About Ashurst Alumni Alumni news

In February we were delighted to welcome back Sydney alumna, Diane Gates. 

Diane was a Corporate & Commercial Business Development Manager at Blake Dawson from 1994 to 1999 working closely with Mark Stanbridge, Sarah Dulhunty, and the corporate team. She rejoins the firm as our Communications and Brand Director, based in Sydney.

Diane was previously Brand, Marketing and Communications Director at law firm, MinterEllison. Prior to joining MinterEllison, Diane worked at Deloitte Australia as a National Marketing Director in a variety of roles, and also held various Marketing and Communications Director roles at PwC.

Diane said "It is an incredibly exciting time for Ashurst and I'm thrilled to return to the firm in this role. I'm looking forward to building on the already strong Ashurst brand and contributing to the success of the firm."

Congratulations to Sangeeta Laudus (Former Business Development Manager, Global Markets, London 2016 – 2019) on her new role as a Senior Relationship Manager (COP26) at the City of London Corporation.

Q. Please tell us a bit about your new role.

My role is within the Innovation Team at the City of London Corporation. I am a strategic relationship manager for the Corporation engaging with financial institutions and professional service firms in the City (including law firms) with a specific focus on activities, events and campaigns in the lead up to COP26, the United Nations Climate Change Conference scheduled to be held in Glasgow in 2021 under the presidency of the UK government. It's a role that really builds on my experience as a debt capital markets lawyer and as a marketing professional, and leverages off my own professional network.

The City Corporation is also a fascinating place to work, with its history and central function as the City convener. I have significant interaction with different institutions and offices including the Green Finance Institute, the Lord Mayor’s office as well as the Cabinet office and BEIS.

Q. How have you adapted to working from home? Do you have any best practice tips to share?

My first day at the Corporation coincided with the lockdown, so I have been working from home from the start via remote access. However, my onboarding and feeling a part of the team has been seamless. Given the unprecedented demand on tech kit etc, I was really impressed how quickly the Corporation got a laptop and mobile phone delivered to me. I think the key to working from home is to have a set routine every day. I start around 845 am and then take a break at lunch when I walk the dog. We also have regular team meetings by video which helps to keep connected and on top of all the different projects we are working on, as well as weekly virtual team drinks which has been a fun way to get to know people as a new starter.

Q. What else have you been doing since leaving Ashurst?

I have become increasingly interested and engaged in climate change issues (a passion which started at Ashurst with work I was doing on green finance) and I have worked on a pro bono basis for a number of conferences including organising a Green/Blue Finance Panel Session at the Virtual Island Summit last October, and more recently the Oi Conference organised in association with Harvard Extension School Environmental Club for which I created and chaired a panel session on the Language of Sustainability.

Zoe Ballantyne (Solicitor, London, until 2004) commenced a new role as General Counsel for charity WWF – UK (formerly the World Wildlife Fund) after almost 3 years as Head of Legal and Compliance for Diabetes UK.

Lisa Chung (Partner, Sydney, until 2011) was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for significant service to the community through charitable and cultural organisations. Lisa was a partner and board member at Blake Dawson during her time with the firm from 1990-2011. Lisa has worked for many years at The Benevolent Society, the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences, Artspace and The Front Project.

Christopher Flynn (Senior Associate, London, until 2008), currently a partner at Gilbert + Tobin, has been appointed a member of the Advisory Board of the Law Futures Centre, Griffith University. The Law Futures Centre was established in 2015 to produce outstanding scholarship - often interdisciplinary - that anticipates, innovates and meets pressing emerging challenges for law and legal institutions in Australia and internationally.

Serena Lennon (Senior Associate, London and Singapore, until 2013), has made the move into freelance Legal Consulting after a career of over thirteen years spent in private practice and industry at FTSE 100 companies. After leaving Ashurst LLP, Serena moved in-house starting in FMCG at Diageo before moving into the fintech space, spending the last six years working at Worldpay (now part of FIS) and most recently as Deputy General Counsel at Checkout.com. In her career she has built a strong international network having worked in London, Paris, Singapore and Amsterdam.

Jessica Norgard (Senior Associate, Sydney, until 2017) received a promotion with nbn Australia and is now Acting Deputy General Counsel - Communications, IP and Commercial.

Sarah Stoddart (Lawyer, Brisbane, until 2013) was appointed as Chair of the Governance Sub-Committee for the Queensland Alliance for Mental Health (QAMH). QAMH is the peak body representing the community mental health sector in Queensland. Sarah has been involved with QAMH for over 3 years and also sits on the Board of QAMH as a Skills Based Director.

Jana Pögel (Legal Assistant and Secretary, Munich, until 2012) was promoted to Data Privacy Manager at pharmaceutical company, Novartis.

Do you have a story to tell?

To celebrate Ashurst's bicentenary in 2022 the team behind the firm's successful First Women project are embarking on a new storytelling project, "200 Stories for 200 years".

This project will produce 200 multimedia stories that celebrate the firm's people and achievements over the past 200 years. The stories will be about Ashurst's people, both as individuals and groups, but could also be about events or places that are connected with the firm.

To kick start the project we are calling for a selection of photos and memories from our alumni. If you have recently been tidying out some cupboards and have come across any old photos from your time at Ashurst, we would love to hear from you! Please also get in touch if you would be interested in contributing a story via another medium such as a written piece, podcast, artwork or video.

Contact the alumni team.