11 senior lawyers will take up new roles at Wotton + Kearney on 1 January 2019. When we assess lawyers for promotion, we take on board comments and experience from our clients together with our assessment of their technical expertise, communication skills, values and leadership of the teams who work with them.

This year we are promoting two new partners, four new special counsel and five new senior associates across Australia and New Zealand. We believe that this demonstrates our commitment to providing you with the specialist expertise you need to deliver the quality outcomes you demand across key insurance product lines.

PARTNERS:

Lesley Woodmore – Sydney

Lesley assists clients across a wide range of industries, including consumer goods, construction and infrastructure, and property and energy, with general liability and financial lines claims. She specialises in personal injury and property damage claims as well as professional negligence claims. A large proportion of her clients are London market insurers with different lines of business in Australia. Lesley is a nationally accredited mediator and has been a member of the Resolution Institute since 2012. She is active in insurance industry forums, including being the former president and committee member of the Association for Women in Insurance. You can view Lesley’s profile here.

Stan Tsaridis – Sydney

Stan works in the Sydney General Liability team, with a speciality in defending public liability claims for government departments and retail shopping centre owners. He is known for his ability to navigate the complex nature of government matters, and resolve injury claims swiftly and commercially for his corporate clients. You can view Stan’s profile here.

SPECIAL COUNSEL:

Bhrig Chauhan – Bhrig is member of the Melbourne Financial Lines practice specialising in the defence of occupational health and safety, employment practices liability and general statutory liability claims.

Dean Pinto – Dean is a member of the Sydney Financial Lines team and assists insurers and their insured clients with Directors & Officers, professional indemnity and construction claims. He has been a key member of our team advising on the Hayne Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry.

Hugh King – Hugh is a founding member of the firm’s Auckland team and specialises in indemnity advice, professional liability and disciplinary, Directors & Officers and construction claims.

Scott Macoun – Scott is a member of the Brisbane General Liability team specialising in the defence of public liability claims and especially Personal Injuries Proceedings Act 2002 (Qld) claims. Scott has been a committee member of Young Insurance Professionals.

SENIOR ASSOCIATE:

Jackson Pannam – Jackson is a member of the Melbourne General Liability team and is developing a specialisation in the field of “toxic torts” and other emerging personal injury areas.

Joseph Vermiglio – Joseph is a member of the Sydney General Liability team specialising in the defence of public liability claims for Australian insurers and is also an active participant in the firm’s pro bono practice, assisting self-represented individuals.

Julia Whitehead – Julia works on professional indemnity, product liability, coverage advice, general litigation and construction law, and is a key member of the Auckland team.

Natasha Cannon – Natasha has a broad cross section of experience in professional liability, design and construction claims and disciplinary proceedings, subrogated recoveries and product liability. Natasha is part of the Wellington team and has previously worked for international firms in both Australia and London, and spent a year working with the London Financial Lines claims team of a major insurer.

Sam McNally – works in the Sydney General Liability team specialising in the defence of London market casualty and property damage claims and is the Secretary of the Association for Women in Insurance, which has helped her forge relationships across the insurance industry.

Congratulations again to our senior promotions.