The Intellihub Group is an Australian and New Zealand-based utility services company that provides metering and data solutions and multi-utility services across electricity, gas, and water networks for residential, commercial, and industrial embedded network and solar metering customers.

Ms Baxter joined Intellihub Group in 2018, where she is the head of legal and risk function across Australia and New Zealand and is responsible for all legal, corporate governance, and risk matters. She is also a member of the executive leadership team and offers legal, commercial, and strategic advice.

She has experience in executive leadership in the energy sector, with a focus on deal structuring and commercial strategy and risk in the smart metering and smart grid technology sectors in Australia, New Zealand, and across the Asian region.

Ms Baxter was previously GC and chief compliance officer, Asia-Pacific region for Landis+Gyr and has more than 20 years of experience practising technology law, with positions at top-tier Wellington and Sydney law firms and senior in-house roles at PwC and IT services and consulting company FIS (previously SunGard).

Chronicling her career journey, she explained to Lawyers Weekly why working in energy and infrastructure law was more “good luck than good measure”, how it enables her to combine all her skills and legal and commercial intuition while contributing to strategic decisions as a key adviser, and how she provides diversity of leadership at the executive level in a sector where women are underrepresented.

She also asserted that in order for in-house counsel to prove their value proposition to companies and to be seen as a “strategic advantage”, they must participate in the broader business conversations and proactively contribute to their strategy rather than simply becoming a “rubber stamper”.

In addition, Ms Baxter provided words of wisdom for new lawyers contemplating becoming in-house lawyers in her field and outlined some of the developments on the horizon in electricity and infrastructure.

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What is the most exciting aspect of being an in-house GC at Intellihub and in the energy sector and metering sector?

The part of my role I enjoy the most is the opportunity to contribute directly to the strategic growth of Intellihub. At Intellihub, we have a strong sense of purpose, while innovation is at the heart of everything we do. I am surrounded by passionate, hardworking, and intelligent people who are constantly pushing the boundaries of the possible. As a group executive, I oversee our governance, legal and regulatory compliance and contribute to continued growth through the provision of commercial and strategic advice. In an industry sector where women are still underrepresented, the most exciting aspect of being an in-house GC at Intellihub is the opportunity to provide diversity of leadership and thought at the executive table.

You’re involved in some pretty complex aspects of the law, including deal structuring and commercial strategy and risk in the smart metering and smart grid technology sectors. What aspects of these areas excite you the most?

All of the above. The ability to combine all my broad skills in legal and commercial, my intuition and common sense along with a long-term view of strategy is what excites me. In my GC role, I have the rare opportunity to contribute to all material strategic decisions as a key adviser. While I certainly still enjoy complex legal analysis, the work of a GC that excites me the most is the strategic analysis. The most exciting part at Intellihub is the Greenfields work where I get to support the business to bring blue-sky thinking to fruition. This almost inevitably combines complex legal analysis, deal structuring and commercial strategy, which, for me, is the perfect mix.

What led you to focus on these aspects of the law?

I’d love to say I had some grand plan that I followed and executed. But honestly, coming to energy and infrastructure law was more good luck than good measure. On reflection, I was curious and found myself in the right place at the right time – but wasn’t astute enough to have actually known it at the time. 

My early career in New Zealand involved working in a private practice general commercial telecommunications/energy team. This coincided with the deregulation of the telecommunications sector in New Zealand (right place, right time). From there, it was a natural next step to expand my skill set to include IT law when I relocated to Sydney. This coincided with the end of the dot.com boom and the era of complex IT licences and outsourcing arrangements (right place, right time).

A few years later, after some in-house experience, I was approached to apply with a global electricity metering manufacturer (with little manufacturing contract experience). This appointment coincided with the beginning of the rollout of advanced metering infrastructure across the Asia-Pacific region and the Power of Choice reforms in 2014 designed to incentivise the rollout of smart advanced metering infrastructure across Australia (right place, right time).

