Judges

Adrian Tembel is an economics and honours law graduate of the University of Adelaide. He began practising corporate and technology law in 1993 at his law firm Thomson Geer. He became a Partner of that firm in 1997 and its Chief Executive Partner in 2009. He is also a part-time Commissioner of the South Australian Productivity Commission and a Director of the Hackett Foundation.

Ali joined LexisNexis in 2017 as Head of Legal for the Pacific Region. Ali and her team work with LexisNexis’ Australian and New Zealand businesses providing advice across issues from intellectual property and digital media through to privacy and competition laws.
Ali has held senior legal roles across a variety of industries internationally, including higher education, renewable energy and leisure. Ali’s focus is on working closely with the business to address both the opportunities and the challenges presented by rapid advances in technology, changing customer needs and the evolving nature of legal practice across the region and the world.

Barry is Head Counsel, Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea for Baker Hughes, a NYSE listed energy technology company. Baker Hughes designs, manufactures and services transformative technologies to facilitate the global energy transition.

Barry is a recent addition to the legal profession in Australia, having first qualified in Scotland more than 25 years ago. He has spent almost his entire legal career in industry, working on oil and gas projects internationally with some of the world’s largest service companies. At one, the offshore drilling company Transocean, he led the Legal Global Operations function, working closely with the business in harnessing opportunities and resolving challenges while developing a diverse, multi-cultural team. His career has taken him from the UK to Australia via Paris and Houston, arriving in Perth in 2018. Having qualified in WA in 2018, he is now proud to be a fully-fledged member of the profession in Australia. Barry is passionate about lawyers becoming leaders, given their breadth of business knowledge and ability to identify and assess risk, and keenly promotes innovation in the provision of legal services. Outside of work, Barry enjoys golf (sometimes) and watching most sports as well as spending time with the four women in his life, his wife and three daughters.

Cassandra is the CEO for a family office based in Saudi Arabia, responsible for overseeing strategy, investments, reputational management, and general operations internationally. Prior to her move to Saudi Arabia, Cassandra was an Australian based lawyer in Sports and Corporate Risk, where she advised on commercial matters in sports, entertainment and insurance. Cassandra's practice also involved strategic advice to Boards and CEOs on governance and risk management issues, and she acted in insurance disputes primarily in the management liability, professional indemnity, medical negligence and public liability space

Claire is COO & General Counsel of Immediation, a non-executive director of Marist180, My Property Circles, and the University of Technology Sydney Law Advisory Board, an accredited mediator and a mentor.

In addition, Claire is an executive member of the Australian Association of Corporate Counsel, an Entrepreneur Ambassador for Opportunity International, and a committee member of Soroptimist International, the New South Wales Law Society Futures Committee and the Resolution Institute. Claire is also a Foundation Speaker with The Prominenti Society Speakers Agency.

Claire has been recognised as one of Australia’s best lawyers and female executives, including having been awarded the “Excellence Award for Women in Law”, “General Counsel of the Year”, “Female Executive of the Year in Asia, Australia & New Zealand”, “Mentor of the Year” and most recently she was featured in SmartCompany's 2018 International Women's Day Showcase.

Part and parcel with her passion for the law and advancing the interests of women, Claire is an active philanthropist and public speaker on issues of innovation, diversity and inclusion, psychological wellness, developing high performing teams and women’s leadership. Claire is also a mentor for 7 x World Surfing Champion Layne Beachley AO's "Aim for the Stars" Foundation.

Damian is one of the founders of the innovative Australian firm, Marque Lawyers where he heads up the Dispute Resolution team.
Damian has almost 30 years’ experience as a commercial litigator with specialist expertise in the areas of international arbitration and cross border dispute resolution. He has run international arbitrations in London, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Singapore.
He is recognised as one of Australia’s leading lawyers in the field of Dispute Resolution by Legal 500, Best Lawyers and the Chambers Global and Asia Pacific Guides. In 2018 he was named the Arbitration Lawyer of the year by Best Lawyers. He is a Visiting Professorial Fellow at UNSW.

Danielle Keyes is the Group General Counsel for NOVA Entertainment where she advises the business across all facets of its broadcasting and audio entertainment activities. Prior to joining NOVA, Danielle was the General Counsel for Guzman y Gomez Mexican Kitchen where she established and delivered the legal function for the Australian operations and guided the business through its expansion into international markets. Danielle’s private practice experience spans 12 years as an insolvency and financial services litigation lawyer at global law firms DLA Piper and Norton Rose Fulbright where she advised clients across a range of industries and sectors on a multi-jurisdictional basis. Danielle is a former Queensland Law Society Councillor; has been twice recognised on the Best Lawyers in Australia list; and twice recognised at the Corporate Counsel Awards (2022 FMCG Lawyer of the Year & 2021 FMCG Team of the Year).

