Photo: Mike Scarcella/ALM Media

Norton Rose Fulbright has appointed its first female managing partner in Australia.

Alison Deitz will take over as managing partner in Australia beginning on July 1 next year, succeeding Wayne Spanner, who has served in the leadership role since 2012. She will also sit on the firm's global executive committee.

A partner since 1998, Deitz leads Norton Rose Fulbright's business law practice group in Australia, encompassing the banking and finance, corporate mergers and acquisitions, real estate, financial restructuring and insolvency, financial services, tax and technology teams.

Her own legal practice focused on banking regulatory compliance, including anti-money laundering and consumer credit compliance, acting for major international and domestic financial institutions.

"Alison is committed to serving our clients and developing our people. This makes her an excellent fit to lead our growth and success in Australia, building on Wayne's many accomplishments as Australia's managing partner," Peter Martyr, Norton Rose Fulbright's global chief executive, said in a statement.

Alison Deitz

Deitz said she was honoured to be appointed to the role.

"I am excited about leading our firm into its next phase of development as we strengthen and expand the services we provide to our valued clients," she said. "I am passionate about creating opportunities for our people to work with these clients and to solve their most challenging and complex business problems."

Deitz praised the firm's talent, both in Australia and throughout the global firm, adding that she is "determined to nurture this and deploy it in an agile way for our clients' benefit".