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 is excited by his new role at Freehills and said, shortly after his appointment, that the creation of the Chief Risk Officer and General Counsel role is consistent with the trend evident in many clients’ organisations. ‘It enables the risks we face as a commercial law firm to be centrally managed on a whole of firm basis, and it demonstrates Freehills’ commitment to addressing risk issues in a serious and systematic manner.’ In John’s view, ‘Freehills knows and understands the issues arising from the current global and local economic market conditions and the impact on clients’ businesses.’

‘We are well positioned to weather the potential storm and will proactively partner with clients to help them through what may be challenging times ahead,’ he continued.

John is a contributing author to The Laws of Australia legal encyclopaedia and also has a strong working knowledge of the principles of constitutional and public law. He graduated from the University of Melbourne with Bachelor of Laws (with Honours) and Bachelor of Commerce degrees and has subsequently completed his Master of Laws degree. John is a Senior Fellow of the University of Melbourne Law School and is also a member of the Risk Management Association (Australian Chapter).