W+K makes property, construction and energy team ‘largest of its kind’
Following the lateral acquisition of a team of seven in its property, construction and energy team, Wotton + Kearney has hired an additional four senior lawyers.
Joining Wotton + Kearney’s (W+K) seven-partner-strong team is partner Naraya Lamart, special counsel Edward Burrell, and senior associates Rachel White and Jacinta Fox. The appointments follow two partner promotions in June of this year and the lateral acquisition of a team of seven in August 2020.
New partner Ms Lamart joined the firm this week and will lead its established marine and transport practice within the team. Ms Lamart joins from HFW, where her experience spanned casualty crisis management, ship arrests, judicial sales of vessels, cargo claims, marine insurance advisory work and logistics.
Ms Lamart also has significant experience in insolvency in a shipping context and has worked on a range of cross-border transactions, including Incoterms, sales contracts, and world trade and sanction issues. Along with several other awards, Ms Lamart was recognised at the Lawyers Weekly Women in Law Awards in 2020.
Mr Burrell will join the team later this week, bringing with him significant experience in advising on some of Australia’s largest infrastructure projects. He also has expertise in defending property and construction professional indemnity matters, warranty and indemnity, product liability, and property damage claims.
Joining from Colin Biggers & Paisley, Ms White is known for her experience in property and construction professional indemnity and has significant experience advising on coverage disputes and large-scale construction matters.
Ms Fox, a senior associate in the Melbourne office, joined the firm from Lander & Rogers and specialises in commercial property subrogated recoveries.
Adam Chylek, who leads the property, construction and energy team, said that attracting senior and emerging talents is a “good indicator of the cohesion we’ve managed to build with key clients in these sectors over the last few years” and complements the “wide range of market-leading claims” the team is engaged on.
“Our new team members, including Naraya, who has an excellent reputation in local, London, and Singapore marine markets, give us the type of bench that I can't see replicated elsewhere in the market, and I’m excited to be bringing this depth to our client offering. We are delighted that Naraya, Edward, Rachel, and Jacinta have joined W+K.”
Naomi Neilson
Naomi Neilson is a senior journalist with a focus on court reporting for Lawyers Weekly.
You can email Naomi at: