MinterEllison is one of Australia's largest law firms, with nearly 200 years of business history. We're known for our excellent legal and consulting expertise – and for our inclusive culture and authentic character.

MinterEllison's connections with the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras (Mardi Gras) began in an era when LGBTQIA+ inclusion was not considered to be a workplace matter. Former MinterEllison Partner and now consultant to the firm, Duncan McGregor, and many of his colleagues, were the first to offer their legal services to Mardi Gras despite doing so ‘under the radar’. Since then, they have gone from quietly supporting to passionately and openly celebrating a strong relationship and everything it represents about who and what MinterEllison stands for today.

In 2020, MinterEllison was the first corporate law firm to march in the Mardi Gras parade and has marched each year since. As the only corporate law firm marching in 2023, MinterEllison views this as a privilege and an opportunity to elevate the dialogue around diversity and inclusion amongst their colleagues, clients, and the broader community.

"Marching each year in the Mardi Gras parade is a privilege and a joy for me as CEO of MinterEllison. I'm incredibly proud of our longstanding partnership and support for justice and equality for LGBTQIA+ communities in Australia and this year, on the world stage. I'm also very proud of our PRIME group as it's the beating heart of our value of diversity at Minters". Virginia Briggs.

Marching in the 2023 Mardi Gras parade means more to MinterEllison than just costume designs, choreography, rehearsals, lighting, signage, design and weekly update meetings. At the 45th anniversary of the parade, MinterEllison's team will proudly march for the fourth successive year with the 'call to action' of: Dream, Strive, Thrive. Equality, inclusion and respect started with a dream. We strive to make this dream a reality. When the dream is real, we all thrive.

MinterEllison marchers in the 2021 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade

For more than 25 years we have provided pro bono legal support to Mardi Gras. For five of those years Bruno Solia, MinterEllison Senior Associate, has had a strong working relationship with our client.

When asked how he feels about the work he is doing, and particularly supporting the upcoming Sydney WorldPride festival, Bruno shared his excitement.

Sydney WorldPride is forecasted to be one of the biggest events in Sydney since the 2000 Olympics. It's all about supporting our client to create a lasting impact by sharing their messages and values with the world, and to help them achieve something that will be spoken about for decades”

Bruno Solia, MinterEllison

Bruno's work includes the negotiation of sponsorship agreements. As a not-for-profit organisation, Mardi Gras' two biggest revenue sources stem from the sponsorship agreements with private and public sector organisations, and the sale of tickets to some of the annual events. Through these sponsorships, Mardi Gras is able to select partners who not only meet their different ethical policies but who also support them to get the right messages out to the right audiences. The sponsorships will also help Mardi Gras deliver quality events over the next few years.

MinterEllison's support also includes corporate governance advice, and assistance with broadcast agreements, venue agreements, agreements with performers sourced for different events, and the procurement of food and drinks at the events.

Samantha Hans, Head of Partnerships at Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras recently shared her thoughts with us.

“MinterEllison continues to be one of Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras' longest standing partners and a true corporate leader when it comes to LGBTQIA+ inclusion in the workplace. Our partnership stretches beyond the celebration of the festival each year and I personally have had the pleasure of working with many of the MinterEllison team over the past few years. In that time, I have witnessed and been on the receiving end of an incredibly valuable transfer of skills and knowledge which have contributed to the stability and growth of our organisation. Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras was founded by a dedicated group of volunteers and over the past 45 years we have transformed into one of the largest LGBTQIA+ organisations globally. We couldn’t have achieved this without our valued partnerships with dedicated organisations such as MinterEllison.”

Bruno and his team's work has further included helping Mardi Gras move their 2021 and 2022 parades from Oxford Street to the COVID safe setting in the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), and all the negotiations involved with that transition. Bruno reflected on his experience.

"Partner organisations and sponsors were also affected in one way or another by the pandemic. Luckily, this meant that everyone was quite accommodating of what was happening and were willing to do whatever was necessary so the parade could go ahead. This was something that had never been seen in Mardi Gras' history given all of the restrictions on public health and gatherings of that magnitude. We got more involved from a contract perspective because we had some agreements that had been signed with key sponsors at the time that contemplated the parade taking place on Oxford Street and some parties with high concentration of people taking place indoors. All a sudden they couldn't deliver that. Also the public health orders were regularly changing which required a constant review of how and when the sponsorship benefits could be provided."

There were many challenges to face when moving the parades in 2021 and 2022 to the SCG. Among other things, there were limitations to how inclusive the event could be, in terms of space and tickets, but the end result at each event proved to be a real success story.

The COVID safe parades were testament to Mardi Gras' creativity with the march being done differently, and headline acts performing in the middle of the arena. The excitement of the crowd and the magical feeling of Mardi Gras did not change.

Despite the success of the last two years, there's a real sense of excitement building as the 2023 parade returns to Oxford Street. With audience numbers expected to peak and an increased number of floats for the 45th year of the festival, it will be a momentous event.

MinterEllison marchers in the 2022 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade

Bruno speaks fondly of his relationship with the Mardi Gras team while recalling the complexities of managing such a large-scale event as the annual Mardi Gras parade.

"It's always been very exciting working with the people at Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, especially because it involves learning so much about dealing with a diverse community, and having fun along the way. It's been quite the journey working both with the Mardi Gras team as well as with the LGBTQIA+ community. It's a very diverse member community, and I don't think that all of the letters in the acronym are sufficient to summarise all of the different viewpoints, convictions and opinions and categories of people that they represent. It involves doing a lot of listening to meet such broad expectations."

Further reinforcing the strong mutual relationship with MinterEllison, Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras CEO Albert Kruger recently shared his thoughts.

"MinterEllison are a dedicated team of professionals whose expertise and knowledge has been invaluable in supporting Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. People would find it hard to believe that our Festival is run by a small and dedicated team who truly punches above its weight - MinterEllison seamlessly supports our operations team, effectively helping us scale up as different times throughout the year demand.

We've been in partnership with MinterEllison for more than 25 years and are proud of this relationship - they have always treated our engagement with the care, respect and passion that it requires, and their support has helped develop the skills of Mardi Gras team members, and help Mardi Gras grow into the organisation that we have become."

With the synergy of such a mutually beneficial relationship, MinterEllison and Mardi Gras are proving to be quite the team. The party is almost here, it's so exciting to see just how well the 2023 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade and all the events at Sydney WorldPride will showcase how far society has come as we work towards a more inclusive world.