2022 ACC Australia Corporate Lawyer Award Winners

EDWINA STEVENSON

LEGAL MANAGER - CORPORATE AND COMPLIANCE,

PERNOD RICARD WINEMAKERS

Edwina is a key legal advisor to Pernod Ricard Winemakers in the areas of corporate law and compliance.  



Her career spans more than 15 years and several corporate entities: a financial services provider, a disability support enterprise, and even a caravan park owner and operator. She currently advises in the areas of consumer law, industrial relations, privacy, food code compliance, and much more.  



Variety is the spice of her current role, along with the ability to engage with global brands such as Mumm champagne and Jacob's Creek. Edwina also moonlights as a newsreader for commercial radio station FIVEaa. 

CHRISTINE ADAMSON

ACTING GENERAL COUNSEL REAL ESTATE,

QIC LIMITED

After a successful career in private practice, Christine Adamson joined QIC in 2021 and after only a few months was asked to step up to act as General Counsel – Real Estate, leading a team of 15+ legal professionals.  Christine has been instrumental in building processes and efficiencies including an app for tenant default processes.  

BRADLEY HOLLAND,

REGIONAL GENERAL COUNSEL,

APAC JUNIPER NETWORKS

Bradley is formally trained in both the law (Juris Doctor, Master of Laws, Master of International Tax) and engineering (BE Hons Digital Systems and Computer Engineering) and has had successful careers focusing on each of these disciplines. As a senior attorney with Juniper Networks, he leads the legal team across APAC, and leverages his technical knowledge and extensive international experience to support the complex negotiations and drafting requirements of a global technology supplier.  



Over the past four years at Juniper Networks, Bradley has been called upon to provide legal support as the global competition and channels counsel, has rewritten Juniper Networks’ end customer and partner terms and conditions, transacted strategic business acquisitions into Juniper Networks’ channel activities. This exposure has highlighted the need for automation and standardisation to support the legal function within various business areas across Juniper Networks seamlessly. Previously, Bradley has also worked on Wholesale/Retail Channels, Transfer Pricing and Tax, Privacy Law, Cloud and IP, Mergers & Acquisitions, and Corporate Governance matters.  



Bradley is also a director on various boards across the APAC region.  



Prior to Juniper Networks Bradley worked for a range of local and international companies including Telstra, Singtel-Optus, nbn Co, and Nortel Networks. 

CATE BENNETT,

GENERAL COUNSEL & COMPANY SECRETARY,

MOVEMBER

Cate is the Global General Counsel and Company Secretary for the Movember Foundation.  



She is an accomplished lawyer and executive leader with more than 12 years’ experience working across government and for-purpose organisations.  



Cate has an established track record of creating simple solutions to complex problems; developing high-performing & goal-oriented teams; and building relationships with stakeholders that drive value and achieve shared objectives.  



She is pragmatic, conscientious, results-driven and committed to delivering consistently high-quality work. 

ANDREW PALONI

SPECIAL COUNSEL – MAJOR PROJECTS, 

AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCE

Andrew Paloni plays a core role in several significant infrastructure projects at AIMS, including the expansion of the National Sea Simulator and the design and build of a new generation of research vessel.  



Andrew also leads the legal aspects of AIMS’ Indigenous Partnerships program. He is a member of IP Australia’s inter-departmental Indigenous Knowledge Working Group, which is undertaking a scoping study to assess the feasibility of stand-alone legislation to protect Indigenous Knowledge in Australia.  



He is the inaugural Chair of the Professional Development Committee of the Australian Government Legal Service and chairs ACC Australia’s New-to-In-house Special Interest Group.  



Andrew was a finalist in the Government Lawyer of the Year category of the 2022 Lawyers Weekly Corporate Counsel Awards and was named a 2022 In-House Leader by Australasian Lawyer. 

MARIE LE BRAS

GENERAL COUNSEL - REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND ENGAGEMENT, NBN CO LIMITED

Marie is at nbn helping her stakeholders navigate complex legal and regulatory landscapes as nbn seeks to lift the digital capability of Australia. Marie's particular focus is helping connect regional and remote Australia.  



In her present roles as General Counsel (Regional Development and Engagement) and Acting General Manager (Legal) – for the Strategy & Policy Legal team, Marie leads teams through transformation and fosters an environment where people thrive and do their best work.  



A trusted advisor with demonstrated experience in the telecommunications, construction, IT and major projects industries - Marie’s skills include Dispute Resolution, Telco, Contract Law, Corporate Law, large scale procurements and management.  



Marie takes a business partnering approach to stakeholder management and is experienced in engaging with senior management and executive teams, delivering high quality legal work, and distilling complex legal advice into commercially valuable guidance.  



Marie has been at nbn for 11+ years, and prior to that was a Senior Associate at Clayton Utz, where she worked for 7+ years.  



