People

Sean is a highly regarded commercial advisor and lawyer with significant experience acting for the Australian Government, private sector and non-profit clients.

He has significant experience in commercial law, process structuring and governance. He has wide ranging commercial and contracting experience including outsourcing, procurement of major capital acquisitions and services, funding agreements and MOUs. Sean practices in general contract law, procurement and tendering, governance and probity, intellectual property, media and information and communications technology.

Sean has carried out numerous on-site engagements and received positive feedback for his combination of legal, commercial and management abilities.

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James has built a very strong reputation in the Australian Government legal and procurement sector as a dependable and outcome focused advisor who provides real world solutions that reflect the political, policy and commercial imperatives of his clients.

James’ main areas of practice are government contracting and procurement including general contracting law, governance and probity, intellectual property and information and communications technology. He has a particular focus on technology outsourcing and procurement and capital acquisition procurement. He has played an important role in providing legal and procurement services to the Australian Government for many high profile and complex procurement projects.

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Zoe is Proximity’s Chief Operating Officer. She is a lawyer and highly experienced manager with over 10 years working in General Management and Legal Practice Management roles in private enterprise and government legal practice. Zoe has extensive experience managing corporate functions, large professional teams and promoting leadership within organisations. She is highly skilled in managing large budgets and is a specialist in managing change and developing workforce capability to improve business outcomes. Zoe is a critical thinker, excellent negotiator, with exceptional communication and stakeholder management skills. She is passionate about culture as an enabler of high performance, mentoring future leaders and empowering others to achieve and exceed goals. Zoe receives positive feedback for her combination of legal and management abilities and her unique aptitude to work collaboratively across levels and reporting lines to achieve results in large technical specialist teams.

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Simon is a highly-experienced government lawyer with over 25 years’ experience working in private and government legal practice.

He has extensive experience managing legal teams, strategic and legal practice management and providing high level legal advice. He has wide ranging experience in carrying out and managing large scale civil litigation, statutory interpretation, administrative law, freedom of information, executive power and machinery of government, legislative drafting, legal policy, commercial and property law, employment law, media and communication law, general dispute resolution, mediation and arbitration.

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Bronwyn is a highly regarded commercial advisor, manager and lawyer with significant experience acting for Commonwealth and New South Wales government, private sector and not-for-profit clients. She is an experienced company director, general counsel and is often sought after by industry for her input to working groups, industry policy shifts and planning. She has published legal articles regularly presents at conferences and events, having won legal, government and academic alumni awards.

As a general counsel, Bronwyn developed a passion for navigating a path through problematic situations and mentoring junior lawyers to provide practical, commercially focused advice. She has practiced across a broad range of legal fields but has a particular focus on contracting, privacy and information sharing and security, legislative interpretation, risk management, dispute resolution and litigation, intellectual property, corporations, markets, financial services and consumer credit law, insurance, intellectual property, insolvency and bankruptcy, compliance and governance.

She is sought after by her clients for her approachable, collegiate manner, and her pragmatic solutions-focused and highly commercial advice.

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Tara has extensive experience in a broad range of legal areas and has advised Australian Government clients for 18 years on administrative law, litigation and dispute resolution, government advising, policy making, health law, privacy and contract law.

She has carried out many secondments to Australian Government departments and advised on decision making processes; interpreting legislation including statutes, regulations, orders and other subordinate legislation; government contracts; litigation in the Federal Court and AAT; access to records and privacy; secrecy provisions; the aged care industry as well as rights to government support.

Tara’s extensive experience as an Australian Government lawyer brings particular value to program and policy areas when considering how they can best administer statutory frameworks.

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David has a proven ability to work as an integral member of a team or independently to achieve stated business objectives, and create long-term working relationships with key customers and suppliers.

He has particular experience in corporate and commercial law and legal practice management, and has extensive general counsel experience. Before joining Proximity, David was for many years the general counsel at BAE Systems Australia.

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Sarah is a highly qualified and experienced government lawyer, company director and accredited mediator, with an excellent reputation for client-focused and strategic problem-solving.

