News
Depth of New Zealand in-house legal talent recognised
New Zealand's talented young in-house lawyers have been recognised in the annual CLANZ-Bell Gully Young Corporate Lawyer of the Year awards.
A record number of nominations were received for the award which recognises an in-house lawyer who has made an outstanding contribution in their role and has demonstrated potential as a leading member of the in-house legal profession in New Zealand.
This year's winner is Rebecca Davidson of Beca Group but the judging panel of Corporate Lawyers Association of New Zealand (CLANZ) patron Sir Ian Barker QC, then CLANZ president Genevieve Hancock and Bell Gully partner Dean Oppenhuis also broke from tradition to announce two runners-up, given the strength of nominations.
Runners-up are Tim Mahood of NIWA and Saar Cohen-Ronen of the Department of Internal Affairs.
In announcing the winners, Dean Oppenhuis noted the nominees were of consistently high quality but in the end the panel was unanimous in selecting Rebecca Davidson. She receives a $5000 prize package from Bell Gully to spend on professional development activities such as an overseas conference.
Rebecca, Beca Group Senior Legal Counsel, had succeeded in a complex environment, working on large projects with complex technical and legal issues, said Dean.
In nominating Rebecca, a colleague said: "To be a young woman heading an in-house team of eight lawyers at New Zealand's iconic international engineering consultancy requires a truly unique set of leadership skills and personal attributes."
Of the runners-up, Dean said Saar Cohen-Ronen was highly regarded by his colleagues at the Department of Internal Affairs in his role as a censorship and gambling compliance prosecutor.
"One of his colleagues described him as 'the most enthusiastic and committed young lawyer' he has met 'with a wonderful grasp of legal issues and remedies beyond his years of experience'."
Tim Mahood, said Dean, started at NIWA, an organisation with 600 staff across six countries, two years ago as its first ever in-house lawyer. He had taken up the challenge and done a fantastic job in shaping the way NIWA understands and uses its legal resources.
The awards were announced on May 17 at the CLANZ annual conference in Christchurch, attended by up to 300 in-house lawyers from around the country.
CLANZ-Bell Gully Young Corporate Lawyer of the Year 2007 Rebecca Davidson.
For more information, please contact:
Josephine Gallagher
Senior Marketing and Communications Manager
Tel: +64 9 916 8664
Mobile: +64 21 190 3185
Bell Gully
