60% of the 113 senior promotions, which have 16 lawyers making partner, are of women
Women have dominated MinterEllison’s latest promotions round, which the firm said is its biggest since before the pandemic struck.
The firm welcomed 16 new partners, 18 special counsel, 72 senior associates, an executive director, a director and 5 senior managers. Of the 113 elevated, 60% are women.
“Having more women in partnership and leadership positions is a crucial diversity and inclusion priority,” CEO and managing partner Virginia Briggs said. “I am pleased how transparent, accountable and focused we are to achieve this target. Our offices, business units and practice groups are accountable to this gender and equality target and we are working towards the 40:40:20 partnership target of any gender by 2025.”
She explained that the massive promotions cycle “reinforces the firm's strategic direction, including our agenda for growth.” In addition to serving as a response to client demand in popular fields like capital, financial and transactional solutions, insurance, workplace, tax, litigation, construction and property, the elevations also reflect the firm gearing up for expected growth in the health, real estate, funds management and infrastructure sectors, MinterEllison said.
The new partners are as follows:
Capital markets and corporate
- Esmond Prowse – transaction solutions, Melbourne
- Ben Rumble – finance solutions, Perth
- Tze Ting Liew – capital solutions, Sydney
Consulting solutions
- Liz O'Keeffe – workplace, Adelaide
- Jennifer Veiga – workplace, Brisbane
- Stephen Chen – tax, Melbourne
- Robert Yunan – tax, Melbourne
Disputes, competition and insurance
- Tom Galvin – insurance and corporate risk, Canberra
- Kristy Brockwell – insurance and corporate risk, Melbourne
- Jeremy Johnson – insurance and corporate risk, Canberra
- Gus Lightowlers – dispute resolution, Melbourne
Infrastructure, construction and property
- Euon Williams – real estate, Brisbane
- Owen Kiely – ICP volume, Sydney
- Sian Keast – project infrastructure and construction, Brisbane
- Alex Lowe – project infrastructure and construction, Perth
- Joanne Moore – real estate, Sydney
Briggs praised the new additions to the partnership as lawyers who are “switched on to clients' business needs of today and those emerging: ESG, workplace leadership and culture governance, digital transformation, regulatory risk, cyber security, and energy transformation.” In particular, she highlighted Veiga, who heads up the firm’s recently established workplace investigation practice; Veiga serves as the executive co-sponsor of PRIME and of MinterEllison’s LGBTQ+ network.
At present, 45% of MinterEllison’s board is composed of women. Half of the firm’s office managing partners are women, and female lawyers make up 33% of its partnership.
The promotions took effect on 1 July.
