National law firm Barry Nilsson is taking six principals from global rival DLA Piper’s insurance and health practice.
Barry Nilsson is bolstering its insurance and health practice by appointing six principals from global rival DLA Piper, describing the move as a “strategic lateral hire” designed to accelerate the firm’s growth.
The six new principals joining the national law firm include:
The new principals will be based across three of Barry Nilsson’s national offices, with two joining the Perth office, three in Sydney, and one in Brisbane.
Alongside the six principals, Lawyers Weekly understands that several team members are also set to depart DLA Piper to join Barry Nilsson. However, discussions between the two firms are still ongoing as final arrangements are being confirmed.
Barry Nilsson’s chairman, Peter Murdoch, shared that the appointments not only underscore the firm’s growth ambitions but are also set to enhance its capacity to provide top-tier legal services in the insurance and health practice.
“The addition of these six principals and their practices is a testament to Barry Nilsson’s excellent reputation, strong performance and the quality of our people and culture,” Murdoch said.
“Spread across three of our six national offices, we’re looking forward to welcoming Cameron, Jock, James, Carmen, Sophie, and James and team members as part of our continued vision to have the best legal talent representing our clients and achieving the best outcomes.”
Murdoch added: “Beyond strengthening our capacity to service our current clients in this environment, these teams bring additional expertise in warranties and indemnities, general commercial litigation and regulatory work, and add scale to our well-established financial lines and casualty lines of business, significantly growing our insurance service offering.”
DLA Piper has confirmed the exit of the six insurance litigation partners, noting that the move was reached “after a considered and consultative process, with the decision reached mutually”.
DLA Piper country managing partner Shane Bilardi acknowledged the departing team’s contributions and wished them well, while reiterating the firm’s focus on strengthening its insurance practice and appointing new partners aligned with its strategic objectives.
“We wish the departing partners well with the move to a new firm,” Bilardi said.
“Looking forward, we remain focused on elevating our offering to insurers and others operating in the sector to support them on their most complex challenges and as they continue to deal with a rapidly changing business environment and accelerating pace of technological change as AI transforms the way we work and deliver services.”
“In tandem, we are consistently looking to appoint new partners based on client needs, and in line with our strategic objectives.”