Sarah has considerable experience as an in-house Counsel specialising in administrative law, statutory interpretation, information law and litigation, including as General Counsel for several agencies, head of the AGS Information Law team, and the ACT senior executive with oversight of legislation and policy for the whole of the Territory.

Sarah has extensive experience in legislative drafting and acting as an advocate in administrative appeals, including negotiating the advantageous resolution of matters before hearing. She is experienced in all types of APS corporate regulation, including employment law, human rights, information law, compliance, complaints management and governance.

Clients value her strategic and lateral approach to finding innovative and lasting solutions to complex problems, and her ability to manage difficult stakeholders through the use of her negotiation and mediation skills.

Sarah has a current NV1 (Secret) security clearance with AGSVA.

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Robin has extensive expertise in administrative law, both in practice and academia. Robin is Emeritus Professor of Law in the College of Law at the Australian National University, where her research is focused mainly on administrative law and military law. Her main research interests are in administrative law, particularly the impact of judicial review cases, statutory interpretation, and the position of tribunals in the Australian system of government.

Robin’s current teaching interests are in the public law sphere, particularly administrative law and military law. She has broad experience in regulation and administrative law as previous Commissioner of the ACT’s Independent Competition and Regulatory Commission (ICRC) and one of the longest serving members of the Administrative Review Council. She was also the Integrity Advisor to the Australian Taxation Office and is a member of the Administrative Law Committee of the Law Council of Australia.

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Len holds Bachelor degrees in both Engineering and Law and is a Barrister and Solicitor. He has worked as a professional Engineer in Australia and the UK and spent many years in the Australian health industry, most recently as CEO of a large, metropolitan teaching hospital. Following a 25-year career in the Commonwealth and ACT Administrations (14 years at the level of Senior or Chief Executive), Len moved into consultancy.  For the past 20 years, Len has been predominantly engaged by Commonwealth and NSW Government agencies in various roles of probity advising and tender management.

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Mike is a highly-experienced ICT procurement consultant with Proximity. He has undertaken major projects in both the public (State, Federal and International) and private sectors. The success of his projects is due to his highly-organised inclusive approach, to the analysis design and implementation of practical innovative solutions while successfully managing risk.

As a procurement specialist, Mike assisted the Department of Defence to procure services to establish ad run a Naval Shipbuilding College to support the $90B Naval Shipbuilding Plan.

Mike has an excellent ability to consult with stakeholders from the business to the CEO, Departmental Secretary or Minister. He will do everything  in his power to get the work completed and meet the strategic and business objectives set by management and build successful relationships while managing the portfolio of work. Mike has worked on, managed and facilitated major outsourcing and sourcing activity across many sectors and industries.

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Julie has extensive experience in most aspects of commercial and public law with a diverse range of agencies including Social Services (and FaHCSIA), National Disability Insurance Agency, Australian Government Solicitor, Health, Transport (DOTARS), Civil Aviation Safety Authority and the Australian Customs Service. For over two decades she has advised on contracting and procurement, grants, financial management and accountability, government advising, legislative development, administrative decision-making and program and policy making.

Julie is particularly effective working on complex projects. She brings value to clients with early problem-solving and presenting clear solutions to legal problems. She has a demonstrated ability to convey legal concepts to a broad range of stakeholders and supporting the achievement of business and policy imperatives.

Julie’s extensive experience as an Australian Government lawyer brings value to program and policy areas when considering how best to administer programs with statutory frameworks.

John has over 30 years of experience in senior executive and consulting positions. He has extensive experience in working with senior executives to assist in business transformation and establish strategies for success. For over 30 years John has covered business transformation, Business Process Management (BPM), IT and business procurement, strategic procurement, business process re-engineering, project management, shared services creation, systems development, outsourcing, and general management. John has held the positions of Financial Controller, Divisional Manager, Company Director, Partner, HR Director and Chief Information Officer. 

John is a regular speaker at conferences, a Master Project Director and a Chartered Accountant. 

