Benjamin Jacobs, President - Auckland
I'm a senior lawyer with Xero responsible for the product and technology and M&A legal teams. I've now spent over half my career working inhouse and love the varied challenges this brings combined with the ability to build a deep understanding of the business - as well as deep relationships with my colleagues - to be able to give the best advice.
I moved to New Zealand almost a decade ago and was immediately struck by what ILANZ offered its members - we had nothing like it in the UK. When I started at Xero, I knew I wanted to give something back and put myself forward for the ILANZ committee. After four years as treasurer, I am honoured to have been elected president and am excited about building on an already strong offering to continue to connect, support and lead Aotearoa's inhouse community
Bram Van Melle, Vice President - Auckland
I’m an ex-Wellingtonian now Aucklander, living with my lovely family in Titirangi. I’ve been an academic, worked in private practice, and am now the Associate General Counsel (Commercial) at Auckland Council leading a fantastic team doing commercial, infrastructure, corporate and finance work.
I got involved with ILANZ’s Inhouse Mindset pilot in 2019, and spoke at the 2021 ILANZ Conference on “Good Lawyering – Moving from ‘right advice to right thing’”. I’m zeroing in on improving the effectiveness of inhouse lawyers, supporting their personal development, and promoting opportunity in the profession. And as a good commercial lawyer, I have a sneaky interest in legal ops where I’ve had some wins on “value-and-values” legal procurement, straight-up contracting, and data driven practice innovation…
Someone once told me “it’s easy when you know”. We can all be successful in our roles and help our organisations thrive. I want to see ILANZ right in the middle of that
Saar Cohen-Ronen, Treasurer - Wellington
Saar is Pharmac’s General Counsel and previously ACC's Litigation Manager. He was also a former Crown Counsel in the Crown Law Office.
He specialises in Public Law, enforcement, and litigation and has represented government departments and crown entities as an in-house lawyer for 19 years, some of which as the Secretary of the Departmental Prosecutors Forum.
Saar is an Alcohol Commissioner for Wellington and a panel member of the Porirua District Licensing Committee. He is the former president of the New Zealand Animal Law Association
He is also a trustee of the Porirua Harbour Trust and a musical director of theatre productions in the wider Wellington region.
Kirsty Millard - Wellington
I am Senior Crown Counsel in one of the Public Law teams at Crown Law. I have worked as an in-house lawyer for a number of years, including as the General Manager of Legal and Risk at the Ministry of Environment. My background is as a public law specialist and litigator, with considerable leadership experience as well.
I enjoy the varied and interesting challenges that in-house legal work provides, as well as the great network of colleagues that makes up the in-house legal community. In-house lawyers have a unique view of the issues their clients are facing and are marvels at finding effective solutions that help their clients to navigate tricky issues.
I am on the ILANZ committee to bring the in-house Government legal voice to the committee and am based in Wellington.
The committee is a great example of how considerate and motivated lawyers can provide a strong network to support the profession to develop and meet emerging business and government legal needs.
Sophie Meares - Christchurch
Sophie is a Senior Legal Counsel at the Christchurch City Council. After 6 years in private practice, Sophie moved to an in-house role in 2019 and she has never looked back – an in-house convert!
Sophie is excited to help to Connect, Support and Lead the in-house profession this year. She hopes to assist with key ILANZ initiatives, such as the conference, and put together climate resilience training for in-house counsel.
Outside of work Sophie is Secretary of Lawyers for Climate Action NZ. She likes board games, sewing and DIY.
Kurt Holmes - Auckland
I’m currently working as Senior Commercial Manager in the General Counsel’s Office at Chorus. Originally from Wellington, I’m now settled in Auckland with my family. Prior to the move to Auckland, I gained experience performing commercial and contract management roles in Asia, Europe and Australia. This time spent overseas allowed me the opportunity to gain an understanding and appreciation of different cultures and alternative ways of thinking. My current role includes chairing governance forums, which allows me to influence change and deliver real outcomes that provide a better experience for the company and our customers. This involvement in governance inspired me to put myself forward to the serve on the ILANZ Committee, and I look forward to being of service to the Committee and contributing to the wider ILANZ community over the coming years.
Outside of work I enjoy spending time with the family exploring new beaches and bush walks.
