18 law firms show support for Uluru Statement From the Heart

Some of the leading law firms in Australia have issued a joint statement in support of the Uluru Statement From the Heart.

The statement was released in May 2017 and is a national Indigenous consensus position on Indigenous constitutional reform, which was drafted at the end of a three-day constitutional convention of 250 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander delegates. The Statement was the culmination of 13 Regional Dialogues held around the country during a year-long consultation.

The 18 firms - Allens, Arnold Bloch Leibler, Ashurst, Baker McKenzie, Clayton Utz, Corrs Chambers Westgarth, Dentons, DLA Piper, Fisher Dore, Gilbert + Tobin, Herbert Smith Freehills, Holding Redlich, Jackson McDonald, King & Wood Mallesons, Lander & Rogers, Minter Ellison, Norton Rose Fulbright and Russell Kennedy – issued the following joint statement in support:

To the First Nations of Australia:

Thank you for your Uluru Statement From the Heart, an invitation to Australia and the Australian people.

Thank you for your invitation to walk with you in a movement of all Australian people for a better future.

We recognise the Uluru Statement From the Heart as an historic mandate to create a fuller expression of Australia’s nationhood.

We hear and support your call for the establishment of a First Nations Voice enshrined in the Constitution and for a referendum as a national priority.

We look forward to working with and supporting you, governments and all Australia to take this next step towards reconciliation.

Brooke Massender, Head of Pro Bono at Herbert Smith Freehills, said: “The historic consensus reached at Uluru was a major milestone in the journey towards achieving substantive constitutional reform. Through this broad collaborative response we are signalling clearly that First Nations voices matter and should be heard.”

Harneys adds transactional practice head in Singapore
Offshore firm Harneys, has a new partner in its Banking & Finance team in Singapore.

Lishi Fong will head up the Transactional practice and joins after almost 13 years at Norton Rose Fulbright. She has extensive international banking experience especially acquisition finance and structured trade and commodities finance.

The Singapore office now has two partners and seven associates complementing the rest of the Asia team based in Hong Kong and Shanghai.

Ms. Fong is one of the leading banking lawyers in Singapore and is cited in the Singapore Business Review’s prestigious list of most influential lawyers aged 40 and under.

Hogan Lovells eyes greater success for global disputes team
The global disputes practice at Hogan Lovells is on target for increased success and has added some new names to its leadership team.

In announcing several new practice area leaders in London and the US, Michael Davison, global head of the Litigation, Arbitration and Employment practice, said he is confident they will help build on the success of the practice.

"Our market-leading practice is a $600 million business that operates in over 45 offices, employing over 900 lawyers worldwide,” he said. “It operates at the cutting edge on some of the most complex and ground breaking disputes in the world and our work often makes a significant difference to the success and failure of our clients’ businesses.”