Barry Nilsson Promotes Next Generation of Legal Leaders

BN is delivering on its 2025 strategic commitment to foster the next generation of legal leaders, announcing 13 new internal staff promotions – six to Special Counsel, four to Senior Associate and three to Associate.

Nine of the promotions – which take effect from 1 January 2024 – have been awarded to women, upholding the firm’s position above the national industry average for female representation amongst legal practitioners.

BN Board Chairman and National Insurance & Health Lead Principal Rhett Kennedy announced the promotions in a firm-wide announcement to staff yesterday, congratulating the successful appointees on their elevation to more senior positions within the firm’s Insurance & Health and Family Law Practices in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney.

'These are well-deserved promotions that reflect the high calibre of legal talent within our firm and our corporate commitment to workplace inclusivity and diversity,' Mr Kennedy said.

'These promotions, and the 38 in January and July this year, support our firm’s 2025 strategic goals – which are to grow Barry Nilsson’s recognised expertise in Insurance & Health and Family Law, and to nurture our internal talent pipeline through career development and advancement.'

BN Chief Executive Officer Graeme Walsh said 2023 had been a milestone year for the firm which celebrated 60 years of legal service.

'We used this year as a marker in our firm’s history to reflect on our growth, the changing needs of our valued clients, and the increasingly complex economic, technological and social environment in which we operate, to set a clear plan for the next three years supported by a refreshed corporate brand,' Mr Walsh said.

'We didn’t waste time enacting our 2025 strategic growth goals, bringing on board two well-respected Insurance & Health law teams from Norton Rose Fulbright in Sydney and Sparke Helmore in Adelaide earlier this year,' he said.

'We also moved our founding Brisbane law practice, which had been operating from the same building in the CBD for more than 20 years, to larger premises with a contemporary fit out to accommodate our growing workforce.'

Over the past year, BN’s total national workforce, which spans six states, has grown by 14.7%. This includes an expanded legal team with a total of 233 lawyers, including 38 Principals.

During 2023, BN achieved another key strategic goal, exceeding the annual National Pro Bono Target of 35 hours of pro bono work per lawyer. The firm recorded almost 42 hours per lawyer.

The firm’s January 2024 promotions include:

Special Counsel

• Amelia Beveridge – Family (Melbourne)
• Ashlea Hawkins – Insurance (Melbourne)
• Ebru Campos – Insurance (Melbourne)
• Lee Lenkinski – Insurance (Brisbane)
• Natalee Barr – Insurance (Brisbane)
• Nicole Henkey – Insurance (Brisbane)

Senior Associate

• Alana Pointon – Family (Brisbane)
• Gianluca Tripodi – Insurance (Sydney)
• Sam Bowers – Insurance (Brisbane)
• Shakira Forghani – Insurance (Brisbane)

Associate

• Ali Tedder – Insurance (Brisbane)
• Nadia Gualtieri – Insurance (Melbourne)
• Will Harris – Insurance (Melbourne)