UK law firm DAC Beachcroft will transfer its New Zealand operation to its global alliance Australian law firm partner Wotton + Kearney. The move will see six new partners and 11 other insurance lawyers in offices in Auckland and Wellington joining W+K. DAC Beachcroft partner Antony Holden will continue to head up the New Zealand practice as managing partner, NZ with a team of 17 insurance lawyers. The firms are part of a four-way alliance set up earlier this year - Legalign Global - consisting of DAC Beachcroft, BLD Bach Langheid Dallmayr (Germany), Wotton + Kearney (Australia) and Wilson Elser (US) to service the needs of the growing multinational insurance market.
Integration
W+K’s Chief Executive Partner, David Kearney states: 'As a law firm with a singular focus on the insurance industry, we are delighted to be broadening our services into New Zealand to assist our clients and their customers doing business in the region by joining forces with a high quality group of insurance lawyers led by Antony Holden. This integration has resulted from open dialogue with the broader DAC Beachcroft team around what is in the best interests of clients in our region and is reflective of a strong, trusting relationship between two founding member firms of Legalign Global.'
Collaborative global alliance
He added that the expansion was 'consistent with our motivation to continue to build on our strong and collaborative global alliance and we look forward to enhancing our regional W+K team as we work with other Legalign Global member firms to deliver insurance legal services to our clients.'
Strong relationship
Managing partner of the New Zealand practice, Antony Holden, says of the integration with W+K: 'Given our existing relationship with W+K and their knowledge of the New Zealand insurance market, we see this as an exceptional opportunity to reinforce our local market presence and build on the Legalign Global brand across Australasia. We also look forward to a continued and strong relationship with our DAC Beachcroft colleagues through our global alliance.'
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