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Simon is a Special Advisor with extensive experience providing legal advice within government and the private sector. His main areas of focus have been commercial and financial sector law, government law and legislation development. Simon has managed teams, including the Commercial & Resolution legal team in APRA and the Public Law Branch at FaHCSIA.  Simon’s experience includes advising on corporate and procurement matters and the regulation of authorised deposit-taking institutions, payment schemes, superannuation funds, general, life and private health insurers. He has advised on administrative law, information law (secrecy, FOI and privacy) and transfers of staff, assets and liabilities between agencies. Simon has extensive experience drafting administrative and legislative instruments and working with policy teams and OPC on the development of complex legislative reforms. Simon has a NV1 security clearance.

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Irene has over 10 years’ experience advising Australian Government agencies on commercial law, including procurement and contracting issues. She has gained a great deal of secondment experience having worked with nine different Australian Government clients throughout her career with Proximity (and previously with the Australian Government Solicitor).

On secondment she advised on contracts, procurement and probity matters, particularly ICT, IP, corporate governance matters, telecommunications outsourcing transactions and market-testing processes.

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David has long and broad experience in most aspects of commercial and public law, with a diverse range of agencies including the Departments of Industry, Innovation and Science; Agriculture and Water Resources; Home Affairs; Human Services; Finance; Communications and the Arts; and AGS. David has a broad practice covering legal, commercial and assurance support for major projects; information law; administrative decision-making and statutory interpretation; and commercial and procurement advisory.

David is particularly effective working in multi-disciplinary teams on complex projects. He has also successfully managed diverse teams of over 20. David is a practical lawyer who brings value to clients by being able to cut through complexity and present clear solutions to legal problems across the spectrum of public and commercial law.

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Veena has a broad range of commercial legal experience gained through advising Commonwealth entities and public and private companies for over a decade.  Two significant components of her practice are commercial property (including commercial leasing, acquisitions and disposals), probity and commercial law.  She also has experience in banking and finance.

Veena has a demonstrated ability to convey legal concepts to a broad range of stakeholders and to provide legal solutions that facilitate the achievement of business or policy imperatives.

She is the Chair of the ACT Law Society’s Inclusion and Diversity Committee, a member of the ACT Law Society’s Pro Bono Clearing House Assessment Panel and a director of the Belconnen Arts Centre.

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Ted is an experienced lawyer with over 20 years’ experience in senior legal roles in the Commonwealth government and in the banking sector. He has held General Counsel positions in aviation and banking and a Special Counsel role at Defence’s Joint Logistics Command. He has led legal and operational teams, and managed the company secretariat function in the private sector. He has worked in a number of government agencies including the Department of Defence, Airservices Australia, and the (former) Department of Immigration. He has also worked for Westpac, HSBC and the National Australia Bank. 

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Paula brings significant experience as a Project Manager having led complex strategic policy projects within government and non-government organisations. She has led a range of reviews and coordinated government responses involving both Australian, State and Territory governments. She has advised leaders within government, the private sector, and the not-for-profit sector and developed effective institutional responses to complex policy and operational challenges; including advising on the most appropriate governance structures for a range of entities.

A highly regarded creative thinker with a diverse legal and consulting background, Paula is adept at helping organisations adapt to change by undertaking independent reviews and collaborating with clients to design organisational improvements that span across systems, people and processes. Her strengths are also in complex stakeholder management, she has deep expertise in leading multi-agency teams to collaborate effectively and deliver quality project outcomes.

Before joining Proximity, Paula held senior executive and executive positions in the Australian Government where she was responsible for the delivery of a number of high profile and priority projects, including at the Attorney-General’s Department, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, the Department of Human Services and the Australian Human Rights Commission.

Nicolle is a Senior Adviser at Proximity and has a successful 20-year track record of achievements in procurement and contract management and operational experience in the private and public sectors.

