About

Heading legal, regulatory and company secretarial, Michael Riches not only built Alinta’s function from scratch, but also forged its place within the business, where none had previously existed. ‘We had to create a culture where the business regarded the legal team as part of the solution to their issues’, Riches says. As well as building a 15-strong team, this also involved ‘developing a vision’ for the internal function. The successful entrenchment of legal into the business is reflected in Riches’ current position as executive director. Sources particularly praise Riches for his development of a business-friendly litigation strategy. ‘We have adopted a more realistic and holistic approach to litigation, focused on understanding the issues of counterparties and developing strategies to manage disputes effectively’, Riches says. When it comes to outside counsel, Riches suggests ‘transparency in pricing’ and ‘better communications’ are areas where firms could improve.