Annie Leeks

Annie Leeks is the Partner-in-Charge at the Brisbane office and brings extensive experience in managing complex litigation and arbitration. Her career has seen her represent major corporations across diverse sectors such as healthcare, mining, energy, financial services, aviation, sports, and construction. Annie focuses on high-stakes disputes, particularly in the energy sector, where she manages cross-border operations in Australia and the Asia-Pacific region. Before joining Jones Day, Annie served as lead legal counsel and privacy officer at a major airline and worked at prestigious international law firms in Canada, the UK, and Australia. Her recent significant engagements include representing a multinational engineering firm in a Singapore International Arbitration Centre case concerning mining infrastructure design in Vietnam and advising a joint venture participant in a lengthy Supreme Court of Queensland trial related to a coal project. Annie has also acted in arbitration cases related to joint venture disputes in Papua New Guinea and managed class actions in the Federal Court of New South Wales linked to a toll road project in Brisbane. Her expertise includes advising a large Australian coal seam gas producer on gas supply agreement disputes and guiding an international oil and gas company on arbitration options linked to employee detention issues in Indonesia. During her tenure at Jones Day, Annie has been involved in high-profile cases such as advising a leading construction contractor in arbitration related to the Brisbane Airport Link project and acting for a multinational mining company in a Supreme Court of Queensland dispute. Her work also includes insurance claims linked to the Queensland floods and arbitrating a US$160 million coal supply contract dispute. Earlier in her career, Annie was integral to forming international litigation strategies at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, dealing with major energy companies, nuclear industry negotiations in the UK, and handling disputes arising from the collapse of the Icelandic banking sector. Annie holds a Master’s Degree in Law from the University of Toronto and a Bachelor’s Degree in Law from the University of Queensland, underscoring her solid academic foundation in law. Her comprehensive experience and global exposure make her a formidable presence in any legal challenge she undertakes.