Norton Rose Fulbright announces Scott Atkins as the global chairperson

Norton Rose Fulbright announces Scott Atkins as the global chairperson

He has succeeded the London partner Farmida Bi

UK law firm Norton Rose Fulbright has announced that its Sydney-based restructuring partner Scott Atkins is the firm's next global chairperson. He will also continue as chair of the firm in Australia and as the head of the risk advisory.

Sydney-based Atkins took over in the annually appointed role from London debt capital markets partner Farmida Bi, who will continue as the firm's Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) chair.

Gerry Pecht, the global chief executive at Norton Rose Fulbright, said, "Atkins' history of leadership roles and experience in advising business and governments on international matters will be a tremendous support to our global leadership team. I would also like to sincerely thank Farmida Bi for her contributions as global chair over the past year."

Atkins remarked, "My focus will be to support the firm's leadership to implement our strategy; support our clients as they pursue new frontiers, such as the burgeoning commercial space industry; and above all, to continue to deliver our exceptional standards of client service. Norton Rose Fulbright has tremendous potential leading into 2023, and I look forward to helping the firm seize market opportunities for the benefit of our clients."

With almost three decades of experience as a lawyer, Atkins joined Norton Rose Fulbright in 2017 when Sydney boutique firm Henry Davis York, of which he was chair, merged with the firm. He spent over 15 years at Henry Davis. Prior to that, he worked as a senior legal counsel for the Commonwealth Bank.

Atkins' dual-track insolvency and risk practice focuses on cross-border matters involving complex restructurings, risk management and the design and implementation of new legal frameworks and reconstruction projects in emerging economies. He also focuses on developing the firm's space offering and worked on governance, culture, and compliance issues in the sector.

His major achievements include leading a team that worked with the Asian Development Bank and the Union Supreme Court of Myanmar to draft a new insolvency and restructuring framework for Myanmar. It resulted in the passage of Myanmar's Insolvency Law in 2020.