Wotton + Kearney is delighted to announce the promotion of five new partners. They are part of 23 senior lawyer promotions effective 1 July 2021 – the largest group of senior lawyers ever promoted at one time in the firm’s history. These promotions reflect W+K’s continued focus on offering clients market-leading expertise by recognising emerging talent and growing the firm’s ranks of senior specialists in key insurance lines. This includes general liability, financial lines, cyber & privacy, workplace/EPL, health and property, construction & energy which are areas in high demand.

Chief Executive Partner David Kearney commented: “We are thrilled to welcome Krissy, Meisha, Chris, Luke and Peter as partners and congratulate all our senior lawyers on their achievements. These promotions are recognition of their talents and continued commitment to their clients and W+K. We’re very proud of them and trust in their ability to support our clients’ needs.”

The full list of promoted senior lawyers is below.

Partner

Krissy Vale – Property, Construction & Energy (Sydney)

Krissy’s experience ranges from conducting multi-billion dollar settlements arising out of the devastating Christchurch earthquake sequence, through to handling some of the most complex LNG, power generation, coal and iron ore mining, and road infrastructure claims across the country. She regularly reports to and corrals an international market of subscribing insurers and is widely considered a “go to” lawyer in W+K’s Major Loss practice.

Meisha Tjiong – General Liability (Sydney)

Meisha is a general liability insurance litigator, with a focus on public and product liability claims. She has a reputation for successfully navigating legacy institutional abuse and sensitive claims by working closely with clients to achieve timely and appropriate outcomes that are consistent with their specific protocols and philosophy. Meisha regularly advises government bodies and other institutions and has also developed a practice involving discrimination and abuse claims in the educational sector.

Chris Spain – Health and Workplace/EPL (Melbourne)

Chris has a dual focus on the health sector and employment practices claims in all states and territories. He is an experienced disciplinary proceedings lawyer and litigator with a focus on unfair dismissal, general protections and anti-discrimination applications, negligence claims, coronial inquests, AHPRA investigations and regulatory inquiries. Chris offers years of front-line claims experience having managed a portfolio of liability claims in the health, aged care, education, disability and welfare sectors for a major insurer.

Luke Vincent – Financial Lines (Perth)

Luke will relocate from Sydney to Perth to lead W+K’s Financial Lines team on the west coast. He is a specialist in complex coverage issues and has experience acting on behalf of a broad range of professionals, with a particular focus on the construction industry. Luke has significant experience in large-scale litigation, including class actions, inquiries and Royal Commissions.

Peter Coggins – Property, Construction & Energy (Brisbane)

Peter is widely regarded in the Brisbane market for his breadth of experience across many insurance classes. Peter will lead our Brisbane Property, Construction & Energy team, focussing on first party property claims across ISR and contract works, third party property liability claims and subrogated recoveries. He also advises on negligence claims against a wide variety of professionals including solicitors, accountants, financial advisors, engineers and many other construction and business professionals.

Special Counsel

Senior Associate

  • Meredith Karlsen – Financial Lines (Auckland)
  • Luke Knights – Property and Financial Lines (Auckland)
  • Ashley Fernan – General Liability (Brisbane)
  • Ellie Brooks – Cyber and Privacy (Melbourne)
  • Sam Carroll – General Liability (Sydney)
  • Jesse Pereira – General Liability (Sydney)
  • Yen Tan – Financial Lines (Sydney)
  • Tshering Lama – Property, Construction & Energy (Sydney)
  • Dena Paterson – Property, Construction & Energy (Sydney)