Industry Event

Holding Redlich staff wore their favourite and colourful dresses, socks and ties every day in October to support Frocktober, an annual initiative of the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund. The firm and its team raised more than $5,000 for the worthwhile cause via themed morning teas, raffles, and a silent auction for designer dresses. First-year lawyers organised donations from designers for the raffles and auction, with names like Zimmerman, Marcs, Cue, Siss and co, Eco D, Kuwaii, 400 Co, Cooper Street, Lisa Barron, Kindling, Mela Purdie, Bul, Keegan, Sacha Drake, Maurie and Eve, We are Kindred, Thurley, and Finders Keepers chipping in. “This is a cause close to many of us,” said Bree Knoester, Holding Redlich partner who oversaw the drive. “Several staff members have seen the impact ovarian cancer has had on their friends or family members. As an outcome we were eager to help support the wonderful research efforts that are underway via a concerted month-long fundraising effort. This is the third year that Holding Redlich has proudly supported this important cause.”

Clifford Chance's Sydney team held a Spring-themed charity fundraiser in support of Fitted for Work, a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to helping women experiencing disadvantage, get work and keep it. Guest speaker and well-renowned Australian television, radio, newspaper and online journalist Tracey Spicer spoke about gender discrimination in the media industry. Attendees were encouraged to donate business clothes and accessories as well as contribute to a raffle on the night. Clients attending included Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Macquarie Bank and CBA.

On Thursday 22 June 2017, Arnold Bloch Leibler hosted the 3rd Annual Environmental Defenders' Office Northern Territory (EDONT) Aboriginal art auction. The Environmental Defenders Office NT provides free legal assistance to people who want to use the law to protect the environment in the public interest. The auction raised nearly $150,000 for EDONT.

A team of 26 partners and staff from Pinsent Masons Australia recently kicked off the firm’s ongoing partnership with the Clontarf Foundation with a visit to Alice Springs. The team met with 15 Aboriginal students and mentors participating in the Foundation’s program in Central Australia, presenting them with a donation to help the Foundation improve the education, discipline, life skills, self-esteem and employment prospects of young Aboriginal men. The Pinsent Masons team spent two days with the students and mentors on an active weekend involving outback hiking, a traditional smoking ceremony and a Yeperenye dance, as well as sleeping under the stars.

To mark International Women's Day on Tuesday 8 March, the DLA Piper Sydney office welcomed Karen Willis OAM, Executive Officer of Rape & Domestic Violence Services Australia, and Dixie Link-Gordon, sexual assault and domestic violence awareness advocate and community educator.

Holding Redlich and Adviceline Injury Lawyers were very pleased to support Frocktober – a campaign organised by the Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation that ran throughout the month of October to raise awareness and funds for research into ovarian cancer. As part of the fun challenge, Frocktober participants wore a colourful dress every day of the month (or colourful socks and ties for men). Through concerted fundraising efforts, which included morning teas, after work drinks functions and the raffling of four designer dresses (kindly donated by Elk, Grace, 400 Co and Cue) to staff at the firm, a total of $7754 was raised to help in the fight against ovarian cancer.

On October 16, lawyers from Mills Oakley participated in a charity abseil in support of the Sir David Martin Foundation. The lawyers, all of whom were new to abseiling and confessed to having a fear of heights, nonetheless took the plunge from a 33 storey building in the Sydney CBD. The team managed to raise over $6600 for the Foundation and its signature initiative, the Triple Care Farm for youth with substance use disorders and mental health issues.

Arnold Bloch Leibler (ABL) in Melbourne hosted the launch of the 2015 Yarra Valley Arts / Yering Station Sculpture Exhibition & Awards. The firm has supported this important event on the Australian art calendar for 11 years. The Sculpture Exhibition & Awards provide a platform to showcase work by both established and emerging artists from all around Australia. The event generates financial benefits for the talented artists, the Yarra Valley community generally and leukaemia research. As well as being the principal sponsor of the event, ABL displays a number of sculptures (available for purchase) in its Melbourne offices in conjunction with the main exhibition at Yering Station winery.

A global team of 40 partners and staff from DLA Piper have successfully completed a trek through the Simien mountains in Ethiopia for UNICEF. The team began its journey in Addis Ababa on 2 October and then moved to Gonder, a small city at the foot of the Simien mountains, before embarking on the four-day trek. They walked for up to ten hours a day and covered close to 7000 metres to reach the summit at Mount Bwahit standing at 4,430m above sea level.