Baker & McKenzie’s Georgie Farrant and Kate Gillingham left clients with a positive experience. Rodney Stone was praised for his work on treaty arrangements and captive insurance matters. Corrs Chambers Westgarth did a good job of contracts, professional indemnity and liability work. Frank Lawson was noted for his good turnaround time, while Michelle Carr was mentioned for her director & officer and professional indemnity work. Moray & Agnew also stood out. Geoffrey Connellan was a good operator; Suzanne Wallace was efficient; while Stephen Taylor-Jones was often the client’s choice for asbestos litigation. Gadens Lawyers was well-placed to provide the staffing that clients needed. They thought highly of Ray Giblett and Wendy Blacker for their competence. Clients also thought highly of Sparke Helmore’s Malcolm Cameron, John Coorey, Geoff Pike and Mark Doepel, for their professional indemnity, and directors & officers work. Curwoods was mentioned for its liability insurance work, where both Peter Ford and Clive Curwood had breadth of knowledge. Of all the national firms, Minter Ellison in Sydney received the most positive feedback. It was particularly noted for its work in the claims area, which clients were very happy with. Overall, partners were proactive, commercially minded and provided “great” strategic advice; they also kept hourly fees down and offered value for money. It is no surprise, then, that it rates among the top Australian firms for insurance law. One client said that Minters “never” provided advice that she “wouldn’t necessarily agree to”. It eschewed sitting on the fence, made “strong” recommendations and gave “valuable” guidance. Pamela Madafiglio provided advice that was timely, well thought out and commercially orientated – earning her the title of “insurance guru”. She was also “very considerate” and a good operator, and delivered a good endproduct. Chern Tan was mentioned for being diligent and commercially focused. Beverley Newbold was chosen for reinsurance recoveries, www.legalbusinessonline.com
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directors & officers-related insurance advice, and class actions. Freehills was also highly praised for always being available and providing prompt service, as well as having a good knowledge of insurance law. One client commended the firm as “excellent” in advising on “high-level” matters and meeting their commercial needs. Partners were generally responsive and knowledgeable, with “unfaultable service”. Michael Vrisakis was approachable and knowledgeable; always up to date on issues and innovative with life insurance matters. Terry Brigden was called a “high quality lawyer” who was easy to deal with, and a master of general insurance, superannuation and life insurance. Michael Mills and Michelle Fox were well prepared and a “pleasure” to work with, and had deep “subject matter knowledge”. The word ‘great’ was often heard when clients spoke about Allens Arthur Robinson’s commercially minded approach and strategic advice. Both Michael Quinlan and Oscar Shub were “fantastic”, good operators and delivered a good end-product. Dean Carrigan, John Edmond and Andrea Martignoni were also mentioned. Mallesons Stephen Jaques was called the “best of insurance practices at national firms” and was praised for being knowledgeable, notably in policy wording and interpretation work. Peter Stockdale “knew his stuff”, Philip Ward was personable and thorough, Robyn Chalmers was called a products liability specialist, and Anne Newbrun was good for noncontentious insurance matters. Clayton Utz was noted for its “solid” insurance and reinsurance expertise. Peter Mann was pragmatic, downto-earth and a problem solver. He was also praised for insurance advice on relatively large cases. Nancy Milne was mentioned for her insurance risk work, special counsel Henry Herron was a “longstanding expert” in his unique area of aviation insurance law. Jocelyn Helen was mentioned for her product liability knowledge, while special counsel Richard Shankland was chosen for reinsurance matters. Deacons’ Sydney office was also mentioned. Paul Baram was chosen
leading lawyers TRICIA HOBSON Firm: Deacons Location: Sydney • Main practice area is insurance • Specialist in insurance and reinsurance, with a focus on financial services • Advised both local and London insurers on a range of insurance matters, and major Australian and international financial institutions
PAUL HOPKINS Firm: Carter Newell Location: Brisbane • Practice areas: general insurance, property insurance, aviation insurance, injury liability, professional liability • Advised underwriters and brokers on front-end corporate and institutional accounts, risk management and claims management issues • Memberships: Queensland Law Society’s accident compensation and tort law reform section, Australian Insurance Law Association
Ken Horsley Firm: Minter Ellison Location: Brisbane • Practice areas: insurance, litigation, education, product liability, transport • More than 15 years’ experience in acting for blue chip clients on complex and large claims • Defended range of claims, including occupiers liability, injury, product liability, professional indemnity
DAVID KEARNEY Firm: Wotton + Kearney Location: Sydney • Advised on professional indemnity, liability, construction risk, litigation, major claims, policy drafting • Acted for insurers of Sydney Water on bushfire property damage claims • Clients: StarDex, Zurich, AIG, ACE, Liberty International Underwriters, Vero • Memberships: APIG, AILA, Claims Discussion Group
JOHN KNIGHT Firm: Chapman Tripp Location: Wellington • Practice areas: insurance, dispute resolution, transport, environment, planning, resource management, infrastructure • Acted for retail bank on negotiating with international insurer on underwriting arrangements for credit card travel insurance • Memberships: New Zealand Insurance Lawyers Association, Maritime Law Association of Australasia and New Zealand
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