About Ashurst Alumni Alumni news

Congratulations to Caroline Angoorly (Senior Associate, Melbourne until 1994) who has been recognised on Crain’s inaugural list of Notable Women in Finance in New York City in 2018. Caroline is the founding Chief Operating Officer at NY Green Bank – a US$1 billion state-sponsored investment fund focused on clean energy and sustainable infrastructure. Caroline’s career “through-line”, or theme, has been energy project development and finance, a path that started in Ashurst’s Banking and Finance group. Over the years, Caroline has been an attorney in private practice, a general counsel, an executive of energy companies and an investment banker. She also runs her own business, GreenTao, a boutique advisory for companies focused on energy and environment, strategy and execution.

“I am thrilled and honoured to be included on Crain’s list and in the company of such a group of accomplished finance professionals. I am also beyond glad that when Ashurst partners sat in a room more than 30 years ago to assign me (as a new recruit to the Firm) to a group, that the outcome was the Banking & Finance Team. From my very first resource project financing, I was hooked and those types of transactions still set my hair on fire!”

Eli Ball (a lawyer in the Sydney office until April 2017) is now a Barrister at 7 Wentworth Selborne Chambers in Sydney, and practises in all areas of civil and commercial law. He also has a Doctorate from the University of Oxford, and his doctoral thesis, Enrichment at the Claimant’s Expense: Attribution Rules in Unjust Enrichment was published as a book in 2016.

Eli is also a long-distance butterfly swimmer. In February this year he became the second person in history to complete a butterfly crossing of the Rottnest Channel in Perth, Western Australia, in a time of 7 hours 20 minutes and 29 seconds (almost two and half hours quicker than the previous butterfly crossing). His swim was part of the annual Rottnest Channel Swim, and raised more than $5,000 for the Leukaemia Foundation.

Some of our colleagues from the Perth office also participated in the race.

The swim was eventful for Eli in another way: at around the 12 kilometre mark he swam directly over a very large Great White Shark that was cruising along the sea-floor. Eli did not stop swimming though, and was lucky to swim beyond the evacuation zone later declared by race officials, allowing him to finish the race.

Eli is now training to attempt a butterfly crossing of the English Channel in July 2020.

Teresa Cleary (Senior Associate, Sydney until August 2005) has been appointed General Counsel & Company Secretary at the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD). Teresa’s appointment at the AICD commenced in August 2017. Teresa was previously Supervising Counsel at Telstra Corporation Limited. Teresa joins alumnus Edward Palmisano at the AICD.

Tessa Donovan (Construction and Infrastructure Lawyer, Perth until May 2016) has joined EDF Energy in London as Legal Counsel.

Teresa Dyson (Partner, Brisbane until May 2013) was appointed as a member of the Takeovers Panel in April, as part of her career move from law to professional director. Teresa has also been appointed to the boards of other organisations including as a Non-Executive Director at Genex Power and at the Power and Water Corporation in Darwin, a Board Member of the Foreign Investment Review Board from January 2018 and a Non-Executive Director of Seven West Media from November last year. After leaving the firm, Teresa was a Partner at Deloitte and also chaired the Board of Taxation for two years.

Caroline Johansen (Associate, London until February 2018) has joined the London Stock Exchange Group as a Lawyer in March 2018.

Edward Palmisano (Lawyer, Sydney until 2003) is now Head of International at the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD). He leads the AICD’s engagement in Asia, the Middle East, Europe and America, and his team won the NSW Premier’s Emerging Exporter Award in 2017.

Victoria (Senior Associate, London until January 2018) has joined Canada Life as Senior Legal Counsel.

Louise (Senior Associate, Brisbane until June 2016) has joined Formula 1 as Legal Counsel. Louise is now based in London after recently completing an in-house role at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games Corporation, for the Games that were held in April 2018.

Lorraine Hui re-joined Ashurst in April 2018 as a Senior Associate in our Disputes team in Sydney. Lorraine joined Ashurst in Sydney in 2009 and left the firm in 2015 to relocate to Hong Kong. Lorraine joined Bank of America Merrill Lynch as APAC Litigation and Regulatory Inquiries counsel based in Hong Kong, a role which she had previously worked in whilst on secondment from Ashurst.

During her time in-house, Lorraine worked on a broad range of disputes and investigations around the region including in Hong Kong, Australia, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and the Philippines. Building on her experience at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Lorraine focuses on financial services contentious matters at Ashurst, in addition to general commercial litigation and arbitration.

Elizabeth Broderick AO (Partner, Sydney until 2007), founder of the Male Champions of Change initiative, hosted our RISE Forum in Sydney for our female partners from across our offices. Elizabeth was the former Sex Discrimination Commissioner from 2007 until 2015.

The panellists included Senior Partner & Managing Director, ANZ at The Boston Consulting Group, Andrew Clark; CEO & Managing Director at Fairfax Media, Greg Hywood; Ashurst’s Managing Partner, Paul Jenkins; and Chairman & CEO of Unilever, ANZ, Clive Stiff. The panel of Male Champions of Change talked about the challenges they face in achieving gender equality in their organisations and how they’re driving change.

