We are very excited to announce that we have further boosted our Energy team at Hive with the appointment of Susan Taylor as a new Principal.

Susan was formerly a partner of Freehills and General Counsel & Company Secretary of AusNet Services, an ASX-listed utility company. She joins Hive from her energy consulting firm, Enertique.

She has a strong international reputation assisting private and public clients in energy regulatory matters and significant commercial transactions in energy markets in more than eight countries. She has also played a leading role in developing and implementing restructured regulatory frameworks for electricity and gas markets in Australia and assisting governments in the Asia Pacific region with regulatory reform and restructure of energy markets. Susan’s career has also seen her working in Washington DC where she advised both the US Government and private companies.

Susan was drawn to Hive for a number of reasons including our innovative business model and non-time based pricing. ‘Having worked in-house for a number of years I see the real benefits that this approach brings to clients. It aligns incentives and means that the lawyers and the clients can agree pricing up front and get on with producing the outputs needed for the business’ comments Susan.

‘The amazing calibre of Hive’s team and their standing in the energy sector was also a big draw card for me and my existing clients’ says Susan. ‘I am already seeing how the powerful combination of specialist energy sector expertise and a more progressive approach to the delivery of legal services is so attractive from the client’s perspective. It’s exciting and motivating to be part of a collaborative and forward thinking firm’.

Susan says ‘Instead of measuring value by the number of hours spent in the office or the number of units on the timesheet, Hive Legal understands that it is the quality, efficiency and effectiveness of legal services that clients truly value.  By offering value pricing rather than time-based pricing, clients can plan their legal budgets with greater certainty, knowing they’ll benefit from legal excellence from lawyers with top-tier law firm experience, without hidden peripheral costs.’

‘We are thrilled to have Susan join us at Hive and excited to be able to add her highly regarded energy sector experience and skills to the service we offer our clients. Susan’s expertise is especially valuable given the pace of change in the energy sector resulting from the increasing application of new energy technology, energy policy reforms and heavy regulatory scrutiny. Susan’s time as a General Counsel, which included seeing her manage a major class action and Royal Commission, brings invaluable experience to us and ultimately our clients’ says Andrew Brookes, Principal.