Senior in-house lawyer Sandra Steele is to return to private practice on July 16. The former assistant general counsel at Lend Lease Australia (Project Management & Construction) will join Middletons as a partner following six years at Lend Lease.
Senior in-house lawyer Sandra Steele is to return to private practice on July 16. The former assistant general counsel at Lend Lease Australia (Project Management & Construction) will join Middletons as a partner following six years at Lend Lease.Steele said she has enjoyed her time at Lend Lease but an opportunity to develop her own practice and be part of a national property, development and construction team ”seemed perfect”. “I knew that I could take everything I had learnt in-house back into private practice and that my experience was going to make a difference,” Steele told ALB.
According to Steele, the way she practices law has changed since going in-house. “You learn to look at legal issues through the eyes of the business. Clients don't just want a list of options; they expect their legal adviser to answer the obvious question – What would you do?”
She added: “I have a clear understanding of the challenges faced by those in the industry...Having been part of the industry, I now better understand what clients really want and expect from their legal advisers.”
Steele said Middletons’ appealed to her for a number of reasons: “Middletons is a growing firm and with that comes plenty of opportunities to build new business,” she said. “In particular I see lots of opportunities for Middletons in the Brisbane and Perth markets.” As national president of the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) Steele said she was also impressed by the firm’s gender equality initiatives .
Earlier in the year former Lend Lease general counsel, Australia (Project Management & Construction) Professor Rashda Rana left the company to return to The Bar.
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