Sam qualified as a barrister in the UK, was a solicitor for Chapman Tripp, one of New Zealand’s top tier law firms, and has held senior positions in Australia, including senior lawyer for a Victorian Government Department and was a corporate governance leader for Australia Post.

She is passionate about keeping things simple, sensible, meaningful and useful – both in legal matters and corporate governance. In particular she advocates for the value best practice (and simplified) corporate governance adds to the business.

• Rewrote a constitution, departing from a complex ‘off the shelf’ document to useful and relevant to the unique circumstances of the company and easy to understand.
• Ensured relevant corporate governance foundations/frameworks were in place, improved governance and streamlined ways of working, such as the amount of board and committee meetings actually needed, by planning.
• Developed board and committee paper templates to help boards and management focus on what is important (‘so what’ factor vs tick the box).
• Developed streamlined policy template, making polices easier to understand ‘at a glance’ and therefore more likely to be read, understood and effectively implemented.
• Updated SaaS terms for a supplier whose services are increasingly being used across new government-driven EDI initiatives (like PEPPOL) – and analysed and advised the client on the Government’s extensive PEPPOL framework documentation for this purpose.
• Advised ASX listed financial institution on prudential standards and their practical application.

Past Law Firm

• Chapman Tripp – Wellington (Solicitor)

In-house Legal Roles

• State Services Commission – Wellington (Solicitor)
• Department of Transport – Melbourne (Senior Lawyer) 

Corporate Governance/Company Secretarial Roles

• Australia Post – Melbourne (Head of Risk, Compliance, Assurance and Reporting)
• Docklands Studios Melbourne (Company Secretary)
• ANZ Bank – Melbourne (Assurance Manager)
• Various short-term contract/consulting roles, including:
  • MLC Life Insurance – Melbourne (Deputy Company Secretary)
  • Blackhall and Pearl – Melbourne (Associate Director, Board Reviews)

Degrees

• LLB (hons) law degree – University of Derby, UK
• Postgraduate diploma in professional legal skills – The City University, London – Inns of Court School of Law, UK (to qualify as a barrister)
• Postgraduate diploma in applied corporate governance – Governance Institute of Australia

Other

• Graduate Member Australian Institute of Company Directors Course
• Fellow Governance Institute of Australia
• Fellow Chartered Governance Institute (formerly institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators)