M&A APPOINTMENTS

www.lawyersweekly.com.au

ENERGYTRANSFERJWS loses Fiona Melville to Middletons

ROYAL COMMISSION

DEATHS IN CUSTODY20 years on, prison rates up

BACK ONTRACK

530

Print Post Approved 255003/05160

THE WORDIS OUTSocial media is good for business

5 tips for building an online profi le

CHINA REPORT

The law fi rms invading Mongolia

NEW FRONTIERS

Friday 22 April 2011

Plus

THE WORDIS OUTSocial media is good for

ROYAL COMMISSION

DEATHS IN CUSTODY

on, prison Lawyers bid the GFC adieu

APPOINTMENTS

ENERGYTRANSFERJWS loses Fiona Melville to Middletons

L W_ 5 3 0 . p g 0 0 1 . p d f P a g e 1 1 8 / 0 4 / 1 1 , 4 : 4 8 P M

Perth | Litigation 1 – 2 years Top tier firm is seeking a talented junior litigation lawyer to join their ranks. You will work across a broad range of matters including, but not limited to: financial services; commercial and contractual disputes; trade practices; employment and insolvency cases. You will have significant client contact and responsibility from the onset with excellent training and mentoring. Ref: PER/4163/RL

Brisbane | Corporate 3 – 5 yearsThis leading law firm has an opportunity for an experienced transactional lawyer. Experience in a corporate team for a mid-tier or top tier firm is essential. You will work on complex corporate transactions and be involved in interesting work within a friendly and supportive team environment. Solid academics are a must. BRI/4124/GG

Melbourne | ConstructionSC or Senior Associate Opportunity for a senior lawyer to join this first rate construction team and be part of an award winning practice. You will enjoy a mixed role including gaining exposure to front end work on major projects, including PPPs, and back end disputes including some International Arbitrations. Genuine path for progression available for the right candidate. Ref: MEL/4204/RL

Melbourne | Banking and Finance 2 – 4 years This top tier firm has a new opportunity for an Associate to join their highly regarded banking and finance team. You will have a hands on role working on a range of corporate finance, property finance and project finance matters for big four banks and major financial institutions. Ref: MEL/4066/RL

Sydney | Commercial Property Senior AssociateThis premier group acts for multi-national corporates, major investment banks and others in the acquisition and financing of infrastructure and property projects. A rare opportunity exists for a talented SA with project management ability to join this respected firm. Applicants from top tier and highly regarded mid tier law firms are encouraged to apply. Ref: SYD/4202/RL

Sydney | Commercial Litigation 3 – 5 yearsThis well regarded law firm is seeking a forward thinking and talented all round litigation lawyer. You will work on a range of matters including regulatory, trade practice, contract and competition disputes for both corporates and individuals. Your analytical and technical skills must be second to none. Ref: SYD/4140/GG

Sydney | Employment 2 – 3 years Premier top tier firm are seeking a 2-3 year level lawyer looking to progress their career at the highest level. You will work on a mix of contentious and non-contentious matters assisting the Partners and Senior associates on complex advices, drafting various employment agreements, employment disputes and the opportunity to get exposure to niche areas such as OH&S and workplace investigations for a global brand clients. Ref: SYD/3613/RL

Sydney | Energy / M&A 2 years +We currently represent a client searching for a lawyer with a background in mergers and acquisitions gained from a top or highly regarded mid tier firm to join its Energy & Resources team. A background in energy & resources in not necessary but candidates should have an interest in gaining practical experience in this sector. This is a unique opportunity to broaden the scope of your experience to include advising on a mix of corporate work involving energy, resources and infrastructure. Ref: SYD/4181/RL

Sydney | Banking & Finance5 years +Large national mid-tier firm seeks a finance lawyer with the ability to work autonomously on a range of finance deals involving leveraged finance and acquisition finance, and property finance transactions, including due diligence. This is an exciting opportunity to be involved in the growth of this group and exposure to challenging and interesting work. SYD/4091/GG

Sydney | Employment Senior AssociateExcellent opportunity for a senior associate to join this international firm and take a lead role on first rate matters. You will work on a diverse range of contentious and non-contentious matters including industrial/employment disputes, drafting a variety of employment agreements, and advising on equal opportunity and OH&S matters for blue chip clients. Ref: SYD/4022/RL

Sydney | M&A / ECMSenior AssociateOur client’s enviable corporate group includes a capital markets practice comprised of some of the most reputable partners in the Australia. The group regularly advises on high profile capital raisings, IPOs and strategic placements in Australia and internationally. The M&A team works on both public and private transactions advising both corporate clients and investment banks. This key leadership role will challenge you to manage the firm’s strategic client relationships and legal project teams. Ref: SYD/4178/RL

Sydney | TMT 1 – 4 yearsPrestigious firm’s telecom & technology practice continues to expand creating new opportunities for aspiring technology lawyers. This position will develop your expertise in all aspects of technology related transactions including drafting terms and conditions for complex software and services products, outsourcing and distribution agreements, offshoring and information management compliance and data protection matters. Solid academics required. Multiple roles. Ref: SYD/4182/RL

Sydney | Funds3 years +Major player in the financial services sector have a new role for a dynamic funds management lawyer from a major firm or respected in-house team. High level experience required in advising on complex wholesale & retail Funds & Investment products (Australian & International) and related legislation including Corps Act (Ch 7). Ref: SYD/4205/DS

Sydney | IT5 years +This major technology group is currently seeking a dynamic and commercially focused lawyer with strong IT Law experience. High-level work will involve drafting & negotiation of complex agreements relating to outsourcing (IT and BPO), systems integration and consulting transactions as well as provision of strategic legal advice to senior management. Major law firm and/or blue-chip technology company background required. Ref: SYD/4183/DS

Sydney | Wealth Management 4 years +New role for a commercially focussed lawyer with financial services experience to support the private wealth division of this major financial institution. You will play a key role advising senior management on legal issues relating to their broad range of products and services (including Super, Managed Investments and Life). Major firm background as well as in-house experience preferred. Great prospects and an enjoyable culture on offer! Ref: SYD/4179/DS

London | Derivatives3 years +The lawyers in the capital markets group of this international firm specialise in structured finance, debt and equity offerings and derivatives. Growth has created a role for an experienced derivatives lawyer to join the team. The ideal candidate will have experience gained from a top or mid tier law firm or an investment bank. Sponsorship, career progression and competitive remuneration is on offer. Ref: LON/4192/RL

Singapore | M & A / PE Junior PartnerJunior partner or senior associate who has partnership aspirations and M&A and Private Equity experience is needed by an international law firm to advise investment banks and blue chip corporates in Asia on complex cross border acquisitions, disposals and joint ventures . Strong technical skills are essential to manage intellectually challenging deals. Ability to travel is also necessary. Ref: SIN/4167/RL

London | Energy & Resources5 – 8 yearsHighly regarded international firm requires a projects lawyer with a background in construction contracts to take a leadership role advising sponsors of large scale energy, mining and infrastructure development projects. Must be capable of leading negotiations and project managing transactions. Ref: LON/4194.RL

Private Practice

In-house

For a full list of active roles that Dolman is working on throughout Australia and worldwide visit www.dolman.com.au

For further information please contact one of our consultants for a confidential discussion: Gail Greener, Ralph Laughton and Daniel Stirling. Call (02) 9231 3022 or email: dolman@dolman.com.au

L W_ 5 3 0 . p g 0 0 2 . p d f P a g e 2 1 8 / 0 4 / 1 1 , 4 : 3 9 P M

L AW Y E R S W E E K LY 2 2 A P R I L 2 011 3

“There is a real tension between the fact that a prospectus is a disclosure document regulated by the Corporations Act, but is also fundamentally a selling document” Clayton Utz partner Brendan Groves on why ASIC’s plan to simplify prospectuses - and remove the images - will be good for lawyers and clients alike.

12

Contents

6 THIS WEEK: A round-up of the latest legal news

10 IN-DEPTH: Angst over corporate governance seems to be easing. But are business leaders fi nally ready to relax about legal risks? Lawyers Weekly reports

21 CAREER COUNSEL: The negative attitudes of unhappy managers undermine an organisation’s ability to attract and retain staff. Briana Everett reports

22 FOLKLAW: The lighter side of the law

FeaturesRegulars

16 COVER STORY: Social media has taken off, so why are some lawyers still reluctant to join the fl ock? Briana Everett makes the case for building business online

CHINA REPORT: Far from slowing down, the Chinese economy just keeps on growing. Justin Whealing looks at the new opportunities for Australian law fi rms10

L W_ 5 3 0 . p g 0 0 3 . p d f P a g e 3 1 8 / 0 4 / 1 1 , 4 : 5 2 P M

Editor’sNoteA TWEET during the ABC’s Q&A program last week has launched Aboriginal lawyer and legal academic Larissa Behrendt into the spotlight of what not to do on Twitter.

