She is presently a non-executive director of Wesfarmers Limited, chairman of Broadspectrum (a role she will relinquish pending shareholder approval of her appointment to AGL Energy’s board) and president of Chief Executive Women.

Henry Davis York chairman Scott Atkins said the appointment of Ms Smith-Gander as a director was a coup for the firm and would strengthen the board immeasurably.

“The pace and ongoing rate of change in the legal sector in Australia and internationally is virtually unrivalled by any other sector of business and we must continually and quickly adjust to the challenges this brings,” Mr Atkins said.

“We are genuinely excited by Diane's appointment as it strengthens our ability to meet these challenges head-on and ensure our firm is prepared and fully equipped to exploit opportunities as they arise.”

Ms Smith-Gander said the attraction of Henry Davis York was to work with an organisation that understands it must keep reshaping itself, not only to stay relevant in a hyper-competitive environment, but to succeed through delivering excellence and value to its clients.

“HDY recognises it must swiftly and continually evolve in order to succeed in a market for legal services that faces enormous disruption occurring at unprecedented pace,” Ms Smith-Gander said.

“I look forward to making a contribution to the ongoing and sustained success of this leading Australian law firm. Organisations that respect their legacy but have a bias to change for the good help Australia grow.”

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