Julie Hutton, partner in Baker & McKenzie's private equity group, has been appointed to the governing body of Australia's peak private equity and venture capital industries organization.

She is the only lawyer to be appointed to the Australia Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (AVCAL) Council for 2015, and the only female. As part of her duties, she will head up the Women in AVCAL (WAVCAL) working group.

Hutton said: "My appointment to the Council and specifically WAVCAL is a clear indication that AVCAL and its members are serious about the need to encourage more women into the sector. Even today, women are under-represented in the private equity and venture capital industries, so, there is much work to be done to reverse this situation and to ensure the sector provides increasing career opportunities for women. Baker & McKenzie has been at the forefront of gender equality and equal opportunities for women in law and I intend taking those insights and that commitment to the AVCAL Council."

AVCAL is the leading association for the private equity and venture capital industries in Australia, and its members comprise most of the active private equity and venture capital firms in Australia.

Its governing body - the AVCAL Council - is responsible among other tasks, for ensuring that the business community and other key stakeholders understand the benefits of the private capital model of business ownership, and the role that it can play in contributing to investment and employment growth across the Australian economy.