Behrendt has since apologised for the tweet, in which she compared watching bestiality on television with the opinions of Aboriginal leader Bess Price being voiced on the program, but the media backlash against her is showing few signs of abating.

Some have even called for Behrendt to be dismissed from the Gillard Government’s review of Aboriginal higher education – a position she was appointed to on the same day those 140 characters were posted online.

It’s a shame that Behrendt’s excellent standing in the legal profession, her hard work as an indigenous affairs advocate and her writing career may now forever be blemished as the result of a careless tweet.

But it would also be a shame for this incident to obscure the business potential of social networking platforms such as Twitter, or for lawyers to be turned off participating online due to a momentary lapse by a prominent legal personality regarding what constitutes sensible tweeting.

Social media is now a fact of business life. For lawyers, it presents immeasurable opportunities to form networks across geographic borders, build deep and meaningful relationships with clients and gain access to information targeted to their individual needs.

More importantly, there’s the chance to benefi t from the “human” element that social networking can offer business acquaintances – allowing one to delve deeper into a business relationship by learning about a colleague or client’s lifestyle, values and interests beyond work.

Some believe this oversteps the line of information sharing and might prefer not to know what their resource lawyer colleague in Perth got up to over the weekend. But that’s the beauty of social networking. You limit the information fl ow, depending on what you value, and participate in the conver-sation when and where you feel the need.

As for the fear of a career-threatening social networking blooper, lawyers can control that, too. More often than not, common sense will provide adequate protection.

But if your common sense takes leave, then a moment’s thought before hitting the “publish” button should provide the last line of defence.

The debate regarding law school fees has heated up this week, with the Group of Eight universities calling for law and business students to pay more in order to fund the expansion of the higher education system. But the Australian Law Students’ Association is having none of it. Follow the story and have your say online at www.lawyersweekly.com.au.

More than ever, strong relationships with clients and in-house lawyers are of paramount importance to private practice. Next week, Lawyers Weekly examines just what in-house lawyers want when dealing with their legal advisers, and what skills private practice lawyers need to build long-lasting relationships.

TOP 10 STORIES ONLINE THIS WEEK 1 Lawyers not happy at work 2 Exodus from Clutz continues3 Mallesons chooses a new leader 4 Hungry judges impose tougher sentences 5 M&A bounces back, but will it last? 6 New WA governor not negligent 7 Australian judge on PNG bench arrested8 Lawyer takes Twitter tumble 9 G+T partner jumps ship to Blakes 10 Hunt for Aussie Brockovich almost over

E D I T O R I A L B O A R D Lawyers Weekly is delighted to have the following

industry leaders on its editorial board

A B O U T U S Editor: Angela Priestley

Deputy Editor: Justin Whealing Contributors: Claire Chaffey, Briana Everett,

Sarah O’Carroll, Ben NiceDesign Manager: Anthony Vandenberg

Production Editor: Vanessa FazzinoGroup Production Manager: Kirsten Wissel

Group Sales Manager Adrian Fellowes

SUBSCRIBE TODAYLawyers Weekly is published weekly and is

available by subscription. Please email subscriptions@lawyersweekly.com.au

All subscription payments should be sent to: Locked Bag 2333, Chatswood D/C, Chatswood NSW 2067

ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES: Adrian Fellowes

adrian.fellowes@lexisnexis.com.au(02) 9422 2134 (mob) 0407 489 060

Vic, SA, WA: Stephen Richards (02) 9422 2891

EDITORIAL ENQUIRIES: Angela Priestley

angela.priestley@lexisnexis.com.au (02) 9422 2875 All mail for the editorial department should be sent to:

Lawyers Weekly, Level 1 Tower 2, 475 Victoria Ave, Chatswood NSW 2067

CAB MEMBER SINCESEPTEMBER 2000

Copyright is reserved throughout. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the express written permission of the publisher. Contributions are invited, but copies of all work should be kept, as Lawyers Weekly can accept no responsibility for loss. Lawyers Weekly and LexisNexis are divisions of Reed International Books Australia Pty Limited, ACN 001 002 357 Level 1 Tower 2, 475 Victoria Ave, Chatswood NSW 2067 tel (02) 9422 2203 fax (02) 9422 2946 ISSN 1833-5209 Important Privacy Notice: You have both a right of access to the personal information we hold about you and to ask us to correct if it is inaccurate or out of date. Please direct any queries to: The Privacy Offi cer, LexisNexis Australia or email privacy@lexisnexis.com.au. © 2010 Reed International Books Australia Pty Ltd (ABN 70 001 002 357) trading as LexisNexis. LexisNexis and the Knowledge Burst logo are registered trademarks of Reed Elsevier Properties Inc., and used under licence.

ON THE WEB NEXT WEEK

Editor, Angela Priestley

Nick Abrahams Partner and

Sydney chairman, Norton Rose

Helen McKenzie Deputy

managing partner,

Blake Dawson

Sharon Cook Managing

partner, Henry Davis York

David CowlingPartner,

Clayton Utz

Ewen Crouch Chairman of

partners, Allens Arthur Robinson

Sue GilchristPartner and

practice leader (intellectual

property group), Freehills

Andrew GrechManaging director, Slater & Gordon

Will IrvingGroup general counsel, Telstra Corporation

Joe CatanzaritiPartner, Clayton Utz

Robert MillinerChief executive partner, Mallesons Stephen Jaques

Megan PittDirector, Australian Government Solicitor

Lucinda SmithPartner, Thomson Lawyers

4 L AW Y E R S W E E K LY 2 2 A P R I L 2 011 www.lawyersweekly.com.au

L W_ 5 3 0 . p g 0 0 4 . p d f P a g e 4 1 8 / 0 4 / 1 1 , 3 : 2 0 P M

L W_ 5 3 0 . p g 0 0 5 . p d f P a g e 5 1 8 / 0 4 / 1 1 , 4 : 2 5 P M

6 l aw y e r s w e e k ly 2 2 a p r i l 2 011 w w w.law yersweekly.com.au

thisweek

small firms to benchmark financialsThe Australian Legal Practice Management

Association (ALPMA) is calling on law firms to submit data for a study that will ultimately create a legal financial benchmarking tool for small-to-medium-sized law firms. Expected to offer eight key financial indicators of a law firm’s practice health, ALPMA national president Warrick McLean said the tool will fill a need in the market for small and medium-sized firms who want a more “sophisticated” way to measure performance.

Vic Bar creates legal charityThe Victorian Bar has launched a new charitable

foundation aimed at supporting the education and training of lawyers, and promoting awareness of the legal system and the role of the law in society. Chaired by Allan Myers AO QC, the website will provide grants to lawyers and law students in need of assistance for furthering their education and training. It will be funded by donations from members of Vic Bar and the judiciary.

New Muslim women’s rights groupA new community

organisation advocating human rights issues and providing welfare services to Muslim women has been launched by Attorney-General Robert McClelland. The Australian Muslim Women’s Centre for Human Rights will be run by the Islamic Women’s Welfare Council of Victoria, which hopes to bring a human rights approach to the disadvantage and inequality of Muslim women across Australia.

lawyers get arty with pro bono The Arts Law Centre of Australia has valued the

legal community’s pro bono support at more than $2 million. At its annual Pro Bono Awards Night to celebrate legal volunteers who have contributed to the Arts Law project, Arts Law executive Robyn Ayres handed out limited-edition prints by South Australian artist Kate Smith to 29 lawyers who have provided exceptional assistance to artists through their pro bono work.

THE SUPREME Court of Western Australia has dismissed a claim of negligence against the incoming WA governor, Robert McCusker QC, in a legal dispute that dates back to 1986.

McCusker was retained by a solicitor acting for a farming couple in August 1986 in a claim against the R & I Bank. In March 1989, McCusker provided advice that the couple’s claim had little chance of success and, if it was successful, the damages recovered were likely to be small.

Shortly afterwards, the female half of the couple, Libby Smith, retained fresh counsel – including Daryl Williams QC, who served as an attorney-general in the Howard government from 1996 to 2003. He provided more positive advice in the couple’s claim against the bank. At this time, Libby Smith also convened a press conference criticising the advice of McCusker.

