As we continue to highlight the successes and milestones of our members across the region, APIBC is delighted to acknowledge a major milestone: Pacific Legal Network (PLN) marks its twenty-fifth anniversary in 2025. We congratulate PLN on this significant achievement and recognise its long-standing contribution to improving commercial confidence, strengthening rule of law, and supporting professional capacity across the Pacific.
John Ridgway, Dirk Heinz and the Mooney Wieland Warren team (American Samoa) Photos: supplied,
Pacific Legal Network, one of the region’s most established legal brands, is marking twenty-five years since its founding: a milestone that reflects its deep commitment to regional collaboration and the development of local legal capability. From the outset, founder John Ridgway envisioned a coordinated network of Pacific lawyers able to provide seamless, multi-jurisdictional advice to clients operating across diverse legal systems. Today, PLN spans 22 locations across 20 Pacific nations, making it the only network delivering truly in-country legal advice throughout the region.
Ridgway describes the journey as “a two-year experiment that became a 33-year career across the Pacific”, built on relationships, trust and respect. The network has grown through genuine partnership with indigenous law firms, with 60 per cent of member firms owned or managed by women, a remarkable achievement in the region’s historically male-dominated legal environment. PLN’s model strengthens local practice, elevates Pacific legal talent, and ensures clients receive advice grounded in cultural understanding and jurisdictional nuance.
Over the past quarter century, PLN has advised on many of the Pacific’s most significant transactions, renewable energy projects, infrastructure reforms and cross-border commercial matters. It has played an important role in climate-positive initiatives, including acting as an accredited observer to the UN Green Climate Fund and leading major compensation actions such as the Rennell oil spill claim in Solomon Islands – work that demonstrates its commitment to both legal innovation and community outcomes.
Each year, PLN hosts its Regional Forum in Sydney, a gathering that brings together lawyers from across the “Blue Pacific”. As PLN celebrates 25 years of collaboration and leadership, APIBC congratulates the network and looks forward to its continued contribution to a stronger, more connected Pacific legal and commercial ecosystem.
(From editorial and pictorial material supplied by the Pacific Legal Network)
