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Global law firm Ashurst Perkins Coie has appointed Lisa Dobbin and Josh Black as Sydney-based partners in its consulting business, Risk Advisory, with Dobbin to lead the financial crime offering and Black to expand its data and technology capability.
The appointments come as increased regulatory enforcement, along with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) reforms in Australia and overseas, place growing demands on organisations, the firm said.
Speaking about the appointments, Ashurst Perkins Coie NewLaw and Consulting global chair Hilary Goodier said: “These appointments mark an important step in expanding the firm’s financial crime capability. Lisa brings extensive experience advising on financial crime and has built and grown a substantial regional practice, while Josh brings a strong grasp of how data and AI can be applied to financial crime risk.
“Working closely with the firm’s Financial Regulatory, Disputes and Corporate Transactions lawyers, they will strengthen our ability to support clients on complex financial crime challenges, including cross-border mandates for multinational clients, bringing commercial and technical perspectives alongside trusted legal advice.”
The news follows the firm’s addition of a litigation partner from Clayton Utz back in August.
Dobbin and Black have come across from Deloitte, where they served as partners.
Risk Advisory continues to see client demand for its combined legal and consulting services, the firm noted, with Dobbin and Black the latest of seven partners to join its Asia-Pacific practice in the past year.
Dobbin has more than 24 years of consulting experience in financial crime, particularly AML/CTF, advising some of the largest organisations globally, and has led major engagements in response to regulatory and supervisory action, including civil penalty proceedings and enforceable undertakings, the firm said.
As Risk Advisory’s financial crime lead, Dobbin will work closely with the firm’s legal teams to support clients in meeting financial crime obligations, responding to regulatory action and developing effective anti-financial crime programs.
Black, meanwhile, has deep experience in financial crime data, analytics and AI, from onboarding and detection through to incident response and enforcement. He focuses on helping banks, payments providers and other financial institutions as they seek to solve data-intensive and technically complex challenges, the firm said.
Commenting on her move, Dobbin said: “Joining Ashurst Perkins Coie Risk Advisory’s global platform gives me a strong foundation to continue my work with clients to harden our institutions and the system against financial crime. International reforms to AML/CTF regulation, technological advances and geopolitical uncertainty are driving major transformation needs and regulators remain focused on enforcement to lift standards.
“Businesses will need to navigate these dynamics carefully to stay aligned with regulatory and societal expectations. I’m excited to build on Risk Advisory’s significant momentum with Josh and the wider team.”
Black said: “Financial crime is increasingly a technology problem, and clients need advisory and data skills working hand in hand. Institutions are under pressure to uplift their monitoring and controls, and I am attracted by Ashurst Perkins Coie’s commitment to innovation. I look forward to helping clients in financial services and beyond use data and technology to improve their compliance outcomes.”