L–R: Andrew Clark, Paul Jenkins, Elizabeth Broderick, Greg Hywood and Clive Stiff

Our female partners from across our offices who attended the RISE forum

Deborah Tomkinson attends panel alongside ArbitralWomen as part of the ICCA (International Council for Commercial Arbitration) 2018 Sydney

We were delighted to host a panel discussion on diversity in arbitration alongside ArbitralWomen as part of ICCA 2018 Sydney. Our panellists discussed why diversity in arbitration matters, what improvements have been made and need to be made, and how the industry can continue to involve more women. Thank you to our panellists: Secretary General for the Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration and alumna, Deborah Tomkinson (Senior Associate, Sydney until 2013); Magistrate and former Barrister, Julie Soars; Director of ArbitralWomen and Senior Associate at McCullough Robertson, Erika Williams; Global Litigation Counsel for Baker Hughes GE, Michael McIlwrath; and Partner and co-head of Ashurst’s arbitration practice in Australia, Georgia Quick.

Catch-up with Deborah’s news in her interview.

Annan Boag (Clerk, Sydney until 2010), now Director – OAIC Dispute Resolution, presented to clients, colleagues and peers about the actions businesses need to take in order to comply with the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme, which came into effect on 22 February 2018 in Australia. The seminar was held during the Ashurst Data Week.

After more than 35 years at Ashurst, Mary Padbury retired at the end of April 2018 to focus on a non-executive director career.

Mary joined what was then Blake & Riggall in Melbourne as a graduate in 1981. She was appointed to the Blake Dawson Waldron partnership in 1989 after working on secondment in London. She served in a number of roles at Blake Dawson, including as a Board Member, London Resident Partner and Executive Partner before being elected Chairman, a position she held for three terms until the merger in 2013, when she was elected Vice Chairman of the global firm. Mary led the negotiations for Blake Dawson which led to the merger and has played an active role in post-merger integration.

Mary is also internationally recognised as leading practitioner in intellectual property, being ranked in the firm's Tier 1 Australian IP practice as a Leading Individual in Asia Pacific Legal 500 2018 and as an Eminent Practitioner in Chambers Global 2017 in Patents.

Mary is a board member of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, The Macfarlane Burnet Institute for Medical Research and Public Health Limited and the Victorian Legal Admissions Committee, and Chair of the Trans-Tasman IP Attorneys Board. She is also a member of Chief Executive Women and a World Intellectual Property Organisation Domain Name panellist.

Chairman Ben Tidswell said:

"Mary has made an immense contribution to the firm, its clients and its people, as well as playing an influential role in the global legal industry. Her leadership has been characterised by exceptionally strong values, a commitment to diversity and inclusiveness and to realising her vision of a global law firm. We will continue to benefit from the legacy she leaves for many years to come. I would like to thank her personally and on behalf of the partnership for her support and total dedication to Ashurst."

Global Managing Partner Paul Jenkins commented:

"Mary has been critical to our success as a firm. She was an instrumental leader in steering Blake Dawson through the merger with Ashurst, a merger that transformed the firm and the legal market. Her intellect, energy and strategic insight were integral to every stage of the process of becoming a fully financially integrated global firm. We have been very fortunate to have Mary as a leader of our firm for over 15 years and I am personally grateful for everything she has done for us."

Mary Padbury said:

"I feel very fortunate to have had so many varied opportunities to serve our clients and the firm and work alongside so many wonderful colleagues in doing so. I am proud to be leaving a fully integrated and successful international firm capably led by our Chairman Ben Tidswell and Managing Partner Paul Jenkins. I also value the many good friendships I have made during my years at the firm and I look forward to keeping in touch with those at Ashurst and to catching up with our alumni network."

L–R: Global Managing Partner Paul Jenkins, former Vice Chairman Mary Padbury and Chairman Ben Tidswell

L–R: David Catterns QC (Nigel Bowen Chambers); Consultant Peter Stapleton (Ashurst), Head of IP/Media Lisa Ritson (Ashurst); Sydney OMP Anita Cade (Ashurst); and Taryn Morton (CBA)

L–R: Pip Pattison (University of Sydney), Andrew Blasburg (Ashurst) and David Clanchy (EY)

L–R: Ashurst partners Sarah Dulhunty, Lisa Simmons and Helen McKenzie

John practised in banking and finance law, advising on project finance and leasing, aviation finance and regulation, debt capital markets and general banking.

His experience includes advising on infrastructure and resources projects, aviation finance and other asset finance transactions including domestic and cross-border leases, export-credit transactions, public-private partnerships, privatisations and secured and unsecured debt raisings.

John acted variously for banks and other financial institutions, major public companies and government agencies. His creative contributions have assisted clients to close transactions worth more than A$35 billion, involving assets as diverse as mining projects & equipment, aircraft, hospitals, oil & gas pipelines, railway rolling stock, ships, sports stadiums and airports. John is particularly well known for his work in aviation finance. He has more than 40 years' experience in advising airlines, aircraft lessors and banks.

John was also Ashurst's General Counsel in Australia until 1 May 2018.

L–R: Mary Padbury and John Field

L–R: Partners Martin Coleman, Simon Fraser, Richard Brookes, Con Tzerefos and Grant Rowlands