Management team
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Gavin Bell |
Gavin joined Freehills in 1982 and has been a partner since 1988.
He has worked in various areas within the firm, including its Litigation, Construction and Project groups.
Gavin ultimately specialised in the areas of infrastructure and construction, and was a partner in the firm’s Projects group until 2001. In that role he acted as adviser to many of Australia’s leading construction companies, banks and developers. He was involved in many of the major projects carried out over the past two decades.
Gavin assumed the position of chief operating officer at Freehills in 2001 and was appointed chief executive officer and managing partner in 2005.
Gavin completed his law degree at the University of Sydney, graduating in 1982. He undertook a Master of Business Administration (Executive) degree at the Australian Graduate School of Management and graduated in 1995, winning the Director’s Prize.
Gavin is also currently a member of the Australian Graduate School of Management’s Advisory Council.
Gavin's professional biography is available by clicking here.
Peter Butler
Managing Partner
Peter assumed the role of managing partner on 1 July 2005 and is responsible for the firm’s six practice groups operationally. He is also passionate about the development of the firm from the point of view of its values, culture and its people.
Peter joined Freehills in 1981 and became a partner in 1983. Peter has played various roles in the firm. He has been a Litigation partner in the Melbourne and Sydney offices, deputy chairman of the Melbourne office of Freehills for seven years, a member of the National Board, and for six years, the firm’s national practice partner.
In 1997, Peter was given leave of absence from Freehills and took up the position of special counsel to the board and Global Head of Compliance of Reuters, based in London.
On his return in 2000, he became the firm’s head of Litigation, a position he held for five years.
Peter has been an active member of the firm’s pro bono work over the years, and has also been president of a number of charities. He is currently on the National Board of the Starlight Children’s Foundation. He was awarded a medal of the Order of Australia for services to the community in 1998.
Peter is passionate about the development of the firm from the point of view of its values, culture and its people.
Peter's professional biography is available by clicking here.
Mark Rigotti
Managing Partner
Mark joined Freehills in 1988 and became a partner in the Banking group in 1995. From late 2003 Mark was head of the Banking group. He then became Corporate practice group head in late 2005 and remained in this role until he assumed the managing partner role in January 2008.
As managing partner - clients and growth, Mark's key focus is on the firm’s clients. He works closely with partners and clients to facilitate the development of our client relationships and the manner in which our services are delivered to our clients. He also has responsibility for the firm’s knowledge management and intellectual capital competencies and in this role his focus is on ensuring the firm’s business strategies, in respect of knowledge management processes and culture, represent industry best practice. His role includes a constant assessment of the direction and future of commercial legal services.
Mark is also responsible for developing and implementing strategies focused on identifying areas of growth and future work that Freehills will undertake, and in particular for establishing key industry focus groups to enable the firm to capitalise on new growth opportunities in the market.
Mark's professional biography is available by clicking here.
John McKenna
Chief Risk Officer and General Counsel
John McKenna was appointed to the new role of Chief Risk Officer and General Counsel for Freehills on 1 February 2008.
John first joined Freehills in 1990 as a solicitor in the Banking group in Melbourne. He became a partner in that group in 1997 and subsequently became the practice area leader for the Banking group in Melbourne.
John’s core area of expertise is acting for both borrowers and lenders in relation to a broad range of financial transactions. He has extensive experience in project finance, acquisition finance, structured finance and large scale corporate lending.
John's professional biography is available by clicking here.