Powered By LawFuel – Fast-growing Australian insurance law firm Wootton + Kearney has expanded its New Zealand presence, appointing a cyber insurance expert as senior associate in Wellington.
Wotton + Kearney (W+K) was founded in 2002 with two partners and now has over 230 lawyers working across Australia and now in New Zealand in Auckland and Wellington.
W+K recently employed six lawyers for their New Zealand offices and also also recently relocated a partner from Australia to run a trans-Tasman insurance practice.
It is one of the first firms to take a step into the New Zealand legal environment, other than the DLAPiper tie-up,.
Fitzgerald previously worked at DAC Beachcroft in London, which like W+K is part of the Legalign Global alliance.
W+K said that cyber crime is estimated to cost the New Zealand economy about $257m per year, and the firm is at the forefront of cyber-risk insurance and associated risks.
“The firm is one of only a small group that have been chosen as pre-approved breach coaches for several insurers, first and third party claims, policy drafting and general advisory work,” W+K said in a press statement.
Fitzgerald is an expert in professional indemnity and insurance law, with a particular focus on cyber and data risks, data protection, privacy, and tech liability. .
“We are very happy to welcome Joe back to W+K in Wellington. Joe is highly skilled in advising on cyber and data privacy risks and brings extensive experience from time in the UK, including providing advice on a number of high-profile cyber and data-loss incidents across a range of sectors. I am certain New Zealand insurers and their clients will welcome his expertise in incident response, cyber insurance coverage, data privacy and data protection,” said Mark Anderson, who heads the firm’s cyber team in New Zealand.
The firm claims to be New Zealand’s largest specialist insurance firm, with 10 partners and 18 lawyers in Auckland and Wellington.
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