In 1995, the Smiths commenced legal proceedings against McCusker. Various courts within the WA legal system have found for both parties on numerous occasions since then. This includes a decision of the Full Court of the WA Supreme Court in 2000, which found that there was an arguable case to the effect that by reason of the negligence of McCusker, the Smiths had lost their grant of legal aid and their opportunity of recovering damages from the R & I Bank.

In the latest ruling, Chief Justice Wayne Martin rejected any notion that McCusker was negligent. He found that any reasonable barrister provided with the instructions given to McCusker would have

The Web

RE W IND

New WA governor not negligent

The International Monetary Fund expressed concern over growing inflation in the Chinese, Indian and European economies, which it says poses a serious risk to the global economic recovery.

Growing evidence that Australia’s economy is weak did not deter Treasurer Wayne Swan, who announced he would be persisting with large cuts in government spending with a view to long-term gains.

The Federal Government announced it would be pledging an additional $10 million in humanitarian aid to conflict-torn Libya, bringing the total amount promised to $25 million.

Egypt’s Supreme Administrative Court ordered former president Hosni Mubarak’s National Democratic Party to be dissolved and its assets liquidated.

Change was afoot in Syria, with President Bashar al-Assad informing his new cabinet that laws enforcing emergency rule – which have been in place for nearly 50 years – must be lifted within a week.

advised the Smiths that they have no reasonable prospect of succeeding in their claim against the R & I Bank, which he described as “always hopeless and doomed to fail”.

Chief Justice Martin also found that the advice given by McCusker did not cause the Smiths to lose the benefit of legal aid in their claim against the bank.

McCusker, currently the chairman of the WA Legal Aid Commission and the WA Australian of the Year in 2010, was appointed the state’s next governor last month. He will replace the current Governor, Ken Michael, in July.

L W_ 5 3 0 . p g 0 0 6 . p d f P a g e 6 1 8 / 0 4 / 1 1 , 3 : 3 2 P M

DE A L OF THE W EEKDE A L OF THE W EEK

L AW Y E R S W E E K LY 2 2 A P R I L 2 011 7

thisweek

DE A L M A K ERS

ALLENS ARTHUR Robinson has acted for Vodafone Hutchison Australia (VHA) on one of the largest technology managed services projects in the Australian market this year.

The deal sees VHA appoint Tech Mahindra, a major Indian-based information technology services supplier, to take over the management and operation of its IT systems.

Tech Mahindra will have responsibility for all of the key customer-facing systems that underpin VHA’s day-to-day activities.

Led by Allens’ senior overseas practitioner Gavin Smith and partner Michael Pattison, the matter was of signifi cant strategic importance to VHA.

“This is one of the last of VHA’s big post-merger integration projects and it

Middletons appoints JWS partnerFormer Johnson Winter & Slattery partner

Fiona Melville has been appointed as a partner at Middletons. For the past 14 years, Melville has specialised in energy and resources law and is a leader in the development of trading electricity, gas, carbon and environmental products.

AEI senior counsel joins MallesonsMallesons Stephen Jaques has added senior

lawyers Christopher Taylor (pictured) and Amanda Ralph to its Brisbane energy, resources and projects group. Joining the fi rm as a senior associate from AEI, Taylor brings more than eight years of experience gained at Freehills, Davis Polk, and Clifford Chance. Ralph joins Mallesons as a senior lawyer, having recently returned from Herbert Smith in Moscow.

Clayton Utz HK recruits Macao lawyerClayton Utz has appointed construction and major projects

consultant Ilan Freiman to its Hong Kong arm, Haley & Co. Freiman was previously the director of legal in Asian construction at Sands China/Venetian Macau.

Barry.Nilsson attracts lawyer from UKBrisbane-based Barry.Nilsson Lawyers has appointed

Stephanie Cook (pictured) as a senior associate and Donal Keenan as a solicitor to the fi rm’s insurance and health team. Cook joins the fi rm after spending six years in the UK acting on behalf of UK and international insurers and reinsurers. Keenan has close to fi ve years of experience in commercial litigation and professional indemnity insurance.

Deal name: Vodafone appoints Tech Mahindra as manager and operator of IT systems Key players: Allens Arthur Robinson

will allow VHA to achieve signifi cant

operational effi ciencies by reducing from a number of incumbent providers down to one,” said Smith.

Pattison said Allens was delighted to have had the opportunity to work with VHA on such a complex and transformative deal.

The Allens legal team also included partners Peter Arthur and Victoria Holthouse, senior consultant Sonya Marsden, senior associates Sharon Heffernan and Veronica Siow, lawyers Alicia Moody, Robert Munoz, Nick Sinclair and Carl Xu, along with graduate lawyers Matthew Tracey and Rowan Platt.

Tech Mahindra was advised by its in-house team.

Movers &

Shakers

Allens handles major tech services deal

Tim Hall Michele Muscillo Vijay Cugati

Firm Kain C+C Lawyers (Sealink Travel Group), Hynes Lawyers (Sunferries)

HopgoodGanim Allens Arthur Robinson, Blake Dawson (HOCHTIEF), Freehills (UBS)

Deal name Sealink Travel Group on acquisition of Sunferries

Navaho Gold on its ASX listing and initial public offering

Leighton Holdings Ltd on equity capital raising

Area Mergers and acquisitions Corporate Capital markets

Value Not disclosed $9 million $757 million

Key players Kain’s Tim Hall and Sarah Chia

Michele Muscillo Ewen Crouch, Andrew Finch and Vijay Cugati

L W_ 5 3 0 . p g 0 0 7 . p d f P a g e 7 1 8 / 0 4 / 1 1 , 2 : 3 5 P M

8 l aw y e r s w e e k ly 2 2 a p r i l 2 011 www.lawyersweekly.com.au

thisweek

Prospectus not a picture bookLAWYERS HAVE welcomed last week’s announcement by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) that photos in a prospectus could be banned if proposals to overhaul the document are approved.

ASIC revealed that it plans to make prospec­tuses easier for retail investors to use, and to improve the quality of information on the proposed business model and its associated risks.

The regulator’s move comes after mounting criticisms that the information contained in a prospectus is too complex and hard to understand. Media mogul Kerry Stokes recently commented that he couldn’t understand the information in the prospectus when selling his Seven Network to West Australian Newspapers.

Speaking to Lawyers Weekly, Clayton Utz partner Brendan Groves said changes to make prospectuses shorter and more focused on disclosure would be welcomed by lawyers and clients alike.

“Clients have often struggled with the complexity and length that goes into a prospectus,” said Groves. “It will be a welcome development for the market to have ASIC provide guidance on how it believes issuers can provide more concise documentation.”

ASIC has said that under its proposals, a prospectus would chiefly be a disclosure document, not a marketing tool for companies.

“First and foremost, a prospectus is a disclosure document aimed at informing investors,” said ASIC commissioner and former Mallesons partner Belinda Gibson. “Sales and marketing statements – and the extensive use of promotional photography – are secondary.”

Under the proposals floated by ASIC, photos in a prospectus would be banned, except on the front cover.

“There is a real tension between the fact that a prospectus is both a disclosure document regulated by the Corporations Act, but is also fundamentally a selling document,” said Groves, who added that the proposal to ban photos within the document would “help investors focus on the fundamentals of their investment decision”.

ASIC has also recommended that prior criminal convictions, personal bankruptcies or disciplinary actions taken against managers or key directors be disclosed.

“Any further disclosure that can be made to the market about the reputation or management of a company is a good thing,” said Groves.

THE HIGH level of Aboriginal incarceration is an indication that the Royal Commission into Aboriginal deaths in custody has failed Aboriginal people, according to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner Mick Gooda.

But on the 20th anniversary of the commission, Gooda told Lawyers Weekly that an overhaul of state and federal government policy relevant to rehabilitation programs, alongside the adoption of a program called “justice reinvestment”, could help.

A LEGAL expert on climate change law has called on the Federal Government to learn from the fatal flaws of the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS) in order to develop an effective legal framework for pricing carbon.

Dr Nicola Durrant, an academic from the Queensland University of Technology, made the comments last week in conjunction with the launch of her book, Legal Responses to Climate Change.

Durrant highlighted the failure of law-makers to state Australia’s emissions reduction targets and timelines for targets in the CPRS legislation – a key legal flaw she believes must be addressed in the development of any new scheme.

“The Government needs to design its scheme to incorporate a long-term emissions reduction target and a time frame for achieving that target,” said Durrant.

