Proximity welcomes renowned Government legal and procurement specialist, Felicity Cooper, as it embraces next period of growth

CANBERRA – Thursday 24 October, 2024: As it continues to support great projects across Federal, State and Local governments, award winning multidisciplinary advisory firm, Proximity, has today announced the appointment of senior government lawyer and advisor, Felicity Cooper, to Expert Advisor. Cooper will be an integral member of Proximity’s team as it continues to support clients with the delivery of projects with significance to the Australian community.

With 20 years’ experience working with and for the public sector, Cooper has successfully led a raft of diverse and complex impact assessments, procurement and contract management activities, legislation projects, and reform and process improvements across a range of government agencies.

Previously Cooper led KPMG Law’s Government and Regulatory practice. During her 11 year tenure with the organisation she led notable projects including providing legislative assurance on all aspects of Services Australia’s implementation of COVID-19 response measures.  More recently, she supported the Commonwealth’s development of legislation to establish a complex new regulatory framework in the Defence and National Security space and advised the Victorian Government on regulatory improvement initiatives.

Proximity’s CEO Zoe Lynam says, as the business continues to attract top talent across its services areas, senior hires of Cooper’s calibre with multidisciplinary skillsets will be instrumental in ensuring Proximity continues to address the multifaceted needs of government.

“Felicity is highly regarded and respected in the government legal community. Not only does she have diverse sectoral experience, including in Defence, she also brings strong strategic commercial and procurement expertise. Felicity is a great cultural fit and shares Proximity’s values of genuine people, bold approach and helpful outcomes. Felicity’s specialist experience, coupled with the unrivalled strategic skills of our broader legal, commercial and consulting practices, will help our clients navigate their greatest legal challenges” said Lynam.

Proximity was recently successful in being appointed to the Whole of Australian Government Legal Services Panel and is on 19 other Federal and State panels such as the Australian Government Management Advisory Services Panel (MASP) and Defence Support Services Panel.

“I am thrilled to join Proximity at such an exciting time for the business. This role enables me to continue doing what I love and that’s working with government to overcome challenges and helping it to achieve measurable outcomes that impact everyday Australians. With a young family, I sought an employer that would provide flexibility while ensuring opportunities to work on meaningful and strategically significant projects. Proximity understands people have a life outside of work and is accommodating and supportive of its staff in every aspect of their lives, further assuring me that I have made the right decision,” said Cooper.

Proximity works on projects that span the breadth of the Commonwealth including the Department of Defence, Industry Science and Resources, Home Affairs, Veterans’ Affairs, Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, Department of Health, National Disability Insurance Agency, and Services Australia.

Proximity was a finalist for the Government Team of the Year at the 2024 Australian Law Awards and was the winner in this category at the 2022 and 2017 Awards.

Proximity also recently recruited Elise Poiner to Expert Advisor. Elise brings 20 years’ experience in commercial, technology and legal roles, including 12 years in the public sector. She has held senior executive roles leading in-house legal, compliance and procurement functions, and supporting enterprise transformation projects.

“Proximity’s vision and approach resonated with me immediately. Joining the team brings the opportunity to work with talented people who are as passionate about how we work as they are about what we can achieve.

Having led significant procurement and sourcing initiatives, and supported large-scale projects as head of legal, compliance and procurement functions, Proximity was a natural next step for me. The multidisciplinary nature of the business means I can continue to work on big projects using my legal and commercial expertise and continue to refine and broaden my capabilities.” said Poiner.

“Elise and Felicity are valuable assets to our business and enrich our team. We know our clients want to work alongside intelligent trusted professionals who have a breadth of knowledge and a wide-ranging skillset. With a growing team of more than 120 employees, we seek out and handpick people with integrity who are committed to meeting client expectations and, in return, provide our team with exciting career growth potential, opportunities to work on interesting high profile government work as well as a variety of workplace benefits,” concluded Lynam.

Cooper commences in her Expert Advisor role on Monday 28 October and is based in Canberra. Poiner commenced in July and is also based in Canberra.