The Croesus Holdings Group comprises six companies, which provide services in Project Management; Corporate Legal Compliance; Management Training & Education; Environmental GRC; ADR (mediation, arbitration & adjudication); and Litigation Funding.

Previously, Garry was Managing Director of an international Investment Bank with offices in Sydney, Vancouver, New York, London, Dublin, Hong Kong and Singapore. Those activities involved him in international capital raising; public listings; distressed company “turn-arounds”; workplace & employment relations; drafting & management of contracts; project management; governance & risk assessment; corporate strategic planning; supply chain logistics & human rights; corporate legal compliance; environmental sustainability; and optimising management outcomes.

Geraldine Johns-Putra is an experienced corporate lawyer and expert in enterprise governance, purpose, business & human rights and modern slavery. She runs her own practice in Melbourne focussing on enterprises seeking purpose, and actors in the impact economy. She is legal advisor to not-for-profits making an impact in this space, including B Lab Australia & NZ and Impact Investing Australia. Her purpose is to use the law to build more purposeful enterprises & ecosystems for a happier world.

She has over 20 years' experience practising law in Australia, the UK, Hong Kong and China. She has worked with large global and Australian law firms and was a partner of a top-tier Australian law firm for several years. She sits on the Council of Monash University.

Glenn is a passionate and driven corporate and transactional lawyer, specialising in mergers and acquisitions and complex commercial arrangements.

Glenn advises both Australian and international clients on a range of corporate and commercial matters, including corporate transactions, advisory work, joint ventures, capital raisings, shareholder arrangements, corporate structuring and reorganisations, as well as directors’ duties.

He is an experienced negotiator and provides our clients with accurate, succinct and practical solutions to challenging and technical issues.In addition, Glenn has been recognised as a Leading Corporate/M&A Lawyer (Small & Mid-Market Matters – NSW) in Doyles Guide 2018 and has also been listed in Best Lawyers over the past four years for Equity Capital Markets Law and M&A Law. Glenn has also received recognition as one of Australia’s leading lawyers in private equity (IFLR 2012, ALB 2009, ALB 2007).

Prior to this appointment Dr Boersig worked as an Assistant Secretary in the Federal Attorney-General’s Department, responsible for a number of areas including Indigenous law and justice and human rights. Before joining the Attorney-General’s Department John practiced law in NSW, as a lawyer for the Aboriginal Legal Service and in private practice. He established the University of Newcastle Legal Centre and was Director of the Professional program in 1994. He was a part-time Presiding member of the Guardianship Tribunal for many years.
John has a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Sydney, and is an Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Canberra. He was awarded the Public Service Medal in the 2008 Queen’s Birthday Honours list.

Kiri is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at TurksLegal, a specialist commercial law firm who has established a strong reputation in the insurance, commercial and banking sectors.

Kiri works closely with the Chairperson and the Board, overseeing the day to day operations of the business, as well as developing the ongoing vision for the firm's future along with creating and implementing successful strategies and systems across our 200 strong East Coast practice.

Having over 15 years of experience across a range of business critical areas including Human Resources, Marketing, Business Development, Operations, Finance and IT, Kiri is able to provide solutions which deliver a competitive edge while meeting commercial realities.

Kiri is passionate about mentoring and developing future leaders and is always willing to share her experiences both personally and professionally to assist others in their pursuits. She currently mentors a number of females who are in different stages of their career progression.

Prior to becoming CEO of TurksLegal, Kiri was the Chief Operating Officer (COO) at an international accounting and business advisory firm.

Kiri’s other most recent successes have been winning Executive of the Year - 2020 Women in Law Awards and COO of the Year - 2019 Executive Awards.

Linda Baxter is the Director, Continuing Professional Development and part of the senior management team at Leo Cussen Centre for Law. Having previously been in private practice followed by a regulatory investigative role, Linda also writes materials and trains legal practitioners in Ethics & Professional Conduct.

Pepe is committed to assisting families to separate in a better way, working with her clients to resolve their family law matters sensibly, with purpose, and minimal financial strain, empowering them to move forward and begin the next chapter in their lives.

Practicing family law for over 12 years, Pepe is trained in conflict management coaching, advanced collaborative law and Human Services. She is also a qualified financial mediator and parenting co-ordinator, both of which are services that we also offer.

In 2020, Pepe created the The Kind Lawyers, and with 8 other family law professionals, is driving a movement that is all about changing the conversation about divorce from one of combat, to kindness. Her innovative approach to family law has seen her and Balance Family Law recognised with over 23 national and international awards and accolades, including Boutique Law Firm of the Year at the Australian Law Awards 2020, Family Law Partner of the Year at the Partner of the Year Awards 2021, and Sole Practitioner of the Year at the Australian Law Awards 2021.