“Appropriate medium- and long-term emission reduction targets, with corresponding caps for the carbon pricing scheme, should be deep enough to contribute to global efforts to mitigate climate change.”

Durrant added that other key failures of the ETS relate to proposals to offer free carbon permits to some industry sectors and to allow an unlimited number of import credits from global carbon trading markets.

“The Federal Government is suggest-ing we allow the import of international carbon instruments from overseas markets after an initial three-to-five-year period,” she said.

“The rules surrounding this have not been announced yet. However, with the previous ETS it was proposed that the number of imports of international offsets would be unlimited – which would be very undesirable.

“Unlimited offsets would undermine the cap set for the carbon pricing scheme, resulting in excess supply of carbon instruments to the market and, ultimately, lower carbon prices.”

Carbon scheme must avoid past legal mistakes

Royal Commission fails indigenous Australians

xclimate change lawx xasic proposalx

xdeaths in custodyx Gooda said “justice reinvestment” would divert a portion of public funds that would have been spent on the cost of imprisonment into the community where the offender comes from to assist with local programs and infrastructure.

“This program talks about prison being the last resort rather than the first,” said Gooda. “In Australia, we are currently building new gaols in northern Queensland and in the Northern Territory that will cost hundreds of millions of dollars, in both capital costs and operating costs.

“Is that money better invested in community initiatives that are specifically aimed at stopping offending behaviour?”

The commission was announced by former prime minister Bob Hawke in 1987. It made a total of 339 recommendations.

L W_ 5 3 0 . p g 0 0 8 . p d f P a g e 8 1 8 / 0 4 / 1 1 , 4 : 3 4 P M

l aw y e r s w e e k ly 2 2 a p r i l 2 011 9

thisweek

Three firms make Times listFreshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Hogan Lovells, and Addleshaw Goddard were identified by The Times as top employers for

women, reports Legal Week. The three firms featured in The Times’ annual Top 50 Employers for Women list. Freshfields has recently been making efforts to boost diversity through a number of initiatives such as unconscious bias training, emergency childcare and greater support for maternity leave.

paul weiss Toronto-boundUK firm Paul Weiss will open an office in Toronto in an attempt to secure a slice of Canada’s natural resources and transactional work, reports

The Lawyer. Newly appointed partners Christopher Cummings and Adam Giverta will join the Toronto team from rival firm Shearman & Sterling. The Paul Weiss chairman said the firm is expanding its practice in response to Canadian clients’ growing cross-border activities.

CC and slaughters land arsenal gigClifford Chance and Slaughter and May have scored lead roles on the takeover bid of Premier League football club Arsenal following US

businessman Stan Kroenke’s $1.14 million offer, reports The Lawyer. Slaughters is Arsenal’s longstanding corporate adviser, with corporate partner and head of sport Andrew Jolly leading the transaction with relationship partner Nigel Boardman.

wragges guilty of negligenceUK firm Wragge & Co has been ordered to pay in excess of $11.7 million after a High Court decision ruled the firm gave negligent

advice to a former client, Amalgamated Metal Corporation (AMC), reports Legal Week. The judgment found Wragges liable for professional negligence relating to advice given when AMC settled a tax dispute with HM Revenue & Customs in 2003.

22 promoted at evershedsEversheds has promoted 22 lawyers in its annual promotions round, including 12 who are based in the UK, reports Legal

Week. The firm’s London office will take on four of the new partners, while Cardiff, Birmingham and Johannesburg will receive three each. The remaining promotions will be distributed across the firm’s Newcastle, Munich, Shanghai, Geneva, Berne, Warsaw and Zurich offices. Almost one-third of the new partners are women.

US/U

K U

pdate

WHILE THE failed ASX merger was a blow to Freehills and Clayton Utz, the two firms involved, it should not dampen demand in the M&A market.

That is the view of Richard Loveridge, the head of the corporate group at Freehills. He said the first quarter M&A league tables should be enough to get M&A lawyers back on track, given they reveal M&A activity in Australia is at its highest level in four years.

According to Thomson Reuters, M&A activity for Q1 2011 totalled $US39.9 billion ($38.1 billion), the highest first-quarter volume since the boom times of 2007. This was more than double the $US16.2 billion recorded last year.

Loveridge said the Federal Government intervention to block the $8.4 billion merger between the SGX and ASX – in which Freehills has been acting for the ASX – will not ward off potential foreign entrants and hinder what has been a buoyant market.

“I don’t think they will [be scared off],” said Loveridge. “I am confident Australia will still be very much seen to be open for business for international entities.”

Loveridge added that this is the case due to the “diversity of themes” in the M&A market, citing deals that Freehills has recently been involved in.

“We have resources consolidation continuing, and some overseas operational purchasing, such as the acquisition of the Great Southern,” he said. “That diversity of themes gives the market a nice depth.”

In terms of announced deals in Australia

and New Zealand, Freehills was ahead of the pack, being involved in 14 deals with a combined value of just under $20 billion on the Thomson table.

Allen & Overy and Gilbert + Tobin were next, acting on deals in excess of $9 billion. International firms Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett round out the top five.

While they may have missed out on sealing the ASX merger, Clayton Utz topped the Thomson Reuters survey for completed deals. The firm has already been involved in 18 deals worth a combined value of $21.7 billion.

Mallesons Stephen Jaques, Norton Rose, Allens Arthur Robinson and Freehills complete the top five.

Norton Rose is the big mover in the survey, climbing from a ranking of 34th for Q1 2010 to third for the most recent period.

The Bloomberg analysis paints a similar rosy picture for M&A in Australia. In terms of announced deals by value, it puts Freehills on top, acting on 14 deals with a combined value of just over $14.5 billion. Freehills pips Allens and Clayton Utz, with Weil Gotshal & Manges and Allen & Overy rounding out the top five.

The Bloomberg survey lists Allen & Overy on top for announced Asia-Pacific transactions (ex-Japan), with its market share of 19 per cent well ahead of Freehills (11.6 per cent), Allens (11.5 per cent), Clayton Utz (11.1 per cent) and Skadden (9.6 per cent).

Activity in mergers and acquisitions is at its highest level in four years, but will it last?

xleague tablesx

M&a bounces back

L W_ 5 3 0 . p g 0 0 9 . p d f P a g e 9 1 8 / 0 4 / 1 1 , 5 : 0 3 P M

Not-so-risky business

indepth

10 l aw y e r s w e e k ly 2 2 a p r i l 2 011 www.lawyersweekly.com.au

Angst over corporate governance seems to be easing. But are business leaders finally ready to relax about legal risks? Lawyers Weekly reports

Corporate governance has continued its decline down the list of concerns for senior business leaders, according to AON’s Australasian Risk Management

Benchmarking Survey, released this month.Instead, business leaders and corporate

clients of law firms are more concerned about reputation, cash flow and human resources, with corporate governance coming in as the seventh-highest risk concern in 2010/11 – down four places from 2009/10.

Corporate governance was the No. 1 risk concern in 2006/07, the third in 2007/08, the second in 2009/09 and third again in 2009/10.

Paul Venning, Aon’s national general manager, told Lawyers Weekly that a more stable corporate governance regulatory environment has enabled organisations to better embed governance practices into their day-to-day operations processes.

“This provides organisations with confidence

that they are successfully managing their potential risk exposures emanating from cor-porate governance non-compliance,” he says.

Venning says that the lower level of concern regarding corporate governance risk is an indication that organisations are more aware of, and prepared for, governance concerns.

“A good example of this is that we saw corporate governance rank as the No. 1 risk concern in 2005/06 and 2006/07 after significant changes to corporate governance were introduced under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and ASX Corporate Governance Principles and Recommendations,” says Venning.

“Traditionally, we’ve seen risks that are difficult to manage and not easily transferred as some of the top-ranked risk concerns. Concern develops from uncertainty and once a company is confident that it is adequately managing the risk, concern tends to decline.”

But, adds Venning, this confidence does not result in business leaders putting a halt to investing in and managing risk. “On the contrary, it indicates that they have and will continue to do so,” he says.

The Aon benchmarking study found that brand and reputation damage remained the most important risk concern for business leaders for the fourth consecutive year, with the increased use of social media cited as

particularly worrying for many organisationsMichael Braude, Coca-Cola Amatil’s general

manager for treasury, risk and insurance, cited social media as a big issue for organisations of his size. “Someone could decide to use social media to make derogatory remarks about any number of elements associated with an organisation,” he said in the report.

Liquidity and capital availability also featured strongly as a risk concern, rising six and seven places up the list respectively.

