement with the charity.

"So what is So They Can all about?"

So They Can was established in Sydney by my great friend Cassandra Treadwell who I first met when we both started working as lawyers at Russell McVeagh in Wellington. In 2009 Cassandra and her husband had traveled to a refugee camp just north of Nairobi, Kenya which housed 7,000 people who had fled their homes following the 2007 Kenyan civil unrest following the national elections. This was the kind of unrest that was depicted in the film 'Hotel Rwanda' so you can imagine the kind of horrors that these people faced. The conditions in the camp were terrible with little or no food, shelter, sanitation or medical care.

"So how did you get involved with So They Can?"

Having travelled extensively myself and seen first hand the misery that poverty can cause, I had always dreamed that one day I could do something constructive. Since Cass first set up So They Can I had taken a keen interest in what she was trying to achieve but it was not until she returned to live in Wellington last year that I was able to take on a more active role. I was delighted when she called and asked if I would be one of the three trustees for So They Can in New Zealand and we immediately set about registering the charity and planning how we would promote it here in New Zealand.

You can read more on the CLANZ Website.

Launch Party

If you are interested in the work of So They Can, they are holding a launch party in Wellington on Friday July 8th where you can hear in more detail what it is all about and the plans for the future.

If you want to find out more about So They Can you can contact them on www.sotheycan.org or info@sotheycan.org .

New Zealand winners at the ALB Australasian

Law Awards 2011

At the Macquarie Bank ALB Australasian Law Awards 2011, announced at a gala event in Sydney last month, a number of New Zealanders claimed awards.

-NZ Dealmaker of the year - Barry Brown, Chapman Tripp

-NZ Deal team of the year - Bell Gully corporate team

-NZ Deal of the Year - Auckland local authority amalgamation Firms: Russell McVeagh, Simpson Grierson

-New Zealand in-house team of the year - Air New Zealand
and congratulations to the finalists Beca and the Auckland Transition Agency.

James Radcliffe of

Air New Zealand

John Blair, General Counsel & Company Secretary Air New Zealand, said

"The ALB Award is a great achievement for the team and recognises the continual effort required to manage a wide range of complex issues in our exciting but challenging airline industry".

In-house News

Q&A: PepsiCo GC Maura Abeln Smith

In this interview with the new PepsiCo GC Maura Abeln Smith, Corporate Counsel asks her about her career as one of America's more succesful in-house lawyers and the challenges faced by women in the profession.

Style counsel: in-housers adopt a higher profile

In the UK, the shortlist for The Lawyer Awards 2011's In-house Commerce & Industry Team of the Year shows that legal departments are working hard at becoming an an integrated part of their organisations rather than just a legal advisory service.

For more detail on the nominees' approaches to cost cutting, efficiency and creating value the article can be found here.

Woolworths Australia's Rod Bordignon

ALB online interviews Woolworths Australia's Rod Bordignon on running a legal team and getting your hands dirty.

In-house Legal Jobs

CLANZ runs a free member service advertising in-house legal roles on its website. Remember to contact us to post a role in your team and go to the website if you are looking for new opportunities. The lastest role to be added is Deputy Company Secretary, Contact Energy based in Wellington.

Click here - to learn more about this opportunity.