Nicolle has delivered successful outcomes as a former public sector executive and consultant in Commonwealth procurement and contracting, project management support, service delivery, policy development and implementation. Nicolle has successfully completed a variety of engagements at the Australian Border Force, the Departments of Defence, Agriculture, Immigration, Clean Energy Regulator and ACT Government. Nicolle has also been engaged as trainer, facilitator and acted as probity adviser and auditor to several procurement projects.

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David is a highly qualified and experienced government lawyer with an exceptionally strong background in legislation, policy and governance. David has a very strong reputation for strategic problem-solving in challenging review and reform environments and has undertaken major statutory and structural reform projects in a wide range of legal and operational settings.

After a number of years in private practice, David pursued a career in legislative development and legal policy. He was involved in the development of the ACT’s initial land, planning and environment legislation, the establishment of the ACT Planning and Land Authority and Land Development Agency, the establishment of the ACT Emergency Services Authority and the national review of the Australian legal profession.

David has extensive experience within the ACT framework in regulatory law reform, and has worked closely with the ACT’s environment protection agencies in planning, land management, emergency services and waste management review roles.

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Colin is an experienced commercial and procurement consultant with expertise in high technology acquisition and sustainment programs, including multibillion-dollar hardware and software procurement programs such as the Astute Class Submarines (UK) and Wedgetail Aircraft (Australia). Following a successful career with the UK Ministry of Defence, Colin has held senior leadership roles with both BAE Systems and Raytheon, the two largest defence contractors in Australia. Colin has led or supported multi-disciplined teams on bids and programs ranging from lower risk ongoing sustainment business to a higher risk Private Finance Initiative program.  He has a full understanding of Commonwealth procurement rules and strategies, and is fully versed in ASDEFCON contracting templates, including Strategic Materiel, Complex, Support (Performance Based Contracting), and the lower risk templates such as the “Short-form” series and Purchase Order terms and conditions.

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Ben has over 10 years’ professional experience providing commercial and legal advice to all levels of the Australian Government. He has a particular focus on preparing business cases to support government decision making and understands the end-to-end procurement process.

Ben recently led the team responsible for developing the business case and supporting documentation for a major Defence ICT infrastructure project and assisted CrimTrac prepare to go to market for a future state biometric system. Before joining Proximity Ben was a senior manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers within its Technology, Strategy, Alliances and Delivery consulting group.

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Su-Ann joined Proximity in 2017 to launch its Melbourne operations. Clients value Su-Ann’s outcome-focused approach and passion for continuous improvement.

Su-Ann completed her Master of Commercial Law at the University of Melbourne while working as a corporate lawyer. This enabled her to acquire practical expertise in areas including negotiation, technology contracts, liability insurance and international intellectual property law.

Su-Ann speaks Mandarin and Cantonese, and basic Japanese. She enjoys bringing together people from different perspectives to leverage talent and spark new ideas.

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Ingrid has a broad range of commercial legal experience acting for both public and private sector organisations on major projects and programs. Her particular expertise is in aviation, transport and other highly regulated industries, including being part of the legal teams for Western Sydney Airport, Canberra Light Rail Stages 1 and 2 and Sydney Gateway while working with Clayton Utz. Ingrid is an adaptable and pragmatic commercial lawyer, with a diverse set of legal skills and experience gained from advising on all aspects of complex projects. This includes acting as a legal adviser on a range of commercial and contracting matters, providing strategic regulatory advice, advising on the property, environmental and planning aspects of projects, supporting clients with the contract management and delivery of major projects, and advising on corporate and governance functions.

Michael is a senior workplace relations lawyer who has significant experience managing the full range of industrial relations, workplace and health and safety matters. He is a trained mediator and uses these skills to where appropriate to help clients avoid costly litigation and negotiate fair settlements. Michael also assists organisations with cultural change to remove or reduce issues such as sexism and discrimination long term.

Michael has significant experience in administrative law, employment law, investigations, the criminal law, regulatory law, governance and management.

Michael is based in Canberra and has a current NV1 security clearance.

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Paulina is a Senior Adviser at Proximity, having previously worked in a number of firms advising both public and private clients in a number of areas including contracting, tendering, immigration and taxation law.

