KPMG Australia's Stuart Fuller heads firm's global legal arm
KPMG’s Law practice in Australia has a new head as of August 1st, when the current head Stuart Fuller vacated the role to take up his new position as the global head of KPMG’s legal services wing. Partner Kate Marshall has taken over from Fuller to head the Australia practice.
Fuller has been heading KPMG Australia’s Law practice since last year, when he joined the firm in March. Prior to that, he was at King & Wood Mallesons for seven years, where he ascended through the ranks to become the global managing partner, providing him the track record to run a global practice.
He has an academic background in commerce and law, and has over two decades of professional experience. KPMG Australia’s law practice has gone from strength to strength under Fuller’s leadership, most recently through the establishment of a specialised government practice.
His elevation to head of the global practice speaks not only of his substantial merit, but also reiterates the increasing importance of Australia’s legal market in the global legal sphere. Last month, fellow Big Four firm PwC Australia made a strikingly similar move, promoting its Head of legal services in Australia and the Asia Pacific region to head of the global legal practice.
Fuller’s place at KPMG Australia will be occupied by Kate Marshall, who has been a partner at the accounting and consulting firm for more than two years. She is a graduate in Law from Monash University and holds a Diploma in Law from the University of Melbourne. Marshall has three decades of professional experience, most of which was gained at Clayton Utz, where she spent 21 years.
She left Clayton Utz as a partner, and has since held the position of partner at Middletons in Melbourne, where she specialised in intellectual property and information technology, as well as at K&L Gates, also in Melbourne. Her background in IT and digital-related law is an indicator of the focus of KPMG’s operations.
Commenting on Fuller’s promotion to the global stage, chief executive of KPMG Australia Gary Wingrove said, “Stuart has outstanding international experience, understands the demands of cross-border transactions and the pressures of operating in a global environment but also brings the local view from his excellent track record in both the Australian and Asia-Pacific legal and business markets.”
On Marshall’s appointment, Wingrove added, “With the appointment of Kate Marshall, we have a leader who is an expert in the key areas of emerging technologies, privacy compliance, and digital strategy. In addition, Kate’s data breach experience, and her recent work with KPMG’s forensic and cyber teams make her ideally suited to drive growth in a time when business is looking for strong guidance in these key areas.”
