TressCox has appointed Colin Porter, consultant, and Robert Tomlinson, partner. Porter joins the firm as leader of the national insurance practice. Tomlinson was formerly at Abbott Tout Lawyers and will head up the infrastructure and property practice.

Minter Ellison Legal Group has appointed partners Richard Horton to its San Francisco office, Peter Capodistrias in Sydney, Paul Zawa in Melbourne, and Lachlan Drew and Shane Thurnwald in Adelaide and Scott Standen on the Gold Coast. Horton was previously at Skadden, Arps Slate, Meagher & Flom. Capodistrias was a former assistant director of the Australian Taxation Office and most recently a partner of a major accounting firm. He joins Minters’ revenue group in the Sydney office. Zawa was previously at the Sydney office of another Australian top-tier firm, where he was a partner. Drew came from a boutique Sydney firm. Insurance specialist Thurnwald was promoted internally, as was Standen, who is a corporate and commercial specialist focused on M&A and capital markets work.

Carter Newell has appointed two lawyers to the partnership, Bronwyn Clarkson and Michael Gapes. Clarkson will be leading the corporate and commercial group and Gapes the insurance practice. Matthew Payten and Andrew Cheetham have been promoted to the roles of senior associate and associate respectively. The firm has also appointed Craig McIver to special counsel.

Maddocks has appointed property partner Christopher Conolly and construction & major projects partner Christopher Kelly to its Sydney office.

Nancy Milne, who is a consultant in Clayton Utz’s litigation and insurance risk division and solicitor for the James Hardie Medical Research and Compensation Foundation, has recently been appointed chair of the International Bar Association’s insurance committee.

Commercial law firm Thomson Playford has appointed Jody Grant as a senior associate within its dispute resolution practice group. The firm said Grant has experience across all aspects of development, planning and environment law, having represented local authorities, objectors and various metropolitan and regional councils.