Pepe is a Director of Pacifica Congress, a not-for-profit organisation that brings together family law professionals from the Pacific region who are working together to ensure that children and their families are better equipped to overcome the harm caused by family conflict. She is also an active member of the ACT Law Society’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee, the Canberra Collaborative Family Lawyers, and the Australian Association of Collaborative Professionals. Pepe is also the Co-Chair of Connecting Lawyer Mums, an organisation that seeks to provide networking and community connections to parents practicing law.

Rachael is a Professor in the Bond University Faculty of Law. She is Co-Director of the Bond Dispute Resolution Centre and Bond’s Centre for Professional Legal Education. Her areas of teaching and research expertise include dispute resolution, family law and domestic violence, lawyer and law student well-being and legal education (particularly foundations of law and transition in, through and out of law school). Rachael is an Australian Learning and Teaching Fellow, the winner of a National Teaching Citation and an Australian Teaching Excellence Award, and she is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. She founded the Australian Wellness Network for Law and co-founded the ADR Research Network. Rachael has been on the Women’s Legal Service Management Committee in Brisbane since 1993 and held the role of President from 2004 to 2020. She is now an Ambassador for the Service. In 2013 Rachael was named Queensland Woman Lawyer of the Year.

Sue Kench is the Global Chief Executive and Co-Chairman China of King & Wood Mallesons, Asia’s
leading international law firm.
Sue took on the Global Chief Executive role in 2017 after leading the firm in Australia for four years as
Chief Executive Partner, Australia. Sue was the first woman in Australia to lead a top tier law firm in
that role and is the first Australian female to lead a global law firm and a China firm.
Sue works closely with the Global Chairman and the firm’s International Management Committee to
lead the firm’s international growth strategy. Sue is based in Hong Kong and spends significant time
in China and Australia.
She became a Partner of legacy Mallesons Stephen Jaques in 1996 and has held a number of board,
management and leadership positions in the firm over the past two decades.
Amongst her many professional achievements, Sue has received a number of accolades and
acknowledgements for her impact and influence on the legal profession in the Asia Pacific. These
include:
• AFR Power List 2020 – Legal
• The Lawyers Weekly Lawyer of the 21st Century award recognising her significant
professional achievements between 2000 and 2020 (2020);
• Doctor of Letters honoris causa from Macquarie University in recognition of her extraordinary
contribution to the law (2019);
• The esteemed ‘Legal leader’ award, at the Financial Times Innovative Lawyer Awards, in
recognition of her significant role in driving King & Wood Mallesons growth and success
across APAC (2018);
• The Australian Financial Review’s Top 100 Women of Influence (2018);
• The Lawyers Weekly Executive of the Year award (2017).
Sue is on the Board of Directors of AUSTCHAM Beijing and is a member of The Wall Street Journal
CEO Council, Chief Executive Women and the Business Council of Australia

Sue-Ella specialises in helping lawyers and law firms create more rewarding practices through purposeful business strategy and positive client engagement.

Sue-Ella established her award-winning consultancy Prodonovich Advisory in 2005.

Her In-House roles have included Director of Marketing, Arthur Anderson; Director of Marketing & Business Development, Baker McKenzie; and Partner, Crowe Horwath.
Sue-Ella is a member of the teaching faulty of The College of Law, The Law Society of NSW, The Law Institute of Victoria, and FMRC. In 2011 she was inducted into the APSMA Hall Of Fame for services to the Australasian Professional Services Industry and in 2019 she was made a Fellow of the College of Law Firm Management. Her qualifications include an MBA, Bachelor of Commerce (Hons) (Law & Marketing) – VC List, the AICD Course for Company Directors, and the Net Promoter® Client Loyalty Program™.

Troy Swan is the Chief Legal Officer, Company Secretary and Board Member of the $1.4billion office products company Winc Australia & New Zealand. Winc was formed following the acquisition of Staples & OfficeMax by US based private equity firm Platinum Equity.

He has been publicly recognised as one of Australia's leading corporate lawyers and was named the 2017 Australian Lawyer of the Year (FMCG) and a General Counsel of the Year finalist in both 2016 and 2017. He became only the second Australian lawyer to win the prestigious International Value Champions Award in San Francisco and was recently named in Washington, the Association of Corporate Counsel Member of the Year, from over 43,000 lawyers worldwide for his commitment to the legal community and profession. This was the first time this honour was ever awarded to a lawyer outside America.

Known for his business judgment, he is highly active within the Sydney legal and business community. He is a regular speaker and media commentator on legal affairs, innovation and large scale legal service delivery models and leads an award winning legal team based in Sydney.