DWF, a provider of combined legal and business services, has announced an agreement to recruit the London market team from Australian law firm Hall & Wilcox, with the move set to take effect by May 2025 at the latest.
The team, led by Matt Curll and Rachael Arnold, is one of Australia’s top insurance litigation practices, with a strong client base that includes global insurers and London market insurance syndicates. This move will enhance DWF’s Australian insurance offerings.
Nine partners will be joining DWF, with the majority based in Sydney, along with colleagues in Brisbane, Newcastle, and Melbourne.
Matthew Doughty, CEO of DWF’s Insurance Services division, said, “It has long been a strategic priority to grow our business organically in key markets such as Australia, including through senior lateral hire recruitment. We believe this move will significantly strengthen our ability to support clients across Australia and globally.”
Matt Dudakov, Managing Director of DWF in Australia, added, “We look forward to welcoming our new colleagues to the business. Our team here in Australia has driven dramatic growth in recent years, and the addition of this stellar team will add further momentum to our success. It builds on, and is highly complementary to, our recent acquisition of Proclaim, the leading Lloyd’s of London claims management business in Australia.”
Jon Broome, Managing Director of Proclaim, stated, “We, and a number of our clients, know the team well and this presents an opportunity for us to deliver a more integrated service in the future across the whole claims lifecycle, whilst at the same time respecting clients’ preferences as to outside counsel and their existing panel arrangements.”
