Norton Rose Fulbright appoints former APRA chief general counsel Lucinda McCann as a partner in Sydney

Norton Rose Fulbright appoints former APRA chief general counsel Lucinda McCann as a partner in Sydney

Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright welcomes today recognised industry leader and new financial services partner Lucinda McCann in Sydney. 

Lucinda joins from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA), where she was chief general counsel. In that role she led a large team of lawyers and enforcement professionals and supported APRA’s work, from licensing, supervision, enforcement and policy development to resolution, data collection, procurement, whistleblowers, integrity and risk and compliance. She was a trusted adviser to the chair, deputy chair and other executive board members, as well as the executive directors who lead APRA’s six divisions.

Lucinda brings more than 25 years’ experience of transactional and advisory work as a legal advisor to executives and boards across a range of sectors including government and regulatory, financial services and corporate.

Prior to Lucinda’s time at APRA she was general counsel, financial services legal at AMP Limited, partner at Henry Davis York and senior legal counsel at AMP Capital Investors.

Lucinda will work closely with funds and financial services partner Liz Hastilow, who was the former global chief legal and risk officer and Managing Director, Australia & New Zealand for First Sentier Investors.

Norton Rose Fulbright chief executive partner in Australia, Alison Deitz, commented:

“The financial services industry is facing a time of unprecedented challenges, including an increasingly complex regulatory environment, the need to transform business through technological innovation and the impact of ESG. Lucinda’s wealth of experience gained through the significant roles she has undertaken will be invaluable to global and domestic clients in the banking, superannuation, insurance, funds, government and wealth sectors as they seek to navigate these challenges. Her appointment also complements our recruitment of partner Liz Hastilow last year and deepens our financial services offering.”

Lucinda McCann commented:

“I am excited to be joining Norton Rose Fulbright to assist clients as they pursue growth and grapple with the myriad regulations that apply to the financial services industry. There are tremendous opportunities in Australia’s superannuation sector in particular, which continues to grow in size and significance and is subject to ongoing legislative reform and scrutiny. With more than two decades’ experience advising executives and boards of government, regulatory, financial services, and corporate organisations, I feel uniquely placed to offer valuable insights and advice to our clients in Australia and around the world.”

This announcement follows the appointment of partners Kristina Mihalic (government, Canberra) in February; and Vanessa Ward (corporate M&A, Sydney) and Rohan Sridhar (corporate and commercial, Melbourne) in January this year. And in 2024: Annie Haggar in September (cybersecurity, Canberra); Lisa Fitzgerald in April (technology, Melbourne); Bede Gahan in March (employment and labour, Canberra); Kimberley MacKay in February (regulatory and disputes, Melbourne); and Liz Hastilow (corporate and investment funds, Sydney); Kellie Link (restructuring, Perth), Maria Panos (litigation, Sydney) and Jacqueline Plant (environment and planning, Melbourne) in January.