Meanwhile, legal-specific risks ranked 11th – down five places from 2009/10. Venning believes that, like corporate governance, legal risks have slid down the list of concerns due to increasing attention being placed on capital availability and structure (up seven places from the previous year), liquidity and the impact of regulation. LW

Are social media risks keeping lawyers offline? See our cover story on page 16.

Top 20 risk concerns... for businesses in 2010/11 and their change from the 2009/10 survey 01 Brand and image 002 Liquidity +603 Human resources +104 Systems -2 05 Information management +2 06 Impact of regulation +507 Corporate governance -408 Market environment +109 Business interruption -410 Capital availability/structure +7 11 Legal -512 Liability +1 13 Credit +7 14 Lack of innovation -4 15 Environmental impact +416 Market risk/Treasury -417 Physical assets -218 Natural disasters/climate change 019 Loss of intellectual property -520 Internal fraud +1

Aon’s Australasian Risk Management Benchmarking Survey tracks the top-20 risk concerns based on 446 respondents from major Australian and New Zealand corporate and public sector organisations.

L W_ 5 3 0 . p g 0 1 0 . p d f P a g e 1 0 1 8 / 0 4 / 1 1 , 4 : 0 1 P M

L W_ 5 3 0 . p g 0 1 1 . p d f P a g e 1 1 1 8 / 0 4 / 1 1 , 4 : 5 5 P M

12 l aw y e r s w e e k ly 2 2 a p r i l 2 011 www.lawyersweekly.com.au

chinareport

China is a country at the crossroads.At the same time as it is cracking down on

political dissent, rounding up agitators in an attempt to prevent any type of Arab-style

uprising, it continues to open up its business markets and provide limited social freedoms.

Just this month, the legendary American folk singer Bob Dylan was granted a licence to perform at a concert in China, though government authorities had to approve the set-list.

Its economy continues to grow at a rate of just under 10 per cent GDP growth per quarter, with China surpassing Japan as the world’s second largest economy in 2010. In fact, the economy is growing so fast that the Chinese authorities have raised interest rates twice this year, in a bid to encourage savings and rein in inflation.

As one of more than 150 foreign firms in China, Minter Ellison is eager to get a slice of the growing economic pie as China moves from a developing to a developed economy. Mark Green, the managing partner of Minters’ Melbourne and international offices, says the growth in China has flowed through to the bottom line of Australian firms with offices on the ground. “At least one-quarter of our revenue has international connotations,” he says. “That is a marked increase from a decade ago.”

Minters has more than 100 lawyers in its Hong Kong offices, with much smaller offices in Shanghai and Beijing – the latter office opening last year. China-related work is becoming an increasingly important part of the revenue stream for all Australian firms with offices there.

red dawn

Far from slowing down, the Chinese economy just keeps on growing. Justin Whealing looks at the new opportunities for Australian law firms

L W_ 5 3 0 . p g 0 1 2 . p d f P a g e 1 2 1 8 / 0 4 / 1 1 , 2 : 0 0 P M

l aw y e r s w e e k ly 2 2 a p r i l 2 011 13

chinareport

“We have been in China for over 20 years, and that has all been inbound work. Suddenly, within the last two years, the outbound work has shifted dramatically” Paul Quinn, Partner, allenS arthur robinSon

L W_ 5 3 0 . p g 0 1 3 . p d f P a g e 1 3 1 8 / 0 4 / 1 1 , 2 : 0 0 P M

14 l aw y e r s w e e k ly 2 2 a p r i l 2 011 www.lawyersweekly.com.au

chinareport

Allens Arthur Robinson was one of the first Australian firms to enter China, establishing offices in Shanghai in 1996 and Beijing in 2005, after opening in Hong Kong in 1988. With around 20 lawyers working out of mainland China, its strength on the ground is relatively modest when compared with the firm’s overall network. But, in a similar vein to Minters, it is becoming an increasingly important part of the firm’s international reach.

“Our China-related revenue, which is a deal that has a China aspect, such as a Chinese entity investing abroad, has grown substantially,” says Paul Quinn, the executive partner of the firm’s north Asia practice.

Allens certainly has some heavyweight Chinese clients. In addition to acting for large Australian clients with extensive business links in China, such as Rio Tinto, it has acted for China Mining Partners and also had a role on the Chuandongbei sour gas project – China’s largest onshore natural gas joint venture involving a foreign partner.

The country has provided plenty of opportunities for businesses looking to tap into a potential market of over one billion people. However, as the Chinese market becomes more sophisticated, the latest stage of that develop-ment drive has involved Chinese companies looking outward.

At Allens, Quinn says the firm’s recent focus has been acting for Chinese clients doing outbound work, particularly in the area of energy and resources. “We have been here for over 20 years, and that has all been inbound work. Suddenly, within the last two years, the outbound work has shifted dramatically,” says Quinn. “That has been a conscious decision by the Chinese government.”

With Chinese eyes now looking outside of China, it is not just the Australian firms looking to cash in. “It used to be an inbound market, but is now an outbound market,” says Tom Luckock, a Norton Rose partner and climate change specialist based in Beijing since 2004.

“Around 60 per cent of our work is now outbound based.” Unlike many firms in China, Norton Rose has a bigger presence in Beijing than Shanghai, with 26 lawyers in the capital and 10 in China’s financial centre.

In addition to Allens and Minters, Mallesons Stephen Jaques is the third Australian firm with a meaningful presence in China, with offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong. Chief executive partner Robert Milliner says the firm’s client base is fairly evenly split between

China had about 18

gigawatts of wind power coming online last year, while Australia only had 2GW of installed capacity”

Tom LuCkoCk, pArTner, norTon rose

China is a no-brainer

for us and so is mongolia. That is frontier land which is deep in energy and resources”

mArk Green, pArTner, minTer eLLison

L W_ 5 3 0 . p g 0 1 4 . p d f P a g e 1 4 1 8 / 0 4 / 1 1 , 2 : 0 5 P M

l aw y e r s w e e k ly 2 2 a p r i l 2 011 15

chinareport

Australian clients investing in China, such as Telstra, direct foreign investment into China from foreign companies or financial institutions, and Chinese or Hong Kong-based companies. He says it is the latter that is providing opportunities for law firms in the long-term.

“Previously we have relied more on Australian-based clients, but for us there has been a real growth in both our local Chinese client base and more opportunities to do broader commercial work coming out of the rest of the world, particularly from the investment banks.”

Green growthChina’s growing economy means it has a voracious appetite for resources, with the government engaging in massive investment in both old and renewable energy sources.

China has set some ambitious environmental targets, seeking to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 40 to 45 per cent by 2020 compared with 2005 levels. This is despite China being the largest greenhouse gas emitter in the world, largely due to its massive consumption of coal.

That will not slow down any time soon, with China still building coal-generated power stations and announcing plans earlier this month to invest in South African coal assets.

“China is engaging in renewable energy, but it is part of a complex web of further power generation to meet their demand cycle over the next period,” explains Mark Green.

Climate change partner Tom Luckock has certainly been kept busy in his Beijing-based practice. He says much of the outbound work he is acting on is in the renewable energy sector and the development of related technology. “Chinese turbine manufacturers, backed by the banks, are looking to export into Europe, Australia and a number of other places,” he says.

In fact, Luckock bemoans the focus on China’s greenhouse emissions, pointing out that it is more advanced than many Western economies when it comes to the use of clean sources of energy, with around 30 per cent of the world’s solar panels being made in China.

“Sometimes China gets a bad reputation on climate change, and I don’t understand why,” says Luckock. “China had about 18 gigawatts of wind power coming online last year, while Australia only had two gigawatts of installed capacity.

“China has invested a huge amount of money in the development of technology into renewable sources of energy and the develop ment of technology around that, and now that technology is looking outwards.”

In addition to old and new energy sources, the developing Chinese economy has opened up growth opportunities around infrastructure and financial services. “As the market becomes more sophisticated, China will need financial products, as it has lots of liquidity but not a lot of product,” says Milliner.

“As well as green energy, health and educa- tion, the regular work in mining and resources will also provide opportunities. The Chinese market is incredibly interesting, and it is the biggest growth market in the world.”

New frontiersChina’s thirst for energy has meant that new frontiers have been opened up to satisfy its ever-increasing resources demand. Mongolia, to the north of China, has now become a hub for energy and resources work, as it has the world’s largest untapped resources of coking coal.

“We have done a lot of resource-based work in Mongolia recently, acting for foreign clients looking for exploration and other development work there,” says Allens partner Quinn.