Paulina graduated from the University of Canberra in 1998 with a Bachelor of Laws, and completed a Masters of Law specialising in Government and Taxation at the University of Sydney in 2005.

Paulina has worked on a number of major projects, where she has gained valuable experience in providing legal and probity advice on major procurement processes including drafting procurement documents and a variety of agreements.  She has also spent a number of months in the corporate legal unit in the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry advising on various statutory interpretation issues and procurement related issues.

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Catherine has over 20 years’ experience advising the Australian Government on legislation and helping develop new legislative schemes.

Before joining Proximity in early 2016, Catherine worked within the Office of General Counsel in the Australian Government Solicitor and advised government agencies on a wide range of matters, with a particular focus on statutory interpretation, constitutional law, administrative law, environmental law, legislative development and drafting legislative instruments.

Catherine also has many years of experience as a legal trainer, having devised and presented training on a broad range of legal subjects to government lawyers and non-lawyers.

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Peter is a very well regarded procurement and contracting advisor with significant experience in government and the private sector.

He has significant experience as a commercial, procurement and contracting advisor on strategic and operational information and communication technology procurement projects, covering business systems, IT professional services, hardware procurement, software licensing and fixed and mobile communications.

He also has considerable experience as an advisor and practitioner in general goods and services procurement projects and whole-of-government procurement and performance-based contract development and management. This experience includes establishing, implementing and managing whole-of-government professional services’ panels and similar arrangements.

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Katherine has extensive experience providing sound commercial and legal advice within Australian Government and the private sector. She takes a pragmatic and results based approach that takes account her clients’ political, policy and commercial drivers.

Katherine’s main areas of practice are government and commercial contracting, IT procurement and probity. She has extensive contractual drafting experience in IT and experience acting for the Australian Government. She has an excellent knowledge of Australian Government drivers and policy having completed a number of secondments within the Australian Government while employed by Clayton Utz and Norton Rose Fulbright.

Before joining Proximity Katherine was Legal Counsel and Commercial Manager at Fujitsu where she provided commercial and legal advice on many large scale IT projects.

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James has over 25 years’ experience as a government lawyer of which 14 years was in senior management roles. James has extensive experience in the provision of high level legal and strategic advice.

James has extensive experience in statutory interpretation, commercial law, property law, administrative law, legislative drafting, criminal law, freedom of information and corporate governance.

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Caitlin is a Canberra-based lawyer with over two years’ experience working for the Australian Government. Caitlin has worked with a diverse range of clients across multiple practice areas, gaining considerable experience in government law, public law, information law (including freedom of information and privacy) commercial law and litigation.

Caitlin has recently undertaken four secondments within the Legal Division at the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources, and one secondment within the Department of Health’s Commercial Law Section. Caitlin has had extensive pro bono involvement in the Canberra community through secondments at the ACT Law Society Pro Bono Clearing House and the Consumer Law Centre of the ACT.

Caitlin’s co-operative and personal approach allows her to excel in building strong relationships. She can seamlessly fit into each new environment she encounters and is experienced in managing and meeting tight timeframes, while delivering high quality services.

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Olga is a highly motivated lawyer with strong organisational, analytical and legal research skills. Olga is an effective communicator who works collaboratively with colleagues and external stakeholders to achieve organisational goals and objectives.

While working at the Moscow Industrial Bank, Olga developed in-depth knowledge of various legal and banking software packages to conduct research and due diligence on case files, client data, legal proceedings and determinations. She also reviewed transaction data and access customer accounts to detect potential money laundering and other illegal activities. In her time with the ACT Government Solicitor she worked in the Civil Litigation Team, where she worked on medical negligence and personal injury matters. She also worked with the Government Law Team, where she worked on freedom of information matters and employment and industrial relations law matters.

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John is an Advisor at Proximity and is an experienced legal researcher, having undertaken extensive research into areas from the jurisdiction of adjudicative bodies to the interpretation of revenue statutes. He has experience in the drafting of court and tribunal documents and a deep understanding of the procedural operation of those bodies. He has research interests in the areas of administrative law, intellectual property and international trade law.

