As a leading multinational legal and consulting firm, our professionals have worked a multitude of interesting projects. The last two years however, has seen the firm achieve a world first for any major sporting event, with MinterEllison Gold Coast providing a fully outsourced legal and brand protection service to the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games Corporation (GOLDOC) in the lead up to the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
Seven of our legal experts are now two thirds of the way through a highly successful three year partnership with GOLDOC. As an embedded team, they are providing advice and support across 42 areas of legal practice including sponsorship, brand protection and major procurements and have negotiated an incredible 2,300 contracts.
The partnership, which covers the lead up to, during and after the Games has seen GOLDOC thoroughly prepared for the largest sporting event Australia will host this decade. MinterEllison Partner and Head of Legal and Brand Protection at GOLDOC, Paula Robinson said the past two years can best be described as unique.
"A lot of days I don't know what's going to come my way, which keeps you on your toes, keeps you at your best and keeps things really interesting." she said.
When she first started with the organisation, there was a team of five. As the Games kick off, that team has grown to more than 1,500. For Senior Associate Jessica Norris, the past two years has been an experience like no other.
“Professionally, I’ve had the opportunity to work with some of the best sporting minds within the major events industry. For a lawyer, the diversity and quality of legal work is beyond anything you could imagine”
Jessica Norris, Senior Associate
The team has negotiated the procurement of roughly 617,000 pieces of furniture, sports items and luggage and the equivalent of two 747 jumbo jets filled with timing and results equipment. They have also managed all legal requirements for the administration of 18 venues as well as monitoring numerous domestic and international trademarks on a daily basis.
And it's not just the athletes and ticket holders who will benefit from the team's hard work. Sports enthusiasts unable to make it to the Games can thank the team for negotiating several broadcasting rights agreements in Australia and overseas.
Senior Associate April Rich said the last two years have been highlight of her legal career so far, and credited her team for stepping up to the task.
"It’s been refreshing and exciting to work directly with sports and entertainment colleagues and respond to an incredibly diverse range of business needs at a moment’s notice… Our greatest success would be having the flexibility and stamina to support each other through a changing work environment and unpredictable nature and workload of any major event." she said
A major project for the team was negotiating the procurement of the entire temporary infrastructure for the Games. Senior Associate Guy Cosgrove said it’s impossible to go to any event now without thinking about the effort that goes into organising it.
"As a sports fanatic it has been an incredible experience and has given an invaluable insight to the behind the scenes to a major event. It is amazing seeing the level of work from so many different teams all coming together to achieve the same common goal.", he said
The outsourced service delivery model first trialled with GOLDOC is unique and in keeping with MinterEllison's 2020 strategy, representing a progressive, new wave of thinking.
On being embedded within GOLDOC, Senior Associate Louise Young said it had enabled the team to do their best work.
“Being embedded at headquarters was the only way the legal services for such a dynamic and fast paced organisation could effectively have been delivered. We have supported GOLDOC through the full project life cycle, from when it was in its infancy, to today – being a business with over 1,000 employees.”
Louise Young, Senior Associate
And if preparing for the Games over the past two years wasn't enough, the team has also mentored 15 law students from Griffith University through an internship program, with three going on to gain employment within the team.
Madeline Lacy is one of those three. When asked what she will be focusing on over the course of the next two weeks, she said she would be keeping her head down and working hard while making the most of this once in a lifetime opportunity.
We wish all seven team members every success as they enter the active period of the Games and witness all of their hard work come to fruition. In two weeks' time, we will be the only law firm in Australia, and quite possibly the world, with complete end to end major event project experience. Something to feel very proud of.
