How did it feel to learn MinterEllison Gold Coast had been appointed Official Lawyers to the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games?
Put simply, we were ecstatic. This event is iconic. We knew it would direct the City’s activities for years and be instrumental in taking the city to another level of maturity. We knew how the 1982 games had benefited Brisbane and the legacy from an event of this scale. The biggest event in Australia for a decade.
This is the first time any firm has provided a fully outsourced service with an embedded team working within the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games Corporation (GOLDOC). How has the experience been?
It's been really interesting; the model is different and we have had to respond to new and different challenges along the way. With this model, the focus must be on project management and people management. The delivery has gone really well largely due to an adaptable culture, keeping tabs on project metrics, measuring delivery benchmarks, the leadership of Paula Robinson and the support of the whole firm. Paula leads a highly motivated team who understand the brief and are dedicated to client outcomes with plenty of fun along the way.
What factors were considered when deciding on this outsourced mode of service delivery?
We knew this project required some certainties. We tried to create an in-house team environment with the benefit of a material external pool of experts to tap into with minimal budget risk, no HR risk and the benefit of continued service from panel lawyers and secondees who had already built project knowledge.
The Asia Pacific region is investing seriously in staging some of the biggest sporting events and with this comes greater complexity for those providing legal and related professional services. What advice would you have for legal and professional service firms targeting sporting events?
I don't want to give away too many secrets! But we were completely focused on seeing things through the client lens and coming up with something different to our competitors. Be prepared to accept some form of risk on fees and invest in project management skills. The firm has a lot of expertise and experience to leverage, but this may be taken as a given, so think about what the strategic outcomes the client is trying to achieve and align a proposal to those outcomes.
Be prepared to take some fees as value in kind through sponsorship. Avoid putting in standard marketing department script and try and build an early relationship or find an opportunity to present a pitch. For the Games, we knew it needed to be something different - something cutting edge - and we spent a lot of time on our presentations to the selection panel, really honing in on the key points.
We hear a lot about innovation and disruption, but this was all about delivering an innovative model that actually suited the client's needs. They had a view of what they wanted and in our presentations, we put forward what we believed they really needed and wanted.
At the end of the Games, MinterEllison will be the only law firm in Australia, and quite possibly the world, with complete end to end major event project experience. What does this mean for the future of the firm?
Our philosophy throughout the contract term, which started in 2016 and finishes in December 2018, has been about building enduring relationships with the future in mind. These relationships create opportunities. We'll be looking to similar kinds of projects and the Invictus Games was great follow-on event to win. We went in there with the same model and were successful.
We'll also endeavour to dissect what we've learnt, the skills we’ve developed and determine how we can take advantage of these learnings with existing clients, other sectors and new markets. We've looked at the horizon for the next 10 – 15 years to see what projects are available and we're confident there will be some great opportunities. We're certainly not limiting our thinking in any way on how we might use this experience going forward.
What do you think makes Australia such a popular destination for international sporting events?
I think there's a number of factors. We're a popular nation externally, we love our sport, we have world class facilities and a record of delivering high standard, world class sporting events. We also need to acknowledge the preparedness of our governments at all levels to support these events. Without the support of the City of Gold Coast, the Queensland Government and the Federal Government the 2018 Games would not have been held in Australia. But most importantly, it requires a lot of very driven and dedicated people to create the opportunity and execute it. We feel very privileged to be a part of it.
The team, led by Paula Robinson (MinterEllison Partner), has done a great job. Explain some of the reasons they have excelled – it's no small feat rolling out the Games.
Paula has done an amazing job and I believe the success in running her team really comes down to the culture she's created. It's just a fantastic culture that's centred around everyone really understanding the brief. Understanding that they're embedded, understanding the delivery model and managing client expectations. They work hard, but they also have a lot of fun. The team have been involved in a lot of awards and that's been an important part of being recognised as pioneers. The communication amongst the team and leadership has been central to the delivery success.
As the Commonwealth Games wind down, preparations are already taking place for the Sydney Invictus Games in October. What are you most looking forward to about this project?
The Invictus Games is an immensely important event. It's not often you get to be involved in a project that recognises the contribution of service men and women. The event sends such an important message and it's wonderful to be involved, because everyone appreciates the efforts of our service men and women and the sacrifices they have made. The opportunity to give back in this project is something special and I know everyone will want to be involved.