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Bilal is a Canberra-based junior lawyer and commercial advisor. He is admitted to practice and has gained significant experience in government and administrative law, commercial law, Commonwealth procurement, contracting and litigation. He works with a range of Commonwealth, regulated industry and non-profit clients.

He has recently undertaken secondments to the Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the Northern Territory, and the Department of Human Services’ litigation team.

Bilal brings a creative approach and a proven capability in undertaking a variety of complicated and challenging work.

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Jason is a high performing commercial advisor with experience in business process improvement, contract management, data administration and legal assistance. Having undertaken secondments to the Department of Defence, Department of Human Services, the Treasury, and Department of Immigration and Border Protection he has demonstrated excellence in problem solving, research and analytical tasks. These roles required Jason to apply a strategic mindset while approaching high volume, complex work. Essential to his success has been the ability to adapt to unfamiliar environments and quickly grasp new content. By working efficiently and effectively, he regularly delivers results that go beyond the initial needs of the client.

Declan is a hard-working graduate lawyer whose professional focus is on value-adding. He has a highly developed ability to efficiently manage competing priorities while delivering high quality products. Declan uses creative solutions drawing on his background in systems thinking from his undergraduate studies in sustainability and environmental science, contributing to demonstrated excellence in problem solving and analytical tasks. This diverse skill set, coupled with highly developed legal research skills, gives Declan an ability to digest and synthesise swathes of information with clarity and succinctness in work he produces for our clients. Declan has completed secondments as a Ministerial Writer and a Parliamentary Officer within the Department of Human Services and previously worked within the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources in the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences, and Geoscience Australia.

Declan’s major contributions to date have been the review of the Law Design and Practice Group in the Australian Taxation Office, the Digital Transformation Agency’s SourceIT contract update and resulting Commonwealth Digital Sourcing Contract Suite update and the drafting of an agency-wide memorandum of understanding template for all NHMRC engagements with third parties.

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Maeve is a personable paralegal who is highly articulate and able to work confidently in challenging situations. Maeve is currently studying a combined degree of Bachelor of Laws (Honours) and Bachelor of Commerce at the ANU. She is a mature and dedicated student who possesses excellent communication, problem solving and research skills. Through her studies and her work in both the public and private sectors, she has learnt the importance of paying close attention to detail whilst calmly meeting deadlines. In participating in a range of co-curricular activities, Maeve has learnt to work effectively both alone and together with others in order to achieve the best results possible.

Jacob is in his final year at the Australian National University. He studies a Bachelors of Law and a Bachelors of Information Technology. Throughout 2018, Jacob volunteered at the Kimberley Community Legal Service to remotely assist the solicitors in administrative work and legal research. Jacob is currently seconded at the Department of Agriculture, and engages in legal research regarding the administration and expansion of Infringement Notices for Biosecurity regulation. Jacob enjoys playing chess and going bouldering in his time outside of work.

Samantha is a motivated and knowledgeable paralegal with over three years experience in the legal sector. Highly proficient in administration law, Samantha has produced work for many high-profile Commonwealth clients such as CASA and DIIS. Her experience in both the public and private sector has seen Samantha advise on administrative law issues including dispute resolution, sound decision-making processes, statutory interpretation, and access to information. Samantha is experienced in undertaking research tasks and has developed a strong capacity to undertake tasks which require complex analysis, interpretation of findings and detailed conclusions.

Radhika is currently a final year student at the ANU, studying a combined degree of Bachelor of Laws (Honours) and Bachelor of Arts. Prior to working at Proximity, Radhika gained legal experience in immigration law and family law which enabled her to develop highly refined legal research and critical thinking skills. In a voluntary capacity, Radhika has experience in management consulting with the pro bono firm 180 Degrees Consulting. As a part of the 180 Degrees team, Radhika worked with not-for-profit organisations to identify their business problems and led the teams that worked on the solutions. Since joining Proximity, Radhika has been seconded with the Department of Agriculture where she has worked as a research paralegal and project planning assistant.

