CLANZ In-house lawyer awards announced

MEDIA RELEASE – For immediate use, 16 May 2011

CLANZ In-house lawyer awards announced

CLANZ, the Corporate Lawyers Association of New Zealand, has announced the winners of its 2011 awards. CLANZ is a section of the New Zealand Law Society and represents over 2,300 New Zealand in-house lawyers who work inside corporate, government and not-for-profit enterprises. The awards were announced at CLANZ’s annual conference in Napier on Friday 13 May.

The CLANZ-LexisNexis In-House Lawyer of the Year Award has been made to Charles Spillane, General Counsel and General Manager, Corporate Affairs, at Auckland International Airport. Mr Spillane received a $5000 scholarship package from LexisNexis to be spent on training and resources for him and his team.

“In-house counsel is the fastest-growing area of law in New Zealand, with its own specific nuances. The entries for this year’s award were all of a high calibre and it was great to see so many examples of innovation, leadership and best practice,” LexisNexis Marketing Manager Lesley Trench said presenting the award.

“Charles Spillane leads by example with his passion, integrity and great business judgement. He is setting a high bar for next year’s entries.”

The CLANZ-Bell Gully Young In-House Lawyer of the Year Award went to Justine Tuite, Senior Corporate Solicitor at Beca. Ms Tuite has received a $5,000 scholarship package from Bell Gully, to be spent on development activities which will help develop her career.

Presenting the award, Bell Gully Chairman Roger Partridge said Bell Gully continued to be impressed by the calibre of up-and-coming in-house counsel.

“Justine is an example of the potential that existing within the in-house legal profession and we look forward to following her development over the coming years,” he said.

The CLANZ-Wigley & Company Community Contribution Award is shared by two people this year. Belinda Moffat, Head of Dispute Resolution, Legal Services at Westpac New Zealand and Seung Young, Secretary of the New Zealand Federation of Multi-cultural Councils each receive $3,500 to donate to their chosen cause.

CLANZ President Jeremy Valentine also announced a special award for Distinguished Service to Neil Williamson, Principal Legislative Counsel, Ministry of Social Development.

Mr Valentine said that Neil Williamson had clearly established himself as the trusted adviser that every in-house counsel aspired to be. He had worked for the ministry in its various guises for 25 years and received the award to acknowledge his significant contribution to welfare and child protection law.

“His nomination noted that although Neil’s role deals with high level legislative issues, he has never lost the ability to punch out a legal opinion on any matter. When quick and complicated advice is required, Neil is relied on to get the job done,” Mr Valentine said.

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BACKGROUNDER ON 2011 CLANZ AWARDS – For immediate use

16 May 2011

CLANZ

The Corporate Lawyers Association of New Zealand (CLANZ) is a special section of the New Zealand Law Society which represents the distinct interests and needs of lawyers providing professional services to their employers. Most commonly known as in-house counsel, these lawyers work in corporate, governmental and other organisations, rather than in private practice. Of 11,500 lawyers practising in New Zealand, over 2,300 (20%) are in-house counsel.

CLANZ was established in 1987. It has the key goals of providing leadership, support and relevant membership benefits to in-house lawyers, and operates as a Law Society section. CLANZ is managed by a committee of 15 people, eight of whom form the executive. Jeremy Valentine is CLANZ President and Helen Mackay, who is employed by the Law Society, is Executive Officer.

The CLANZ Conference and Awards

The annual conference is a key CLANZ event. This brings together in-house counsel from New Zealand and overseas and features a programme of presentations, workshops This year’s conference – the 24th - has been held at the Napier War Memorial Conference Centre from 12-13 May. The conference featured 26 speakers and presenters and was attended by over 300 people.

The conference is made possible through sponsorship provided by a number of organisations. This year’s conference has been sponsored by CLANZ’s partners Bell Gully (Principal Sponsor), Canon (Gold Sponsor), Randstad Legal, Deloitte and AUT Law (Silver Sponsors), Salt Enterprise and LexisNexis (Bronze Sponsors), along with AJ Park, Magnifi, Pacific Resort Rarotonga, Aitutaki and Selfmade Coaching (Conference Sponsors), ComplyWith (Cyber Café Sponsor) and Fisher & Paykel (Recipe Hub Sponsor).

