Holding Redlich is pleased to be named a finalist in three categories at this year's Lawyers Weekly Australian Law Awards. The firm has been shortlisted for Innovator of the Year (Company) and Transaction Team of the Year, while lawyer Alexandra Cowden has been recognised as a finalist for Rising Star of the Year (Private Practice).
The Australian Law Awards are among the legal profession's most prestigious accolades, celebrating outstanding achievements by individuals and firms across the legal sector. This year, 330 finalists were selected from a record 1,206 submissions across 36 categories.
Innovator of the Year (Company)
The Innovator of the Year award recognises firms that have successfully implemented innovative projects or strategic initiatives over the past financial year. Recognition in this category reflects Holding Redlich's strong culture of innovation and its structured, responsible and practical adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance legal service delivery.
Through the firm's Innovation Hub, led by Partner William Kontaxis, Holding Redlich has implemented a number of key initiatives, including the firm-wide rollout of Microsoft Copilot, the adoption of Legora as a specialist AI platform for transactional legal work, and the use of Cicero AI to support large-scale document analysis and data extraction in disputes. The firm has also invested in advanced AI-enabled platforms to further enhance legal research capabilities.
These initiatives have delivered measurable benefits for clients, lawyers and the firm, improving efficiency, consistency and turnaround times.
Transaction Team of the Year
Holding Redlich's national corporate transactions team has been selected for its strong performance across a range of complex domestic and cross-border matters over the 2025-26 financial year. The national team, led by Partner Darren Pereira, has advised founders, private equity sponsors, international corporates and long-standing clients on acquisitions, disposals, joint ventures, restructures and carve-outs across sectors including industrials, infrastructure, renewable energy, healthcare, agribusiness, technology, logistics and media.
Key transactions include advising Clemenger and its employee shareholders on Omnicom's AU$79 million acquisition of the remaining shares by way of scheme of arrangement, advising a key shareholder on the AU$375 million sale of Questas Group to a domestic private equity fund, and advising on a cross-border joint venture between Malaysian and New Zealand investors to develop a greenfield dairy processing facility.
Rising Star of the Year (Private Practice)
Alexandra Cowden, an associate in the firm's dispute resolution and litigation team, has been shortlisted for Rising Star of the Year (Private Practice), reflecting her strong performance and contributions to the legal sector.
Over the past year, Alexandra has played a key role in complex regulatory and commercial disputes, including civil penalty proceedings concerning alleged contraventions of the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989 (Cth), where she acted as an instructing solicitor, managing the conduct of the proceeding and contributing to a successful outcome. She has also contributed to major disputes involving a superannuation fund and cross-border litigation, and has supported multiple clients on their pre-litigation strategy.
Winners will be announced at a black-tie gala ceremony on Thursday, 30 July 2026.