Courtney Steele and solicitor Kaila Leendertz have both joined defendant insurance specialist firm HBA Legal, with the former - who was most recently a senior associate at Ashurst - set to head up the firm’s Brisbane office as a new partner.

The appointment follows HBA’s acquisition by global claims management business Crawford & Company in November of last year.

HBA director Nathan Hepple said that Ms Steele joins at a time when there is a “great deal of enthusiasm” for the changing operating model that the firm is undergoing.

“As part of Crawford, we can now offer clients a compelling solution: the ability to handle the entire claim lifecycle under one roof. As a business, Crawford in Australia now has every piece to the claim puzzle from first notification of loss through to litigation and recoveries, plus risk management,” he said.

“That means we have economies of scale and we are able to offer a broad range of expertise, excellent service and cost-effective solutions.”

It is essential, Mr Hepple continued, to have a streamlined and aligned claims journey.

“Having a number of different service providers involved across the life of a claim, which until now has been the reality, creates the risk of service providers going over the same ground in validating claims. And the client is paying for that potential duplication of work,” he explained.

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“So, whether the client is a big insurer or a self-insured corporate, by working with Crawford they are assured that critical evidence is housed in the one place, there is efficiency because we are one organisation and they can have comfort that the legal eye is built into the process from the beginning.

“It’s this integrated model with loss adjusters, forensic accountants, TPA claims managers, building experts and lawyers, working side by side, that helps save clients’ money because we are able to help reduce the duration of claims.”

Ms Steele added that with the changing legal landscape and evolving expectations from clients, she is excited to “start the next chapter”.

“Clients, for a long time now, have wanted their legal providers to work with them on their ‘more for less’ challenge. Our clients have commercial realities and as a true business partner we owe it to them to innovate and deliver in that regard,” she said.

“The One Crawford connected claims solution is unmatched in the market today and I’m thrilled to be joining early in HBA’s journey with Crawford. I am energised to start talking to clients about how we can do more for them.”