15 Law Firm Partners Across Australia and New Zealand

Last updated: 11 August 2026.

Law firm partners across Australia and New Zealand work in a market where the legal question is rarely the whole leadership question. Clients want sharp advice, but they also want judgement, trust, speed and a clear sense of what happens next.

This list brings together 15 current partners and firm leaders across the two countries. It includes chief executive partners, managing partners, practice leaders and partners whose work sits close to major transactions, disputes, regulation, infrastructure and organisational change.

The useful question is not who has the loudest profile. It is what each person appears to make possible. Strong legal leadership turns complexity into a decision people can act on, while building a firm that clients and talented people want to choose.

The profiles are a practical starting point for people looking for legal expertise, studying professional services leadership or thinking about how partnership can become more than a title.

1. Daniel Proietto

Chief Executive Partner at Lander & Rogers

Daniel Proietto is chief executive partner at Lander & Rogers. Current Chief Executive Partner since January 2025; leads the firm's 2030 strategy and work on inclusion, wellbeing, sustainability, technology and innovation. He previously led the national Workplace Relations & Safety practice and has been a partner since 2011. Explore Lander & Rogers.

2. Dominic Toomey

Partner at Simpson Grierson

Dominic Toomey is partner at Simpson Grierson. Current Auckland partner advising on corporate debt and leveraged transactions, including cross-border finance involving technology assets. His current work includes the PF Olsen and Forest360 merger and technology financing work for BNZ. Explore Simpson Grierson.

3. Emma Covacevich

Chief Executive Partner at Clayton Utz

Emma Covacevich is chief executive partner at Clayton Utz. Current Chief Executive Partner, leading about 1,500 staff across six offices; she has held the role since 2023 and has been a partner since 2007. Her energy-sector experience includes oil, gas and LNG projects across Australia and New Zealand. Explore Clayton Utz.

4. Gavin MacLaren

Senior Partner and CEO at Corrs Chambers Westgarth

Gavin MacLaren is senior partner and CEO at Corrs Chambers Westgarth. Current Senior Partner and CEO with more than two decades as a lawyer and a practice spanning complex cross-border M&A and joint ventures. His work has included advising multinationals, governments, financial institutions, private equity and sovereign wealth clients. Explore Corrs Chambers Westgarth.

5. Graydon Dowd

Chief Executive Partner at Hall & Wilcox

Graydon Dowd is chief executive partner at Hall & Wilcox. Current Chief Executive Partner, appointed in July 2024, responsible for strategy, partners, staff, key clients and public representation. He continues to practise as a senior disputes partner while carrying the firm's executive role. Explore Hall & Wilcox.

6. Hannah Turton

Corporate Partner at Bell Gully

Hannah Turton is corporate partner at Bell Gully. Appointed a corporate partner at Bell Gully in February 2026, with a practice covering M&A, private capital, joint ventures and public control transactions. Her current practice sits across private and public corporate transactions in the New Zealand market. Explore Bell Gully.

7. Jacqueline Downes

Partner and Head of Competition, Consumer & Regulatory at Allens

Jacqueline Downes is partner and head of competition, consumer & regulatory at Allens. Current head of Allens' national Competition, Consumer & Regulatory group, advising clients on competition, consumer and regulatory issues. She has chaired the Competition and Consumer Committee of the Law Council of Australia and regularly speaks on the field. Explore Allens.

8. Laura Scampion

Country Managing Partner at DLA Piper New Zealand

Laura Scampion is country managing partner at DLA Piper New Zealand. Current Country Managing Partner for DLA Piper New Zealand, based in Auckland, and a member of the firm's employment practice. She has been with DLA Piper since 2015 and combines country leadership with employment law expertise. Explore DLA Piper New Zealand.

9. Marc Kemp

Managing Partner at Allens

Marc Kemp is managing partner at Allens. Current Managing Partner of Allens, advising Australian and offshore sponsors and institutional investors on major transactions. His experience includes advising on the merger of Sunsuper and QSuper to form Australian Retirement Trust. Explore Allens.

10. Phillipa Muir

Chair and Partner at Simpson Grierson

Phillipa Muir is chair and partner at Simpson Grierson. Current Chair and partner in Auckland, and a leading employment lawyer with a long record of work in significant employment cases. Her public profile records leading work in matters that reached the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of New Zealand. Explore Simpson Grierson.

11. Pip England

Chief Executive Partner at Chapman Tripp

Pip England is chief executive partner at Chapman Tripp. Current Chief Executive Partner in Auckland, leading the firm's business and professional responsibilities alongside client and partner management. She previously led the Auckland Corporate team, with experience in M&A, property syndications and corporate property. Explore Chapman Tripp.

12. Sandy Mak

Head of Corporate and Partner at Corrs Chambers Westgarth

Sandy Mak is head of corporate and partner at Corrs Chambers Westgarth. Current Head of Corporate at Corrs, advising on public and private M&A, foreign investment, equity raisings and restructurings. She was reappointed to the Takeovers Panel for a second three-year term in 2024. Explore Corrs Chambers Westgarth.

13. Scott Lochhead

Partner, Construction and Projects at Bell Gully

Scott Lochhead is partner, construction and projects at Bell Gully. Current partner in Bell Gully's national Construction and Projects team, appointed in 2025 after more than a decade working on major projects. His work covers renewable energy, telecommunications, health and transport projects in New Zealand and overseas. Explore Bell Gully.

14. Shane Evans

Managing Partner, Disputes, Competition and Insurance at MinterEllison

Shane Evans is managing partner, disputes, competition and insurance at MinterEllison. Current Managing Partner for Disputes, Competition and Insurance and Managing Partner for Markets, Sydney. He has nearly 30 years of experience in health claims, litigation, coronial inquests and regulatory investigations, and oversees a 24/7 client assistance service. Explore MinterEllison.

15. Virginia Briggs

CEO and Managing Partner at MinterEllison

Virginia Briggs is CEO and managing partner at MinterEllison. Current CEO and Managing Partner, leading firm strategy and work on AI, digital transformation, diversity and inclusion. Her leadership portfolio includes the firm's AI and digital transformation agenda and its reconciliation work. Explore MinterEllison.

Conclusion.

The strongest professional services leaders make the hidden trade-offs visible. They clarify what the firm is trying to do, who owns the next move and how quality will be judged. That creates better conditions for both client work and the people doing it.

Use this list as a prompt for better questions. What kind of work does the person lead? How do they turn expertise into confidence for a client? What does their role reveal about the firm's choices, culture and direction?

Related Reading.

You may also find the existing list of thought leaders in law across Australia and New Zealand useful as a wider sector view. The earlier law firm leadership article offers another angle on the same question.

A Practical Next Step.

If your organisation is facing a hard leadership or culture choice, make the next decision visible. Name the choice, choose one owner and set the moment when the work comes back for a clear call. Practical beats performative. If you want written help with a leadership, culture or professional services decision, email jonno@consultclarity.org.

About the Author.

Jonno White helps leaders build organisations people would move cities to work at. His work is practical rather than motivational: something leaders can use on Monday morning, not a feeling that fades by Friday.