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Wotton + Kearney builds ‘dual expertise’ class action defence offering
International law firm Wotton + Kearney has continued to bolster its litigation ranks, following the poaching of a team from Corrs Chambers Westgarth and the expansion of its insurance division with a team from MinterEllison.
Jerome Doraisamy
In January, W+K took teams from two rival BigLaw firms: first, a team of six from Corrs, and second, a team of five from Minters.
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Now, the firm has appointed Amanda Beattie as a partner, who comes over from King & Wood Mallesons.
The hiring of Ms Beattie, the firm said, allows it to create a “dual expertise” offering for the defence of class action proceedings, in light of her large-scale litigation experience, the firm’s existing insurance expertise, as well as the aforementioned arrival of the Corrs team, which provides services to the insurance sector and others in the complementary legal service areas of class action defence, D&O litigation, investigations and inquiries, and media law.
“We are delighted to welcome Amanda to the firm. Her expertise in effectively managing large-scale litigation will complement that of our insurance subject matter experts. The combination of their insurance insight and class action litigation expertise offers a unique proposition for the market — one that will appeal to insurers and their clients alike,” proclaimed W+K chief executive partner David Kearney.
W+K financial lines practice leader Cain Jackson added that insurers, as well as the insured, need to take a “sophisticated approach” to defending class actions.
“With Amanda joining our team, we have broadened our offering by bringing the best of both worlds to our clients — outstanding class action litigation expertise and deep insurance product knowledge,” he said.
“Given the causes of large-scale litigation vary widely, this is particularly important in the class action arena.”
Ms Beattie has “defended many class actions”, the firm noted, including litigation involving environmental contamination and shareholder class actions, and has considerable expertise in large-scale commercial disputes, Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and ASX investigations, and royal commissions.