Tyler is enthusiastic and capable, with effective communication, organizational and team work skills. With experience spanning a variety of roles in different teams, Tyler quickly fits into new work environments and adapts to the requirements of new tasks. As a student heading into his fourth year of a double degree in Law/Politics, Philosophy and Economics, Tyler has developed skills in legal reasoning, research and interpretation. As a passionate student, he has maintained a distinction average and has volunteered as an administrative intern at the Tenants Union ACT to complement his legal studies.

Having worked in a variety of professional environments, Tyler’s enthusiasm is supported by a range of transferable skills and experience. In 2017 Tyler was awarded a leadership position at Burton and Garran Hall and managed the Halls Canteen operations; choosing to spend his time contributing the Hall Community. Tyler has previously worked in local government, across Bathurst’s Cultural facilities, along with current work at the Australian Museum of Democracy (Old Parliament House).

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Lucy is an enthusiastic and dedicated paralegal who has recently completed Bachelor of Laws at the University of Canberra. Lucy has over 10 years experience working in the public sector in Canberra and in London, UK. Her experience gained across a range of departments within the public sector has allowed her to develop practical knowledge of internal government procedures and operations and a sound understanding of Commonwealth legislation and policy.

Having worked closely with two government boards Lucy has an appreciation of good governance practices and effective stakeholder management. Lucy is adept at building good working relationships with a diverse range of people across all levels and values the impact that relationships can have on delivering good outcomes.

Felicity is a hardworking, adaptable paralegal who possesses strong analytical skills, excellent attention to detail and has experience using systems such as Adobe Acrobat and Excel.

Felicity has recently completed a secondment to the Department of Human Services. In this role, she assisted the Centrelink Consent Team in processing requests for the release of personal information.

Last year Felicity attended Yale University as part of the International Alliance of Research Universities Global Summer Program, where she completed ‘Future of Food: Environment, Health, and Law.’ Felicity completed her final research paper on the role of the Malaysian government in causing and combatting childhood statelessness.

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Damon is an efficient and driven paralegal with strong analytical, legal research and drafting skills. With excellent communication skills, demonstrated initiative and a keen eye for detail, Damon achieves results in an effective manner.  

Damon has experience in legal drafting and research, statutory interpretation, precedent development, and document and matter management. He is currently on secondment to the Department of Human Services Ministerial Coordination and Parliamentary team. Damon is also undertaking a Bachelor of Laws (Honours)/Bachelor of Politics, Philosophy and Economics at The Australian National University (ANU).

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Simin is a hard-working and driven student and paralegal with strong analytical, communication, and legal research skills.  Simin is in her final year, undertaking a double degree in Law and Psychology with a diploma in Spanish languages at the Australian National University.  Simin has completed several law courses such as Litigation and Dispute Management, Property Law, Corporations Law, Administrative law, and Employment law, as well as graduate law courses on her exchange semester, such as Financial Skills for Lawyers.  This year, Simin will be attending London School of Economics to complete an intensive law course, to further advance her academic and professional skills. 

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Tilly is a fourth-year ANU double degree Law and European Studies student, and the Community Coordinator of a 400-strong ANU Residential Hall. Having maintained a strong average, she is driven by a desire to obtain Oxbridge postgraduate qualifications. Tilly has worked on the Oxford University Press law student panel, and recently edited a Senior ANU Lecturer’s academic book review, demonstrating her keen eye for detail and excellent English language proficiency.

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Kyle Wood is in his final year of a combined Law and International Relations degree at ANU and possesses highly developed Microsoft Office and database skills. Through his degree he has been particularly focused on domestic and international public law, and has completed several research based courses in these areas.

Kyle has a mature, hard working attitude with highly developed attention to detail acquired through his work as a paralegal at Department of Industry.

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Jeremy is a highly experienced communications and marketing specialist with nearly four decades of experience in the public and private sectors.

As a media professional, Jeremy has managed television, radio and newspaper newsrooms and prides himself on having a great nose for news and understanding what audiences want.

