Jane Bates, Senior Corporate Counsel at Optus and ACC Australia member shares her perspectives on the recent ACC Australia 2017 National Conference & Australian In-house Lawyer Awards.
Jane Bates, Senior Corporate Counsel at Optus and ACC Australia member shares her perspectives on the recent ACC Australia 2017 National Conference & Australian In-house Lawyer Awards.
Optus was selected as a finalist for Large Legal Team of the Year, so I was lucky enough to attend the ACC Australia National Conference in Alice Springs this year. Having attended the last four conferences, I can confidently say that they just keep getting better! This year saw the use of voting technology which allowed real-time polling of the audience on issues of concern, plus the skills of artist Matthew Magain who graphically represented the key points made by the industry-leading conference speakers.
For many it was their first time in the Northern Territory, and the fantastic Welcome Function at the Telegraph Station impressed on all the diversity of Australia’s environment. The importance of Australia’s indigenous heritage was reinforced through talks from Shane Phillips (Indigenous Leader and Australian of the Year) and Nova Perris (Olympic Athlete and Former Senator) – with Nova receiving a standing ovation from the crowd of 200+ in-house lawyers.
My personal favourite session was on leadership and resilience by Madeleine Shaw (Director, Resilience Institute). Poor mental wellbeing is well documented in the legal industry, and Madeleine provided a practical and humorous approach to improving resilience within the profession and responding to change and adversity. One particular statement really resonated with my table: “a break is an investment in performance”, reminding all of us of the importance of taking down-time and enjoying activities outside of work. But, if the attendees took only one idea home from the conference, I guarantee that was the suggested strategies for dealing with the LPC – i.e. your “least preferred co-worker”!
Honourable mention goes to the excellent presentation from Richard Dammery (Chief Legal Officer and Company Secretary, Woolworths Limited) on legal operations excellence. Richard explained best practice examples and his lessons learned on partnering with the business, managing legal costs, and embracing technology. He also reinforced the importance of embracing metrics and reporting as a way of life - in his own words, “if you don’t measure it, you won’t manage it”.
Andrew Klein also provided a comical reminder that every interaction you have with others is a pitch – it reflects on both you and your company. With the rapid uptake of technology, we all have to compete with multiple sources for attention, so make sure you keep your message concise and on point. And let’s not forget… PowerPoint presentations with moving graphics are so 2000!
As always, the Awards Ceremony allowed us to celebrate the amazing achievements of our peers, with a bit of dancing on the side. In addition to affording the opportunity to catch up with long lost friends, a key benefit of attending the conference was to build invaluable networks. Through lunch-line discussions, I received some constructive feedback on improving the siloed environment within Optus’ legal team, shared experiences in selecting and rolling out new technology, and even brainstormed ideas for establishing a pro bono program with other technology-sector legal teams.
In addition to the ACC Australia Benchmarks and Leading Practices Report, the ACC Australia National Conference remains a key event to keep up to date with legal developments and best practices in the in-house community.
Written by Jane Elise Bates, Senior Corporate Counsel- Legal, Optus
Posted 19/12/17"
