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MinterEllison chief executive Annette Kimmitt and the law firm’s board have agreed she will leave the law firm.Credit:Dominic Lorrimer

“I am writing to let you know that we have mutually agreed with Annette Kimmitt,our chief executive officer and managing partner of the firm since 2018,that she will leave the firm on March 10,2021,” the email said.

Managing partnerVirginia Briggs,who heads the firm’s infrastructure,construction and property division,will serve as acting chief executive while the board considers a permanent replacement for Ms Kimmitt.

“We have thanked Annette for her years of service and dedication and wished her well for the future,” Mr O’Brien said in his email to staff.

“During her time at MinterEllison,among her many achievements,Annette led our firm successfully through the pandemic for which we are most grateful. We look forward to continuing with our 2025 vision,putting our clients,communities and people at the heart of all that we do.”

Ms Kimmitt has faced pressure since she sent an all-staff email last week that was critical of veteran partner Peter Bartlett for not following “consultation or approval processes” before he provided advice to Mr Porter about his response to the rape allegation. The Attorney-General denied the allegation in a press conference last Wednesday afternoon.

Sheapologised in the email to staff who may be experiencing pain over “the nature of this matter” and said that she too had been “triggered”.

Her decision to publicly call out the defamation law expertdivided the firm and implicitly questioned whether the firm was right to represent Mr Porter.

“Unfortunately,like you,I only became aware last night that the firm is acting through Twitter and media reports,” she said in her email,sent last Wednesday morning.

“The acceptance of this matter did not go through the firm’s due consultation or approval processes. Had it done so,we would have considered the matter through the lens of our purpose and our values.”

The internal stoush began last week after Mr Bartlett was identified by the ABC as having advised the then unnamed Mr Porter as he prepared to out himself as the cabinet minister accused of a 1988 rape.Mr Porter denied the allegation in a press conference last Wednesday afternoon.

Mr Bartlett wasn’t aware of the email until it landed in the inboxes of the more than 2000 staff and partners it was sent to,some of the firm’s lawyers have said.

Mr Bartlett,who also provides advice to media companies,includingThe Age and Sydney Morning Herald,responded to the email on the same day saying:“I would have thought that a majority of our partners would believe that everyone is entitled to a presumption of innocence and legal representation.”

He said Mr Porter and Prime Minister Scott Morrison were the leaders of “one of the firm’s largest clients” and the firm was already assisting the Attorney-General and Prime Minister with a separate defamation case.

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