Minters is in a similar position to Allens in that Mongolia is becoming an increasingly important part of the work flowing out of Chinese lawyers on the ground in China.

The firm has always used its Hong Kong and Chinese offices as a “hub” to act on other work throughout the Asian region. “It means trading in your niche areas, trading where there is a compelling reason for a client to mandate you,” says Green.

“China is a no-brainer for us and, interestingly enough, so is Mongolia, where we have acted for Australian and Chinese clients. That is frontier land which is deep in energy and resources, where our firm has significant expertise.”

In the current Australian legal market, where international firms are arriving in increasing numbers, large local firms such as Minters might even look to strike back by opening more international offices in the Asia-Pacific to broaden their coverage. It is something that Green doesn’t rule out in Mongolia.

“We would see something like a further push up into Mongolia as something to look at, because of that compelling reason for people to mandate us,” he says.

“It is probably more attractive for us to resource there rather than planting flags in Vietnam or Korea, where the market is very heavy and competitive.” lw

As the market becomes more

sophisticated, China will need financial products, as it has lots of liquidity but not a lot of product”

RobeRt MillineR, Chief exeCutive pARtneR, MAllesons stephen JAques

L W_ 5 3 0 . p g 0 1 5 . p d f P a g e 1 5 1 8 / 0 4 / 1 1 , 2 : 0 7 P M

coverstory

16 l aw y e r s w e e k ly 2 2 a p r i l 2 011 www.lawyersweekly.com.au

L W_ 5 3 0 . p g 0 1 6 . p d f P a g e 1 6 1 8 / 0 4 / 1 1 , 2 : 2 5 P M

l aw y e r s w e e k ly 2 2 a p r i l 2 011 17

coverstory

The considerable business development advantages of online networking channels such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and blogs have received widespread attention over the past few years.

However, many Australian lawyers and law firms remain reluctant to embrace social media, due to concerns about the effect on the firm’s brand and reputation, the type of information being shared, the impact on clients and productivity, plus the inability to determine an exact figure for the value of online initiatives.

This reluctance was revealed in a recent Lawyers Weekly poll on the utilisation of social media. The majority of the 186 respondents (32 per cent) said social media has no link to their employment or career and 24 per cent said it’s something they rarely or never use. Only 25 per cent felt social media was a useful tool for boosting their professional profile or a great way to network with industry peers (seven per cent). The remaining 12 per cent of respondents reported being too worried about the risk of what is said online to participate.

According to Aon’s 2010/11 Australasian Risk Management Benchmarking Survey, a business’s brand and image has been seen as the most important risk concern for Australian companies over the past four years, with the increased use of social networks pinpointed as a key risk factor.

“I see social media as a big issue. Someone could decide to use social media to make derogatory remarks about any number of elements associated with an organisation,” said general manager of treasury, risk and insurance for Coca-Cola Amatil, Michael Braude, who contributed to the survey.

A 2010 Corporate Counsel New Media Engagement Survey launched by Greentarget revealed that 75 per cent of respondents shared negative opinions when asked to describe their general attitude towards social media tools such as Twitter or blogs. Respondents commented that “Social media is not for business”,

follow the leaders Social media has taken off, so why are some lawyers still reluctant to join the flock? Briana Everett makes the case for building business online

“Some blogs are informative and credible but many are not”, “There is a tendency for overlap between personal and the professional” and “It’s unreliable, self-serving, a security risk and a time drain”.

a slow uptakeAlthough they acknowledge the potential risks of social networking to an organisation’s brand and image, social media experts say the value these tools can add in terms of information sharing, business development and far-reaching professional networks is too big to miss.

“What goes through lawyers’ minds is classic ‘lawyer brain’ thinking and that is risk-benefit analysis. They’re obsessed about the risks and I don’t think the benefits side is very clear to them,” says Tim Martin, the director of internet strategy consultancy 2 Sticks Digital.

“They’re not sold on a lot of this stuff because you can’t quantify the benefit. I agree there are risks – there are risks to leaving your house in the morning – but that doesn’t mean we all stay in bed and cower in the corner. There is more good from stepping out the door than staying in the house.”

While the Australian legal industry is slowly beginning to appreciate the value social media has to offer, the level of adoption and frequency of use is far behind that of other countries. “The thing that surprised me a year ago in Australia was not that Australian firms were so far behind the United States, but that social media was so far out of their consciousness – it wasn’t even on their radar,” says Adrian Dayton, a New York-based social media expert and author of Social Media for Lawyers: Twitter Edition.

“Most of the firms in the US – the innovative firms – have good social media policies in place that instruct not just on the things lawyers shouldn’t do but also the things lawyers should do.”

According to Greentarget’s new media engagement survey, while in-house counsel in the US continue to rely on “traditional media” as their leading source of business-related news and information, 43 per cent cited blogs and 26 per cent cited social media sites (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn) as their top “go-to” sources.

And it seems blogs are increasingly being considered the most beneficial among American lawyers in terms of business development, according to the survey, gaining broader acceptance as credible sources of information. Survey results revealed that as of March last year, 96 of the AmLaw 200 law firms in the US were blogging compared with 39 back in August 2007 – representing a 147 per cent increase. In addition, of the 297 blogs among them, 245 were firm-branded.

Even though blogging was ranked fourth behind referrals from trusted colleagues and website bios as a source of information, half of those surveyed agreed that in the future, high-profile blogs authored by law firm lawyers will influence the process by which clients hire law firms.

The case for social networkingWhether or not social media tools have a measurable, direct impact on business development for firms, the advantages they can provide for individual lawyers hoping to deepen their professional network are vast.

And while social media may not be the answer for every lawyer, platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn can

L W_ 5 3 0 . p g 0 1 7 . p d f P a g e 1 7 1 8 / 0 4 / 1 1 , 2 : 2 6 P M

18 l aw y e r s w e e k ly 2 2 a p r i l 2 011 www.lawyersweekly.com.au

coverstory

“Blogging shows people that it’s possible to be professional and human all at the same time. You find people who share your interests – and often they’re clients”natalie hickeY, partner, mallesons stephen jaques

“the best way to communicate with clients or the industry is a mix of everything; it’s not a one-stop shop” matthew traceY, lawYer, allens arthur roBinson

be viewed simply as an additional channel for delivering content – another tool in the toolbox.

As well as the positive effect social media has on client rela­tionships and business development, social media sites increase lawyers’ information­sharing capacity, helping them to keep informed of any legal or business developments in their sector.

“The best way to communicate with clients or the industry is a mix of everything; it’s not a one­stop shop,” says Matthew Tracey, Allens Arthur Robinson graduate and author of the LexMedia Australia blog.

“I don’t think social networking can ever replace meeting people face­to­face or having your name on a referenced article in a fantastic journal – it’s not on the same level – but it enhances the other networking that we do. If you’re speaking to clients face­to­face, you have that awareness and fluency about what’s going on [in the industry].”

While lawyers are still largely relying on the traditional method of face­to­face networking, credentialing themselves through writing journal articles and speaking at industry events, many have recognised the potential to significantly increase their pro­fessional network and build their online profile through social media platforms – all without leaving their desk.

“Anybody operating in the business space should have a personal online presence,” says Martin. “It could be LinkedIn or a blog, but at a minimum a website.”

According to Martin, a LinkedIn profile represents a completely updateable business card for lawyers. “The profile transcends time, place, industry or sector. It’s your personal brand, it’s your network,” he says. “Anyone in business who doesn’t think a network is a valuable thing is just not in the game. With an online network you can be connected to a lot of people to get information – sending signals out to your community

and receiving information back as a business intelligence tool.” Millions of lawyers agree. According to the New Media Engagement Survey, 1.5 millions lawyers represent the 50 million LinkedIn users.

Beyond LinkedIn, Martin says lawyers should also employ other credibility indicators, such as a blog, to build trust with their existing and potential clients. “As a credibility indicator, I think a blog is probably the next most important factor [behind an online profile],” he says.

“A blog is a way to show the world how much you know. You’ve got an opportunity to position yourself as a subject matter expert and that pulls a whole lot of people into your space. People want to do business with people based on a deep, credible knowledge base.”

Publishing a blog or update should not be thought of as a waste of time, adds Martin. “You’re actually investing in an online asset. The more you invest into it, the more you’ll get out of it.”

Mallesons Stephen Jaques partner Natalie Hickey has noticed the return on her social media investment as the editor of the firm’s blog, IP Whiteboard. Developed about two years ago as an alternative means of communicating with time­poor clients – in addition to email alerts and journal articles – the firm’s blog now boasts close to 3,000 visits a month, having jumped 1,000 visits over the past month alone.

