International legal practice Norton Rose LLP has appointed Liam O’Connell as a litigation and dispute resolution partner in the London office. Liam was previously head of the commercial regulatory and disputes group and a partner at CMS Cameron McKenna.
Liam focuses on insurance disputes and he specialises in policy coverage analysis and domestic and international dispute resolution. He advises international insurance brokers and their errors and omissions (E&O) insurers in respect of major multi-party and international disputes. He also has a significant business in the contingency market and in cyber risks.
This is the third high profile insurance litigation hire into Norton Rose LLP’s London team in the last year, following the hiring of Patrick Foss and Chris Zavos from Barlow Lyde & Gilbert at the end of 2011. It also marks the continued growth of Norton Rose LLP’s wider litigation and dispute resolution team, coming on the heels of the appointment from Bindmans of white collar crime specialist Neil O’May, announced in July.
Deirdre Walker, Group head of litigation and dispute resolution at Norton Rose Group, comments:
“Our litigation team has grown significantly in the last two years. As well as our recent hires, we also made ten partner promotions in the practice across the Group earlier this year. Contentious insurance is an area of the business that we are committed to grow and develop, and one which is being driven by the calibre of our clients. Liam’s arrival significantly boosts our ambitions. He brings with him a huge amount of experience in insurance disputes which will complement our existing expertise in this area. I look forward to welcoming him to the team.”
James Bateson, Group head of financial institutions at Norton Rose Group, comments:
“Liam is a leading name in the insurance market. He will strengthen our non-marine claims practice, an area we have targeted for substantial growth, and help us to build a strong reputation as a claims firm to complement our market leading brand in non-contentious work in London. We expect Liam to play a prominent role in helping build our international capabilities too, working with our excellent insurance claims businesses in Australia, Canada and South Africa.”
Legal 500 UK lists Liam as a leading individual for insurance and reinsurance litigation, describing him as “a great tactician, very commercial and client friendly”.
