Christchurch lawyers make elite list

Charlene Sell. Photo: Supplied

Several of the South Island's top lawyers have been recognised in New Zealand Lawyer’s second annual Elite Women list.

Legal professionals throughout the country were invited to nominate "exceptional" female leaders and nominations were then narrowed down to a final list of 44 women.

Five of them were from Canterbury, two were from Otago, 29 were from Auckland, one was from Waikato, and seven were from Wellington.

Christchurch-based lawyer Charlene Sell was selected for her outstanding professional ability and helping to carve out a path for other young lawyers to follow.

Sell leads Wynn Williams' Christchurch commercial and property team.

Aside from her leadership qualities, NZ Lawyer noted the work she does in the community as a trustee of Graeme Dingle Foundation.

Fiona McMillan. Photo: Supplied

Lane Neave partner and Canterbury University graduate Fiona McMillan claimed a spot on the annual rankings, along with fellow partner Rebecca Scott who was an intern director on the board of Christchurch City Holdings Ltd and currently sits on an advisory board.

McMillan is a Partner of the employment law team and commenced her career with Lane Neave in 2007.

McMillan specialises in assisting employers with all employment law related advice including collective bargaining, independent external investigations and human rights commission matters.

Scott is a Partner in Lane Neave’s dispute resolution and litigation team.

She has over 20 years’ experience in New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

Scott has advised and appeared in court on a wide range of commercial and civil litigation disputes including shareholder disputes, negligence, property claims and family disputes.

She has particular expertise in electricity litigation and agribusiness issues.

Rebecca Scott. Photo: Supplied

Scott also has an interest in governance and provides advice on director and shareholder issues.

She has previously been an intern director on the board of Christchurch City Holdings Limited and currently sits on an advisory board.

Among the others representing the South Island were Anderson Lloyd partners Anne McLeod (Dunedin) who started out at the firm's Christchurch office and Kerry O’Donnell (Queenstown).

Nominators were asked to describe the nominee’s standout professional achievements over the past 12 months, along with their contributions to diversity and inclusion and how they had given back through volunteer roles and charity work. Recommendations from managers and senior industry professionals were also taken into account.

O’Donnell is a partner in the firm’s property and private client team and has also been chairwoman of Anderson Lloyd’s partners since April last year.

Her vision for the firm during her tenure was to collaboratively drive change in the firm and the legal industry, to preserve the health and well-being of staff during and post the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as maintaining a successful and high-performing business.

A commercial property specialist, with a focus on property developments, she had always wanted to specialise in commercial law and began her law practice at a time when there was significant growth in property development.

Anne McLeod. Photo: Supplied

"One of the great rewards from working in the development property sector is the opportunity to work alongside clients to ensure their vision for their project is realised," she said.

She assisted clients with land acquisitions and sales, joint venture development deals, negotiating contract terms, organising finance, structuring entities and facilitating the titling and sales process for property developments.

Anderson Lloyd - Otago’s oldest law firm - was committed to gender diversity by maintaining one of the highest percentages of female equity partners of any New Zealand law firm. Eighty percent of staff were female, O’Donnell said.

In her role as chairwoman, she is a mentor and supporter of future leaders and has overseen the appointment of six new young partners, three of which are female.

"As chair, I am very proud of the firm’s initiatives for both staff and partners to promote growth in leadership skills across the firm," she said.

A diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) working group was recently established at Anderson Lloyd, made up of staff and partners, and a DEI steering group made up of a group of partners, members of the executive who, along with O’Donnell, oversaw and promoted DEI initiatives.

Anderson Lloyd was the first major New Zealand law firm to become Toitu net carbon-zero certified, meaning its carbon emissions are measured and monitored by a third party. Its commitment to sustainability was reflected in the firm’s values, she said.

For more than 10 years, O’Donnell has been a trustee of the Margaret Templeton Education Trust which provides three-year scholarships for Whakatipu students undertaking tertiary education with financial hardship. She was also recently appointed a trustee of the Queenstown Heritage Trust, another pro bono role that she enjoyed.

Kerry O’Donnell. Photo: Supplied

McLeod, a partner in the corporate and commercial team, was Anderson Lloyd’s first female equity partner. She has undertaken various leadership roles with the firm, starting as the office partner for the Christchurch office, having three stints on its board and, for many years, being the second partner with the chairperson to undertake partner reviews. She is a at present on the firm’s board, actively working to drive its strategic direction.

She enjoyed taking a collaborative approach with her clients and undertakes a broad range of commercial work, including acquisitions and divestments for clients and capital-raising work, including for listed companies.

She has recently been recognised nationally for her significant hotel experience; she was the lead partner on the purchase of Rydges Hotel in Wellington, the deal winning the mid-market deal of the year category at this year’s New Zealand Law Awards.

She was also the lead partner for Anderson Lloyd advising on Dunedin-based and NZX-listed bladder cancer diagnostic company Pacific Edge’s 2021 capital raise.

The transaction involved dual listing on the ASX and associated advice followed by a sizeable capital raise. The deal was named as an excellence award nominee for the equity market deal of the year category for the New Zealand Law Awards.

As a senior leader, McLeod saw encouraging women throughout the organisation as an important part of her role. She undertakes a mentoring role for both senior and junior women, assisting them with their development and progression within the firm, and enjoyed "seeing people do well".

At the end of last year, she stepped down as a director of SBS Bank, a position she held for more than six years. She was one of two women on the board and was encouraging of women in senior leadership roles within the organisation.

She also enjoyed the opportunity to develop her governance skills outside of Anderson Lloyd.

Taking time to engage with staff with individual mentoring and encouragement both within the Dunedin office and more widely within the firm, Ms McLeod was also open about discussing how to balance a challenging and rewarding career with bringing up her three children.

Anderson Lloyd is a long-term major sponsor of Women You Can Bank On, a popular event run in Dunedin.

McLeod spoke at an event about the challenges of working through Covid-19, both as a lawyer managing a team, and the challenges of governance and managing organisations through uncertain times.

Elite Women 2022

Fiona McMillan
Partner
Lane Neave

Rebecca Scott
Partner
Lane Neave

Claire Evans
Partner
PwC Legal

Stephanie Ambler
Partner
Tompkins Wake

Tess von Dadelszen
Partner
Morrison Kent

Theresa Le Bas
Partner
Tompkins Wake

Angela Parlane
Managing Director
Shine Lawyers NZ

Anna Buchly
Partner
Bell Gully

Anne Callinan
Partner
Simpson Grierson

Anne McLeod
Partner
Anderson Lloyd

Charlene Sell
Partner
Wynn Williams