“We weren’t sure who was actually reading journal articles any more, bearing in mind they do have their place, but we were conscious that it was unlikely to be clients,” she says.

While it’s been a “slow burn”, Hickey says the blog – which has up to 20 contributors, depending on the workload of each team – has been a success and has provided a key means of strengthening existing client relationships.

“Blogging shows people that it’s possible to be professional and human all at the same time. Given you’re writing in a more informal way about things that interest you, you find people who share those interests – and often they’re clients,” she says. “There’s a club­like atmosphere of writing about something and sharing that interest with your client and vice versa.”

One advantage, not envisaged by Hickey initially, is the increased industry exposure of contributing partners with respect to their particular area of expertise as journalists contact them for comment regarding specific blog posts.

Another benefit is the significant interest from university students and the impact the blog’s following can have on graduate recruitment rates. “University students are reading it, so it’s a really great way of encouraging recruitment,” says Hickey, referring to the recognition she receives from graduate lawyers who have keenly followed IP Whiteboard.

with close to 3,000 site visits a month, mallesons' legal blog, ip whiteboard, helps strengthen client relationships and drive recruitment

L W_ 5 3 0 . p g 0 1 8 . p d f P a g e 1 8 1 8 / 0 4 / 1 1 , 2 : 2 7 P M

l aw y e r s w e e k ly 2 2 a p r i l 2 011 19

coverstory

“Lawyers are obsessed about the risks and I don’t think the benefits side is very clear to them”TIm marTIn, dIrecTor, 2 STIckS dIgITaL

Given the potential risks of the blog to Mallesons’ brand and reputation, Hickey admits there was a rigorous internal approvals process that had to be undertaken before the blog received the go-ahead from management. That said, the firm had mechanisms in place from the outset to address any sensitive client alignments.

“The biggest risk is simply making clients uncomfortable with what you’re doing,” she explains. “But we have a double sign-off system for our posts. A media partner will sign off, then it comes to me and I make sure that it’s in keeping with our overall blog voice and it’s not mucking up with client alignments.”

Hickey says a lot of planning went into the blog before it was launched, with the team blogging internally for at least six months as a trial. “We decided we had better plan it because we’d seen a few blogs already out there where there had been a wave of enthusiasm in the first month or so and then it just died,” she says. “We were very careful with the structure we set up.”

According to Allens’ Tracey, whose blog LexMedia Australia is independent to his firm, any risks involved with social networking can be easily managed. “You can never reduce that risk altogether, but I guess the easiest way is to be clear with what you’re writing, what perspective it’s from as well as who you’re writing for,” he says.

Taking the leapWhether it’s Twitter, LinkedIn or a blog, social media experts say the biggest mistake lawyers can make when venturing into the social media space is to set up something and then do nothing. “Setting up a blog and then walking away is the most ridiculous thing,” says Martin.

“To build a network and nurture a network – putting yourself out there as someone who is credible and knows what they’re

doing – is a lot of work. If you’re not prepared to put a lot of time and energy into it, it’s not going to work.”

To most lawyers, the time and energy involved in social networking is understandably one of the biggest turn-offs, but those who have taken the leap say it takes just an hour or two each week – and it’s well worth it.

“The challenge of social media is about changing the habits and behaviours of lawyers, because currently they don’t have the extra hours every week to blog. It’s going to take better time management for them to make the time to blog and use Twitter,” says Dayton, suggesting lawyers “batch” their emails by only checking them at certain times of the day.

Emphasising the long-term nature of any online networking strategy, Martin warns lawyers not to give up. “I’d say you don’t see anything back at all for the first 12 months. It just sucks your time and that can be a bit disheartening, but then all of a sudden it kicks in and that’s pretty exciting,” he says.

According to Hickey, who helps manage Mallesons’ Melbourne trademarks practice while also juggling the firm’s social networking responsibilities, blogging successfully involves a lot of planning as well as sharing the workload. “It’s getting the structure right and getting lots of people to write because we all get really busy from time to time. The idea is to make sure you’ve got sufficient spread, so when one group is busy you’ve got another group who will have the time to post,” she explains.

“We’ve always been reasonably unambitious with our aims deliberately, with three to four posts a week.”

She adds that lawyers hesitant about blogging don’t have to be a journalist to be a good blogger. “Your audience will return to you because of the insight that you can offer over and above the news of the day,” she says. “Blogging is fun. We all take being lawyers very seriously, but we all became lawyers for a reason and that was because we are passionate and energetic about the subject matter of what we are doing.”

Tracey, who suggests linking blog posts with a Twitter account as a quick and easy way to build readership, says the most important thing is to be engaging. “Don’t talk to your audience,” he advises. “Ask questions of them. It’s very easy for people to stream out a whole lot of content, but to be engaging is different and I think that’s what makes things interesting.”

Regardless of the platform chosen, Martin reminds lawyers to keep it simple and position their online content for people in the real world – potential clients. “Some professional services firms use industry words or jargon. It’s called ‘fishbowling’ – when you represent the world from your perspective. It’s not about you. It’s about the people looking for you.” lw

1. profile photo: Make sure you have a profile picture – this is your brand.

2. add a link: Every Twitter profile can display one link to a website, blog or any URL. If you don’t have a blog or website, link your LinkedIn or Facebook profile.

3. interesting bio: Your bio needs to be believable but not boring. If you’re

in M&A, for example, what sets you apart? Why should people follow or add you to their contacts over any other Twitter or LinkedIn user?

4. word selection matters: Every word in your bio is searchable. Think very carefully about the words you use. At the same time, don’t stay strictly professional. People don’t want to hire just a lawyer – they want

to hire a person. Use words that show what you do and what you’re passionate about and it will lead you to lucrative relationships.

5. a high page rank on Google will not bring you more clients: People don’t choose lawyers based on search engine rankings. They choose lawyers based on experience and area of expertise as well as

relationships. That’s the real value of social media – it adds relationship-building to the website equation. Search engine optimisation is just another tool to drive traffic, but it won’t get you anywhere if your profile is not ready to engage potential clients the moment they arrive.

Source: Social Media for Lawyers: Twitter Edition by Adrian Dayton

How to build an effective online profile

L W_ 5 3 0 . p g 0 1 9 . p d f P a g e 1 9 1 8 / 0 4 / 1 1 , 2 : 2 8 P M

20 L AW Y E R S W E E K LY 2 2 A P R I L 2 011 www.lawyersweekly.com.au

Recognising excellence, innovation and leadership

within the Australian legal profession

2011 categories include:

Life Achievement Award

Young Gun Award

In-house Lawyer or Team Award

Managing Partner of the Year Award

Deal Maker of the Year Award

The College of Law - Law Student of the Year Award

Practice Manager of the Year Award

Box Breaker Award

Talent Manager of the Year Award

w w w.lawawards .com . au

2011 Awards

KEY DATES:

Nominations open Friday 8 April 2011

Nominations closeFriday 17 June 2011

Winners announcedThursday 4 August 2011

ANNOUNCING

L W_ 5 3 0 . p g 0 2 0 . p d f P a g e 2 0 1 8 / 0 4 / 1 1 , 2 : 3 2 P M

22%

careercounsel

of Leadership Management Australia. “With Australia facing overall skill and talent shortages for the future, we can’t afford to have such high levels of disengage­ment and low workplace commitment.

“Not only are organisations suffering in the area of productivity, they are also still shouldering the added cost of staff turnover.”

According to the survey, the challenge of finding the right people – and keeping them – is wearing leaders down and impacting negatively on their job satisfaction and subsequently the level of staff retention. “Clearly the pressure of talent management is felt at both ends of the scale – attraction and retention,” states the report.

LEAD claims leaders and managers need to reflect on how their own attitudes, and the signals they give off to current and prospective employees, can affect the willingness to join or stay with an organisation.

“Seek regular feedback to help modify or refine your attitudes. Be willing to listen to what others have to say about you, remembering that people join organisations and leave managers,” states the report.

“Take the time to get to know and understand the motivations of the key people in your team. Identify the change or changes needing to be made in order to ensure you’re not predisposing people to consider alternative employment.”

l aw y e r s w e e k ly 2 2 a p r i l 2 011 21

ONLY 28 per cent of those in leadership positions gain satisfaction from the work that they do, according to Leadership Management Australasia’s 2011 Leader­ship and Employment Direction (LEAD) Survey.