Ran Robinson - Auckland
I am a senior commercial, banking and finance lawyer who, having spent a long time in international private practice in London, Singapore and Auckland, have now been in-house for over 5 years. I enjoy the collaborative aspects of being in-house and working with a wide variety of colleagues across the business on a broad range of issues. As we are often in the sweet spot of having a birds-eye view across, and many touchpoints throughout, all levels of an organisation, in-house lawyers can be worth their weight in gold when it comes to assisting organisations to find good solutions and make sensible, pragmatic decisions.
As a former professional support lawyer (and part-time armchair psychologist), I am a deep believer in the power of learning and the importance of keeping our knowledge and skills (both legal and non-legal) up to date and relevant. This aligns well with many of the core aims and values of ILANZ and I am looking forward to working with the Committee on these, and other, priorities.
Outside of work, I am a busy mum of two teenagers whose happy space is spending time with family and friends, cooking, reading, a bit of yoga and walking my lovely dog Alfie.
Karen Billinghurst - Cambridge
Kia ora, I am the Principal Legal Counsel, Data and Digital, for Health New Zealand and have worked in-house within the district health board setting for 5 years, and previously in commercial organisations. I am interested in representing health sector lawyers on the committee and contributing to our ILANZ community during a period of change in the Law Society. I have previously been the convenor of Otago Women Law Society and was the "ILANZ champion" for Otago; I know the value and benefits of building well-connected communities and friendships.
Outside of work I like encouraging my children to get off their devices, lavishing attention on my two maine coon cats, helping renovate our villa, attempting to do CrossFit and going to live music/theatre.
Karyn O'Loughlin - Auckland
Karyn has nearly 30 years' experience as a practising lawyer, with more than 10 as part of the in-house community, whilst working for global companies in the quick-service restaurant and FMCG industries. Karyn is looking forward to bringing the perspective of a multi-juridictional in-house counsel to ILANZ and seeing how this knowledge and experience can benefit ILANZ as a whole. Karyn also enjoys planning functions and get-togethers so is wanting to ensure the social networks that are key to those working in smaller in-house teams can be advanced, in addition to the ever-popular annual ILANZ conference.
Sarah Lloyd - Auckland
Sarah is currently Acting Chief Risk Officer at Avanti Finance, having spent the last 6 years in In House legal roles in the Financial Services industry. Before moving In House, Sarah worked at Russell McVeagh in the Restructuring and Insolvency Team and spent 8 years at Simpson Western Lawyers. Sarah enjoys the strategic and commercial aspects of In House lawyering and the satisfaction of seeing projects and initiatives from start to finish. Sarah joined ILANZ to be a voice for the In House lawyer, recognising that many of us work very hard, with small budgets and a variety of constraints. Making sure we all have the necessary resources and support is very important to Sarah. Outside of the office, Sarah likes to spend time with family including son Archie and two dogs. She likes to keep fit and has a background in triathlon, having represented New Zealand as an Age Grouper overseas. She also enjoys her position as lead singer in a band of legal personalities who can be booked for your next conference (if you’re lucky to find a gap in their busy schedules!).
Bev Armstrong - ILANZ Manager
Where did you join us from?
The Financial Services sector. It’s been an interesting time with the regulatory changes over the last 5 years. The in-house lawyers I worked with in the sector were incredible.
When did you start in the world of events?
In about 2000. I ‘cut my teeth’ on organising Graduation Ceremonies, the most important day in the academic calendar. It was also a fascinating observation of human behaviour. With minimal time to sort out challenges on the day, no stone was left unturned during the planning process…… but undoubtedly there were always surprises. Luckily, I often see the funny side of things, and I like people.
What are you looking to achieve in this role? or what are you looking forward to for the year ahead?
It’s important to me to add value to the business I work for and the clients we serve. While I’m still learning about the sector and the needs, I look forward to working with the ILANZ Committee and our Valued Partners to put together an interesting calendar of events - with some fun thrown in of course.
Hobbies you like to do after work or on the weekends
I’m not sure this is a ‘hobby’ but I’m doing up a 1925 Bungalow at the moment, so that takes up quite a bit of time. I know Mitre 10 really well - sad but true. Keeping active is important to me too, as is regularly catching up with family and friends. I cook and bake quite a bit so it’s never usually hard to coax people around.
Favourite memory from 2022
Catching up with a number of close friends from around the country after the Covid restrictions were lifted. Food for the soul.