Wotton + Kearney enters Adelaide market

Wotton + Kearney (W + K), a rapidly growing Sydney-headquartered insurance law firm, has opened an office in Adelaide as part of its plan to expand its footprint into seven cities across Australia and New Zealand.

W + K financial lines planner Nick Lux will lead the new team, spending his time between Melbourne and his hometown, Adelaide. Joining his team are Adelaide locals Matthew Elson (special counsel for general liability) and Lani Carter (special counsel for financial lines and property & energy), who will provide on-the-ground support for local insureds across major product lines and will shortly be joined by other insurance lawyers as the firm actively recruits in the city.

Read more: Wotton + Kearney boosts health practice with two new members

David Kearney, chief executive partner at W + K, said the expansion into Adelaide enables the firm to meet its increasing local client demand and reflects its people-first strategy in practice.

“Throughout the pandemic, we had lawyers who understandably wanted to work from home in their hometown. That worked so well that we have now created a private office for the team within a co-working space, Hub Adelaide, at 89 Pirie Street in Adelaide. In turn, that’s already attracted talented lawyers like special counsel Lani Carter, who joins us from Sparke Helmore,” Kearney said.

The firm has been rapidly growing its headcount and offices, with the expansion to Adelaide following the appointment of two new partners in its health practice.

Now, W + K has more than 330 dedicated insurance lawyers, including 58 partners, across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Wellington, and Auckland. It also has an active presence in London and Singapore and provides broader international coverage through its founding membership of Legalign Global – the largest global alliance of law firms focused on the insurance market.