I am a commercial litigator with 30 years of commercial and corporate litigation experience and have been a partner of a large, national, full service law firm since 2004.
I have been a member of the Litigation Law & Practice Committee of the Law Society for more than 21 years. In November 2021, I was elected as a Councillor of the Law Society Council. In 2022, I was appointed Deputy Chair of the Litigation Law & Practice Committee of the Law Society. Since 2022 I have also served as a member of the Professional Conduct Committee. In 2023, I was appointed as an ordinary member of the Audit, Risk and Finance Committee.
I have practised for the length of my career in high profile and substantial litigation. I have advised on corporations law, securities claims, directors' duties, shareholder claims, oppression suits, breaches of fiduciary duties, fraud, professional negligence claims in the area of accounting and tax and investigations and prosecutions by regulatory bodies including ASIC and the ACCC. I am familiar with audit procedures and complex corporate structures. I have also acted for financial institutions and have advised in relation to financial instruments, insolvency, enforcement and workarounds.
In legal practice I have served as a board member with involvement in leading the business of the law firm and for many years was an advocate for flexible working arrangements for parents returning to work prior to the changes brought by the pandemic.
I have held a number of offices at the Spanish Chamber of Commerce over the last 12 years and I currently hold the office of President in my second two-year term. The Chamber is a membership organisation incorporated as an association under the laws of New South Wales and has official recognition from Spain under Royal Decree. It does not receive any financial assistance from Spain and its revenue is generated entirely from membership fees and the return from events. In 2019, I received the King of Spain's Order of Civil Merit in relation to the promotion of Spanish companies in the Australian market.
In short, I have been a volunteer at the Law Society on one of its policy committees for almost my entire career and have been privileged and honoured to be able to serve as a Councillor. I have always been grateful for my education in the law and the opportunities I have had, and my desire is to serve the profession and the Society.
To ensure the Law Society has diverse and expert leadership, I am seeking election to Council with 5 other lawyers that I encourage you to support.
When you receive the invitation to vote by email, please take a moment to vote for:
If you chose to vote using the ballot paper, when it arrives over the coming days please vote for the above with reference to this “How to Vote”.
Thank you for all you do to build our profession and support your local community!
www.councilelections.com.au
sylvia.fernandez@councilelections.com.au