The CLANZ Awards have become the key means of recognising excellence among New Zealand in-house counsel. The award ceremony is held on the final evening of the annual conference, which also features a gala dinner. This year’s dinner and award ceremony was held at the Hastings Opera House. Each of the three awards has been made possible through the sponsorship of an organisation which has a close relationship with CLANZ.

CLANZ-LexisNexis In-House Lawyer of the Year Award

This award recognises an in-house lawyer who has demonstrated a valuable contribution to the organisational goals as in-house counsel, and their contribution to the in-house legal profession in New Zealand. The winner receives a scholarship package from legal information and solutions provider LexisNexis to the value of $5,000 made up of cash, conference attendance and resources to be spent on development activities for them and/or their team.

CLANZ-Bell Gully Young In-House Lawyer of the Year Award

This is awarded to an in-house lawyer with less than five years in-house (and less than 10 years practising) experience who has made an outstanding contribution to their employer and who is, or has the potential to be, a leading member of the in-house legal profession in New Zealand. The winner receives $5,000 cash from leading New Zealand law firm Bell Gully towards development activities such as overseas conference attendance or post-graduate study.

CLANZ-Wigley & Company Community Contribution Award

This award recognises the best contribution to the community by an in-house lawyer. The award winner has $7,000 paid to their chosen cause by specialist IT and media law firm Wigley & Company.

FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE AWARD WINNERS

Charles Spillane, CLANZ-LexisNexis In-House Lawyer of the Year 2011

Charles Spillane is General Counsel and General Manager, Corporate Affairs at Auckland International Airport Ltd.

In his nomination for the award, Charles Spillane was described as being “a very principled person, of high integrity, who is completely straight-up in all of his business dealings. He has a strong team ethos and approach, which he applies to his team and external lawyers.”

The nomination stated that Mr Spillane has a very good internal legal team at Auckland International Airport and is very able at managing them.

“He is incredibly well organised and very decisive,” the nomination stated. “An exceptionally able lawyer, Charles also always ensures he is up to date with the law. He understands business, and exercises extremely good judgement. He has a real vision for Auckland Airport and a genuine passion for what he is there to achieve.”

Justine Tuite, CLANZ-Bell Gully Young In-House Lawyer of the Year 2011

Justine Tuite is Senior Corporate Solicitor at Beca.

The nomination of Justine Tuite for the award noted that her “impressive versatility” is matched by her “calm, confident and pragmatic manner”. She leads the legal services team at Beca Carter Hollings & Ferner Ltd and the company’s managing director, Don Lyon, commented: “I see people at all levels relax with Justine involved; they warm to her, pay close attention to her advice, and then follow through with her recommendations.”

Belinda Moffat, Co-winner of CLANZ-Wigley & Company Community Contribution Award 2011

Belinda Moffat is Head of Dispute Resolution, Legal Services at Westpac New Zealand.

Belinda Moffat is a board member of Dress for Success Auckland and contributes her legal knowledge, passion and commitment to that organisation. Her nomination described her as “contributing far in excess of what her board role requires her to do in making a difference to the women we help.” Each year Dress for Success Auckland provides 2,000 women with the means to re-enter the workforce and achieve financial independence.

Seung Young, Co-winner of CLANZ-Wigley & Company Community Contribution Award 2011

Seung Young is the secretary of the New Zealand Federation of Multi-cultural Councils. This is the umbrella organisation for all regional multicultural councils. He works with the youth committee of the organisation, employing his legal skills to give advice at a regional level.

Seung Young is also involved with the Auckland Korean Association, an active volunteer at hospitals and rest homes, and a former President of the Waikato University Law Students Association.

Neil Williamson, Special Award for Distinguished Service

Neil Williamson is Principal Legislative Counsel, Ministry of Social Development.

Neil Williamson has worked for the ministry in its various guises for 25 years. He received the award to acknowledge his significant contribution to welfare and child protection law.

Mr Williamson’s nomination stated that although his role deals with high-level legislative issues, “he has never lost the ability to punch out a legal opinion on any matter.”

“When quick and complicated advice is required, Neil is relied on to get the job done,” the nomination said. “Neil is an example of a dedicated staff member who exemplifies the spirit of public service. We are proud of the long service and commitment that Neil has given over the last 25 years.”

In making the special award, CLANZ President Jeremy Valentine said CLANZ was very pleased to acknowledge the distinguished service provided by Neil Williamson to the Ministry of Social Development.

“He has clearly established himself as the trusted advisor that every in-house counsel aspires to be,” Mr Valentine said.

ENDS

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