The Newcastle and Hunter team at Australian Business Lawyers & Advisors has added more awards to its growing list of accolades.
Leader of the firm’s Newcastle based Corporate and Commercial practice, Suzie Leask, was named Private Practice Lawyer of the Year at the 2019 NSW Women Lawyers Achievement Awards held in Sydney.
Suzie was a finalist in three categories.
This is not the first recognition of Suzie’s talent as a lawyer and her contribution to her industry and the broader community.
Suzie was a Finalist for the Australian Law Awards Regional Lawyer of the Year Award in 2018 and a Finalist in the Newcastle Business Club’s Young Business Leader in both 2018 and 2019.
The firm’s Corporate and Commercial practice was a Finalist for Commercial Team of the Year at the 2019 Australian Law Awards. The team has been a finalist in that award for three years running.
Suzie said it was an honour to be both a finalist and winner given the calibre of the female lawyers who were nominated.
“My team and I are passionate about assisting companies and their boards, directors, company secretaries, managers and key business stakeholders comply with corporate governance and regulatory compliance obligations, as well as taking care of legal details to get deals done in a commercial and cost effective manner,” Suzie said.
“Maximising revenue while minimising risk to the business is our focus,” she said.
“Our clients need quality legal advice they can understand, that is commercially focused and solutions-oriented.”
Suzie’s colleague and Head of the firm’s Newcastle and Hunter Workplace and Employment practice, Kyle Scott, said the award is well deserved.
Kyle said Suzie is a highly skilled and experienced lawyer, making her a trusted advisor to SMEs and corporates.
He said she is known for passionately and tirelessly giving back to the community.
Suzie has held several not-for-profit Board and Committee roles, as well as mentoring young lawyers and being a role model and champion for flexible work practices.
She is an active member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, a Fellow of the Governance Institute of Australia, The Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators, The Law Society of NSW, Newcastle Law Society, Women Lawyers Association of NSW Newcastle Chapter Committee, Hunter Business Chamber, Lake Macquarie Business Chamber, HunterNet, Hunter Young Professionals and Newcastle Business Club.
Suzie was a Director and Company Secretary of Lake Macquarie Business Limited from 2016-2018, a long term Newcastle Committee Member of the Women Lawyers Association of NSW, and is a Founding Member of the Hunter Young Business Mind Awards.
From 2018-2019 Suzie was a board member of Connectability Limited, a large local not-for-profit that provides critical disability, aged care and community services in the Hunter region.
Born in the Hunter, Suzie has a Bachelor of Law and Bachelor of Psychology with first class honours from the University of Newcastle.
She has a Diploma of Applied Corporate Governance from the Governance Institute of Australia and was dux of the Corporate Governance course in NSW.
Suzie has worked in Sydney and Singapore before returning to Newcastle.
This award followed ABLA’s Workplace and Employment team being named Workplace Relations and Employment Team of the Year at the annual Australian Law Awards for the second year in a row.
IMAGE | Suzie Leask accepting her award at the 2019 NSW Women Lawyers Achievement Awards. Picture courtesy of Jamie James.
