Russell McVeagh Appoint Female Chair

Allison Arthur-Young Russell McVeagh

Russell McVeagh Partner and Board member Allison Arthur-Young has been elected as Russell McVeagh’s Board Chair.

Arthur-Young, who has been a Board member for three years, succeeds outgoing Board Chair Malcolm Crotty who has completed his term, having served three years in the role. Crotty will resume his full-time practice as a key Litigation partner at the firm.

Joining the firm in 2005, Arthur-Young is a partner in the firm’s Environment, Planning and Natural Resources group. Prior to joining the Board in 2018, she was the group’s National Practice Group Chair.

In other changes to the Board, partners Ian Beaumont and Tom Hunt join the Board alongside current Board members, Matt Kersey and Mei Fern JohnsonJoe Windmeyer joins Crotty in stepping down following their tenures.

CEO Jo Avenell said, “Both Allison and Malcolm, alongside the rest of the Board, have done an incredible job navigating our firm through many challenges over the last few years, including most recently the impact of COVID-19, and the firm’s culture transformation. I would like to acknowledge Malcolm’s steady stewardship which has been integral to shaping Russell McVeagh into the firm we are today.”

In accepting the appointment, Arthur-Young said, “It is an honour to be appointed as Board Chair of Russell McVeagh and I look forward to continuing the progress and momentum we have all made in ensuring we are a firm our clients and our people are proud to be associated with.”

Outgoing Board Chair Crotty said, “I am extremely proud of Russell McVeagh and our people within the firm. I’m confident I leave the Board in very capable hands and look forward to continuing to see our firm go from strength to strength.”

Avenell says, ‘The make-up of the new Board ensures we have struck a good balance between having consistency of stewardship and governance, as well as fresh insights and perspectives. We are confident we are well placed to continue to remain a market-leading New Zealand firm.”

At the same meeting, Polly Pope was elected as Chair of the Partnership. Pope, a Litigation partner, succeeds Sarah Keene in this role. CEO Jo Avenell rounds out the firm’s key leadership roles. 

==> Linklaters Set To Appoint First Female Leader, Continuing A Trend

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Linklaters Set To Join The Ranks Of The Female Law Firm Leaders

Womenrising

Three candidates left in the race to succeed Charlie Jacobs as Linklaters’ senior partner

Claudia Parzani

It looks like Magic Circle law firm Linklaters could shortly have a woman senior partner as the trend towards female lawyers heading major law firms continues.

Linklaters have seen the departure of the only male contender for the top role for the person to succeed the current lead partner, Charlie Jacobs.

Former contender Tom Shropshire is to take on a new role as general counsel at the drinks giant firm Diageo.

The Shropshire departure leaves three women in the race to the top: global corporate head Aedamar Comiskey, Western Europe head Claudia Parzani, and London corporate and M&A partner Sarah Wiggins.

The shift in the race means a woman will almost certainly land the top job and lead one of London’s elite Magic Circle law firms and become another in the slowly growing ranks of the female law firm leaders.

Georgia Dawson became the first female Magic Circle leader when she took up her role as senior partner of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in January.

The move towards having more female law leaders has accelerated in recent years for firms in multiple jurisdictions, including in the United States.

Other major law firms in the US and elsewhere have been slowly moving towards appointing female law firm leaders. In the US recently, Kelley Drye & Warren has appointed Dana Rosenfeld as its next managing partner at the beginning of the year, while Penelope Warne at CMS, Lesley McDonagh at Lovells and Sonya Leydecker at Herbert Smith have also taken top roles at their law firms.

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