Jeremy has held senior communications, marketing and events roles within the Commonwealth and ACT Governments and had responsibility for delivering the successful Centenary of Canberra program in 2013.

Amongst his many career highlights, Jeremy was the Chief Executive Officer for the National Australia Day Council for three years and was the ACT’s representative on the Council for Australian Honours.

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Melissa looks after all of our financials from ensuring our clients are correctly invoiced to making sure our staff get paid. She also manages the higher level budgeting and monthly reporting and liases with our Accountants to ensure compliance. Recently Mel has also taken on the role of Office Manager. She assists Proximity with marketing, event coordination, staff onboarding, administration and general assistance to our Directors & Business Manager. Mel has quickly become a key member in the Proximity team.

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Ana manages the finer administrative details at Proximity headquarters with extensive public and private sector administration knowledge and experience. Her previous roles in executive office management, junior support staff development and internal systems review, lay the foundations for Ana’s successful business support career.

Ana has worked in senior administrative functions within ACT Government Procurement, non-for-profit organisations and AECOM on the Western Sydney Airport project with the Department of Infrastructure, Regional Development and Cities. Her dynamic work style, strong passion for business improvement and innovation makes for smooth daily operations.

Elizabeth Pickworth is the Office Manager for Proximity and she brings over a decade of experience in Administrative, Communication, HR and Business Development roles in Australia and overseas.

Elizabeth recently joined proximity having made the move from boutique law firm in Brisbane.

Elizabeth is a Trainer and Assessor and is responsible for all day to day office management of Proximity, executive support, training, events and generalist HR. Elizabeth is currently studying a MBA and Master of Conflict Management & Resolution.

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Andrew is a highly qualified Departmental Secretary and Chief Executive with 30 years’ experience in leading, managing and controlling large government Departments and public sector organisations.

Andrew recently retired as the Secretary as the NSW Department of Justice and has extensive breadth of experience in service delivery, regulatory and commercial environments across the public service. Known for quickly mastering complex policy and organisational issues he has successfully lead numerous major reforms programs. Management breadth covers organisations with +$10bn operating budgets and over 20k employees. Governance roles include Department Secretary, Chief Executive Officer, Company Board Chair and member, major committee chair, advisory board chair and member.

Kerrie-Anne’s professional experience spans ASX100 and Australian Public Service executive boards and she has over 20 years experience in legal and corporate governance advisory roles.  Kerrie-Anne is an experienced Commonwealth General Counsel and has previously been the General Counsel at three large Commonwealth Departments: Health, Agriculture and Water Resources, and Climate Change and Energy Efficiency. Before joining the public service Kerrie-Anne was a senior executive at Coles Group Ltd, where she had a broad range of business and M&A experience as Corporate Counsel for Officeworks. Kerrie-Anne began her career as a Technology Lawyer at a large law firm and as a management consultant advising in Telecommunications, Financial Services and Aviation industries.

Mike advises boards and business leaders on achieving strategic and cultural alignment to create competitive advantage and to build sustainable organisations. Mike was previously a global Director of PricewaterhouseCoopers based in London acting as principal for their mergers, acquisitions and strategic alliances. As a PwC consultant he advised government and large corporations in the UK and USA on governance and strategy, revenue generation, cost management, and operational outsourcing. In Australia Mike has held senior executive positions with listed corporations in financial and operational roles. Mike has led a number of prominent national legal firms as their CEO during periods of significant growth and fundamental change of strategic direction.

Angus runs Rawson House, a legal industry executive search and selection firm based in Melbourne. Angus’s experience covers establishing new law firm offices across Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne and Hobart; the facilitation of law firm mergers and acquisitions; and the hiring of key partners for clients. Angus’s expertise covers several aspects of the legal market including government and regulation, procurement, infrastructure and construction and corporate and commercial law. Angus regularly provides counsel for clients on a range of matters from firm growth opportunities, to firm strategy and people management. He has developed a reputation for his lateral thinking and his honest and candid approach to his work.