Marie originally hails from the remote island of Mauritius and is a proud Mauritian/Australian. Outside work Marie loves spending time with family and friends, community volunteering, learning languages, listening to music, painting, cooking, and travelling. 

JASON ARNHEIM

GENERAL COUNSEL,

EGO PHARMACEUTICALS PTY LTD

Jason is General Counsel of Ego Pharmaceuticals Pty Ltd. Ego manufactures and markets some of Australia's most trusted skincare products, including QV, Aqium, DermAid, and SunSense.  



Jason is the sole legal counsel, having established the internal legal function in 2021. In addition to the business in Australia and New Zealand, Ego operates across 15 countries in the Middle East, Asia and in the UK. Jason handles legal queries from around the Ego world and aims to provide timely, accurate and commercially savvy legal advice. In addition to managing the legal function, Jason also has responsibility for government relations and insurance and is a member of the leadership team.  



Jason was recently appointed as a non-executive director to a start-up packaging component manufacturer in which Ego has a shareholding. Jason also is a non-executive director and Chair of an independent school.  



Jason holds a Master’s degree in law and has completed post graduate studies in applied corporate governance. Jason has also completed the ACC In-house Counsel Certification Program. 

AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCE LEGAL TEAM

Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) is Australia’s tropical marine research agency. Its role is to deliver new and world-class research to find solutions for the threats to our oceans and our precious marine ecosystems. 



In 2022, AIMS’ small legal team of 5 has worked to help deliver research partnerships of an unprecedented scale and complexity, at a critical time for the Great Barrier Reef and other marine ecosystems.  



AIMS’ lawyers are highly valued project partners within AIMS for: their willingness to take the time needed to explain legal issues clearly to their colleagues; communicating in a way that connects with non-lawyers; and providing clear and pragmatic recommendations for ways forward in every matter.  



The AIMS legal team has taken a hand-on role in many significant projects across the organisation including: 

• piloting an innovation program to be expanded through the organisation; 
• provided legal, policy and operational input into AIMS’ Indigenous Partnership Policy 
• being a key member of AIMS’ most complex and novel projects including:  (1) the Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program (RRAP), an ambitious partnership to find urgent interventions to protect, and restore, the Great Barrier Reef; and (2) ReefWorks, Australia’s tropical marine technology test range. 

IAG LEGAL AND COMPANY SECRETARIAT (LCS) TEAM

Insurance Australia Group Limited (IAG), a general insurer in Australia and New Zealand, underwrites almost $12 billion of premiums annually, under leading brands NRMA Insurance, RACV, CGU, SGIO, SGIC, WFI and partner brands including Coles.  



IAG’s purpose is to make your world a safer place.  



The Legal and Company Secretariat team (LCS) consists of approximately 70 people in the legal team across Australia and New Zealand, 13 in the Company Secretariat team and an additional 16 in the New Zealand Corporate Affairs team.  LCS provides corporate, insurance, regulatory and commercial legal services with five teams:  

• Insurance, Regulatory and Disputes 
• Corporate and Commercial 
• New Zealand 
• Company Secretariat Office 
• Legal Operations and GLT Operations. 

LCS is committed to delivering legal, corporate governance and NZ corporate affairs solutions to deliver IAG’s strategy. They collaborate with stakeholders to understand their objectives, provide insights, and drive outcomes. They mitigate risk, are commercially focussed, and protect IAG’s reputation. They are a high-performing diverse team that demonstrates innovation and agile service delivery.  They focus on team wellbeing with a supportive and inclusive culture while strengthening the team’s capabilities with resources and operational improvements (such as technology and outsourcing) to improve efficiency, challenge processes and scale the delivery. 

LUKE BARRETT

GENERAL COUNSEL,

UNISUPER

Luke Barrett is General Counsel for UniSuper, one of Australia’s largest superannuation funds and institutional investors with over $100 billion in funds under management.  



He is the former Chair of the Law Council of Australia's Superannuation Committee and continues to serve on that committee, now for over ten years. This role sees him proactively involved in the regulatory reform process, consulting with Government and regulators. 



Barrett has over 20 years'​ experience in financial services, advising fund managers and superannuation funds across all aspects of their businesses and investments. His prior experience includes senior legal positions with leading law firm Allens and with Vanguard Investments.  



In recent years, Barrett has run successful litigation in the High Court and Supreme Court and has advised on some of Australia's largest infrastructure and retail property transactions. He was deeply involved in the set-up of UniSuper's internal funds management capability.  



Barrett regularly speaks at industry conferences and has given evidence in Parliament on legal issues affecting the financial services and superannuation industries.  



He writes for the print edition of Beautiful Bizarre magazine and has written numerous business columns for Fairfax newspapers.