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A partner who headed up the general liability practice at Carter Newell has brought her team over to Clyde & Co.
Insurance partner Danielle Skinner and her team, comprising two senior associates and two paralegals, brought their collective wealth of experience to Clyde & Co earlier this month.
They will form part of the casualty claims practice, which acts for insurers and their policyholders across the full spectrum of claims, including catastrophic injury, fraud, legacy and disease, employers’ liability, public liability, property liability, and abuse and neglect.
An analysis by Lawyers Weekly revealed the scale at which BigLaw firms have poached from each other, including a handful of appointments where entire teams were taken in one move.
Clyde & Co welcomed six partners over the last year, including Sarah Wood as head of the employment, workplace relations and safety team; life insurance specialist Jessica Thurtell; corporate insurance and financial services experts Malcolm Wood and Yvonne Lam; and Andrew Pullinger for commercial disputes and arbitration.
Skinner has more than 15 years of experience and is a specialist in handling insurance matters relating to general liability, including both personal injury and property damage.
This expertise extends to complex matters involving multi-party construction cases, workplace fatalities, catastrophic injury, nervous shock claims, subrogated recoveries and product liability claims.
Skinner acts for domestic and international insurers, underwriting agencies, brokers, claim managers and corporate self-insureds.
Australia head of insurance, based in Sydney, Gareth Horne, said Skinner and her team would further strengthen the firm’s general liability offering, “where we have seen strong activity in the market”.
“We are particularly excited about Danielle’s ability to integrate both with our key clients and the global practice group more broadly, and about the opportunities that follow from that in terms of supporting a strong capability in general liability across all locations in which we operate,” Horne said.
Australia managing partner, Brisbane, Rebecca Kelly, said the firm has invested significantly in strategic growth across its Australian practices over the last 12 months, and the addition of Skinner and her team has come at an “exciting time”.
The appointments also demonstrate Clyde & Co’s commitment to attracting leading talent and investing in areas that align with the firm’s long-term growth strategy, Kelly added.
“Danielle’s expertise, combined with the strength of our global insurance platform, ensures we are well positioned to support clients as they navigate increasingly complex claims, emerging liability risks and changing market conditions across Australia and internationally,” she said.
Commenting on her new role, Skinner said: “Clyde & Co brings together insurance expertise from Australia and around the world.
“I’m joining to put that expertise to work for clients, helping them understand their risks, make informed decisions and manage claims.
“My focus is on clear advice they can act on with confidence and delivering services which are of consistent high quality.”