This lack of job satisfaction among leaders and managers, according to the survey targeting 500 senior managers and over 1000 middle managers, is a result of work/life balance issues, the pressures of finding and retaining quality staff, and high staff turnover.

However, it’s the negative attitudes of unsatisfied

The negative attitudes of unhappy managers undermine an organisation’s ability to attract and retain staff. Briana Everett reports

leaders and managers that are making matters worse. According to the LEAD survey, leaders and managers need to recognise the impact that issues such as a lack of work/life balance can have on their attitude to their work and be aware of the impression they convey when they experience a lack of balance.

“Organisations need to engage their leaders because they in turn influence the engagement, morale, productivity and commitment of the greater workforce,” said Grant Sexton, executive chairman

With Australia facing overall skill and talent

shortages for the future, we can’t afford to have such high levels of disengagement and low workplace commitment”

Bad influence

SOURCE: CAREERBUILDER.COM

THE BIG six of law have jumped aboard a new online job service that aims to take recruiters out of the process by better linking candidates to potential employees.

Twosteps, launched by former EA International director and well­known headhunter Edward Andrew, has confirmed with Lawyers Weekly that all six top­tier law firms have agreed to trial the new service, along with 50 or so smaller law firms in Australia and another 50 in the United Kingdom.

of those who would dismiss a candidate for failing to send a thankyou note say it indicates they are not serious about the job

of managers say they are less likely to hire a candidate if they don’t send a thankyou note/email after an interview

56%

stepping up online recruitment

Andrew has launched the service with long­time friend Jane Rae, from London, with an initial focus on both the Australian and UK legal markets.

The site offers a job board service, alongside secure networking and custom­built technology providing tracking, screening and management to enable employers to create a “talent bank” for their current and future candidate searches.

Sinclair Cruickshank, Twostep’s Asia­Pacific director, said the site aims to act as a direct interface between law firms and candidates, noting that both sides of the appointment process will benefit from the ability to send direct private messages, undertake clear job and candidate searches, and provide as much or as little information on their profiles as they see fit.

L W_ 5 3 0 . p g 0 2 1 . p d f P a g e 2 1 1 8 / 0 4 / 1 1 , 1 : 5 0 P M

22 l aw y e r s w e e k ly 2 2 a p r i l 2 011 www.lawyersweekly.com.au

AN AMERICAN judge who was appointed to the bench of the US Federal Court by John F. Kennedy has said the only way he will give up his post is by going “feet first”.

The Associated Press reports that 103-year-old District Judge Wesley Brown, who gets around in an electric wheelchair and is permanently attached to an oxygen tank via nasal tubes, is the oldest working federal judge in the nation.

Federal judgeships are lifetime appointments, and it seems that Brown is taking this literally. “As a federal judge, I was appointed for life or good behaviour, whichever I lose first,” he said.

David Sellers, a spokesman for the Administrative Office of the US Courts, said that of the 1,294 sitting federal judges, Brown is one of 516 with “senior status”, a form of semi-retirement that allows a judge to continue being paid when working reduced case load.

Overall, senior status judges handle almost one-quarter of all federal district trials. Brown, who took senior status in 1979 but continued to work full-time until recently, still takes his full quota of new civil cases.

“I do it to be a public service,” he said. “You got to have a reason to live. As long as you perform a public service, you have a reason to live.”

Every morning at 8.30 am, Brown gets a lift from the retirement home where he lives. He works until about 3pm, presiding over hearings, reading court filings and discussing cases with his clerks who handle legal research.

Brown also has a computer on his desk, which he uses to keep up to speed with current events and trends.

Despite Brown’s lingering acuity, some parties have voiced concerns about a centenarian hearing their cases. “I don’t care how good a guy he is,” said a recent litigant in a matter over which Brown presided.

“Your mental and physical attributes diminish with age and I think there should be a cut-off date for federal judges. This is ridiculous to have him in there at that age.”

Brown was born on 22 June 1907 and is six years older than the next oldest sitting federal judge. At least eight other federal judges are in their 90s, according to statistics in the federal court database.

Brown began his career in private practice in 1933 and was appointed a US district judge in 1962. He has outlived two wives, moved into a retirement home four years ago, and was able to play golf with his staff until 2006.

Brown has, however, asked his colleagues to let him know if they feel that he is no longer able to do his job. “I will quit this job when I think it is time,” said Brown. “And I hope I do so and leave the country in better shape because I have been a part of it.”

Centenarian judge will sleep when he’s dead

folklaw

FEMALE TRAINEES at a global law firm have been given a dressing down by partners about the way they, well, dress down.

RollonFriday reports that some female Allen & Overy graduates received a gentle reminder from the Trainee Solicitor Liaison Committee representative about what is appropriate apparel for the office.

The rep sent this rather convivial email to the trainees in question in order to avoid any embarrassing confrontations:

Ladies – bit of a random one, but we’ve been asked to draw your attention to the fact that HR have received numerous complaints about the way female trainees have been dressing around the office. The main problem seems to be very short skirts and high heels and generally looking like we’re going clubbing instead of to the office (as well as a failure to brush our hair, apparently!). HR would like this to be addressed asap so they don’t have to have uncomfortable discussions with individuals about it, especially as we’re now getting into summer and are more likely to be wearing less as it gets hotter!The complaints were reportedly made by

some of the firm’s senior partners, and a spokesman for the firm told RollonFriday that “the sartorial elegance of A&O’s trainees has been well known for many years. However, it seemed a good idea to suggest the gentle application of a little common sense when deciding what to wear to work in the morning as we want our clients to remember what they say, not what they wear”.

Sartorial inelegance earns grads a friendly warning

FOR UNHAPPY couples residing in the Central Asian nation of Tajikistan, getting divorced is about to get a whole lot harder.

This doesn’t mean that divorce will now be difficult: it just means that, until now, it has been extraordinarily easy.

The Times reports that in Tajikstan, the practice of ending one’s marriage via text message, using the “triple talaq” rule, is quite common.

“Talaq” is the Arabic term for divorce and, in the predominantly Muslim country, a jaded hubby simply has to say, “I divorce you” to his wife three times, in whatever manner he chooses, and the marriage is dead and buried.

This unusual method has already been outlawed in Muslim-majority nations such as Turkey, Tunisia, Algeria, Iraq, Iran, Indonesia, Pakistan and Bangladesh. In India, reciting the triple talaq needs to be accompanied by arbitration and reconciliation.

Now, Tajikistan’s head of the state religious affairs committee, Abdurakhim Kholikov, has announced that sending text messages containing the triple talaq is a breach of Islamic law and is planning to outlaw it entirely.

Apparently, the ban is particularly aimed at the growing number of Tajik men who have moved to Russia in an attempt to find work and, obviously enjoying the local hospitality, end up sending those three little SMSes to their Tajik wives.

L W_ 5 3 0 . p g 0 2 2 . p d f P a g e 2 2 1 8 / 0 4 / 1 1 , 1 : 5 2 P M

Journal of Contract Law Conference

Commercial Contract Law:Malaysian and International Perspectives

10-11 June 2011Shangri-La Tanjung Aru Resort & Spa, Sabah, Malaysia

In association with the Sabah Law Association and the Commercial Law Association of AustraliaFor more information see www.cla.org.au or phone (612) 9979 1364

Speakers include:Justice Tan Sri Datuk Seri Panglima Richard Malanjum,

Justice Andrew Phang, Professor Michael Furmston, Dato’ RR Sethu, Professor Howard Hunter, Professor John Carter,

Dr David Fung

L W_ 5 3 0 . p g 0 2 3 . p d f P a g e 2 3 1 8 / 0 4 / 1 1 , 4 : 4 1 P M

Tim Fogarty Private PracticeMelbourne

THE SR GROUP . BREWER MORRIS . CARTER MURRAY . FRAZER JONES . PARKER WELLS . SR SEARCH . TAYLOR ROOT LONDON . DUBAI . HONG KONG . SINGAPORE . SYDNEY . MELBOURNE

Expect professional advice from real professionalsAt Taylor Root, most of our consultants have trained and practiced as lawyers. That’s why they’re well qualifi ed to advise you on your next career move. And it’s one of the reasons we’ve been the market leader in legal recruitment for more than 23 years. For the widest range of opportunities, both in-house and private practice, contact us on+61 (0)2 9236 9000 or visit taylorroot.com.au

taylorroot.com.au

032153-297x235-LW.indd 1 12/04/2011 10:08

L W_ 5 3 0 . p g 0 2 4 . p d f P a g e 2 4 1 8 / 0 4 / 1 1 , 1 : 0 2 P M