Over the years, I haven’t been afraid to take a leap of faith and take on roles that were adjacent to (but not necessarily within) my current skill set. I have always remained open to opportunities. This, coupled with a natural curiosity and a desire to serve my clients as best I can, has led me to this area of practice. Now that I am here, I find myself yet again in the right place at the right time as we embark on a 2030 decarbonisation target.

Why is it important right now to provide legal support and compliance advice in areas like infrastructure and energy?

We are at the forefront of an energy transformation, and the pace of future rollouts of smart metering infrastructure will grow exponentially. With any growth comes risk, and so it is critical that legal, risk and compliance advisers in this space contribute to the discussion and commercial decisions. It is important that businesses in this space are properly supported across a range of areas, including product safety, workplace safety, compliance with rules and regulations, modern slavery, ESG, and corporate compliance. Long-term and sustainable growth is dependent on the foundations of good governance and regulatory compliance.

What constitutes success for you as an in-house lawyer?

When my client is successful, and I have contributed to that success, then I have done my job well. There are, of course, attributes that make a good in-house lawyer, like being a good communicator, team player, problem solver and pathfinder, but these are just the table stakes. The ultimate mark of success as an in-house lawyer is the contribution to the successful and sustained growth of the corporate client.

What challenges have you faced in your work, and how have you overcome them? What lessons did you learn from this?

A constant challenge for in-house legal teams is to establish their value proposition. More often than not, the value an in-house legal team can bring to an organisation above and beyond its cost – is undervalued. It is not uncommon for an in-house lawyer to be employed simply to reduce the cost of external legal fees. This view, if not countered, sets in-house counsel up for failure – they start on day one viewed as a “necessary evil”, rather than a “strategic advantage”. As an in-house counsel, there is a constant challenge to establish value.  

In my early career, particularly when I was the first “in-house counsel”, this required perseverance and patience. It wasn’t simply a matter of “doing more with less”, or just “doing better”. It required a constant effort to learn about the business, get close to strategy, and take the initiative to speak up and contribute to the broader conversation proactively and not reactively. By ensuring I was a part of the conversation and providing proactive and not reactive advice, I ensured I wasn’t relegated to the traditional role of “approver” or “rubber stamper”, but rather a valued and critical strategic contributor to the business. This is a mindset change from private practice. In an in-house role, you need to think outside the square and identify where you can add value. It is not enough to sit back and wait for instructions; often, by then, it is too late, and it may be very difficult to add very much strategic value at all.

What opportunities do you see for other lawyers (including new and young lawyers) entering your field and wanting to work as an in-house lawyer?

The opportunities for all lawyers to pave a career in-house have never been better. Notwithstanding the challenges of establishing a value proposition under cost pressures, more companies today recognise the value a strong in-house team can bring, not just as a way to minimise external legal spend but as a strategic and commercial advantage. Companies recognise the value of having a legal team closely aligned to the goals and objectives of a business not only as a risk mitigation, but as a value creator, providing diversity of thought to the strategic discussion. As legal teams become more established, there is greater opportunity for younger lawyers to make the move to in-house roles at an earlier stage of their career. The variety and depth of work available in-house could provide them with a fantastic opportunity to learn and hone their commercial and legal skills.

What guidance/tips would you have for other young lawyers coming through the ranks and facing/overcoming challenges?

The first partner (and mentor) advised me that her words to live by were “take the path less travelled” (Robert Frost) and “to thine self be true” (Shakespeare – Hamlet). These words have stayed with me. Your moral and ethical compass are the strongest tools you have in your toolbox. Be curious, ask questions, trust your instincts and ultimately, ask the question, “is it the right thing to do”.

What new exciting developments are on the horizon in your field of law?

At Intellihub, we are exploring opportunities in the distributed energy resources (DER) smaller generation units that are located on the consumer’s side of the metre (for example, rooftop solar and batteries) and virtual power plant (VPP) space. VPPs are a network of connected solar batteries that can be coordinated like a pop-up power plant. Together, the energy drawn from each battery can provide a large bank of controllable solar energy. DER and VPP technologies and innovations can help stabilise the electricity grid and reduce reliance on coal power. DER and VPP technologies will help create a future where energy is more affordable and renewable, and that is really exciting.

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