Kennedys is looking for an Associate or Senior Associate with 3-6 years’ of experience to join our financial and professional lines practice in Melbourne. The successful candidate will work on a mix of professional indemnity and financial lines matters (including large-scale construction matters, PI matters acting for real estate agents, solicitors, financial advisors and accountants and, depending on the experience of the candidate, defamation). The role will also include working on coverage instructions for a range of local insurers and London syndicates. The role includes handling high value, complex coverage disputes as well as having carriage of defence instructions for financial institutions, a range of construction professionals, corporate service providers, and directors and officers (D&O). This is an exciting opportunity for the successful candidate to develop their career working for a reputable global law firm. The successful candidate will have at least 3 years’ of defendant insurance experience within Victoria and be able to cope with multiple deadlines at the same time. This is an opportunity to work closely with the Partner and a Special Counsel, with the support of other Senior Associates in the team. Team Kennedys is a global firm and has had a presence in Australia since 2006. In 2017, Kennedys Melbourne opened to reinforce the firm’s commitment to the Australian market and Kennedys has fast-growing offices in Melbourne, Sydney, Perth and Brisbane. The Melbourne office advises on Financial Lines and Professional Indemnity, Healthcare, Dispute Resolution and Commercial matters, Casualty and Liability, Employment Practices Liability and Data Privacy and Cyber. The Melbourne office is an inclusive and friendly team of over 60 people. Kennedys’ financial lines team deal with all areas of financial lines and professional liability matters handling claims of all sizes and complexities and the role has become available due to an exciting time of growth. The successful candidate will have the support of a number of Associates in the team as well as highly experienced paralegals. Clients Insurers and reinsurers Lloyds syndicates Global composites Cases Defence of high value and multi-party litigated disputes Providing coverage advice on complex issues Defending claims for insureds which are covered under a range of policies including professional indemnity, directors and officers, management liability and industrial special risks. Subrogated recoveries Required experience 3-6 years’ post-admission experience, of relevant defendant insurance experience across professional indemnity, financial lines and coverage Solid litigation experience in the Victorian Supreme and County Courts, Federal Court of Australia and VCAT highly desirable Have excellent communication skills, both written and verbal Methodical and organised approach to file management Ability to manage own time, excellent organisation skills and attention to detail High level of professionalism and integrity; displaying the highest standard of professional ethics. Please let us know if you require any additional support or adjustments to be made in order to submit your application to Kennedys. *where a level of experience is indicated, this is a guideline only and represents the amount of time we would usually expect a candidate to accumulate the requisite level of experience. This does not preclude applications from candidates with more or less experience. About Kennedys Kennedys is a global law firm with expertise in dispute resolution and advisory services. With over 2,500 people worldwide across 45 offices in the UK, Europe, Middle East, Asia Pacific and America we have some of the most respected legal minds in their field. Our lawyers handle both contentious and non-contentious matters, and provide a range of specialist legal services, for many industry sectors but we have particular expertise in litigation and dispute resolution, especially in defending insurance and liability claims. We’re a fresh-thinking firm, and we’re not afraid to bring challenging new perspectives to the table way beyond the traditional realm of legal services. We empower our clients with a diverse range of ideas, tools and technology to make their lives easier, as well as delivering exceptional results, every time. What do we have to offer? We welcome high-performing lawyers, business services professionals, secretaries, graduates and apprentices to join our rapidly expanding global firm. Whatever your role at Kennedys, you’ll be involved in exciting and stimulating work, where your input will make a difference. Our culture and values form a big part of who we are and we take them seriously. We make a difference by being approachable, straightforward, supportive and distinctive. Our values are at the core of who we are and what make us a great firm to work with and for. At Kennedys, we develop careers in an innovative global environment. Life at Kennedys is exciting, fast paced and varied and we believe that supporting individual growth and development puts us in the best position to attract and retain talented individuals. Regardless of role or level, everyone has access to virtual learning to help you develop your skills, wherever you are in the world. A variety of other opportunities are available including secondments to clients and our global offices. We strive to celebrate diversity, empower our people and ensure everyone can bring their authentic selves to work. We’ve created a culture based on client service, professional excellence, hard work and trust, where diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) is a key priority. We recognise that many of our people want to work for an employer that is aligned to their values, which is why we are building an inclusive culture, decarbonising our operations and supporting our people to thrive at work. Our people are the key to driving this change and helping us to make a difference to our clients, our people and the communities in which we live and work. Kennedys is an equal opportunities employer and is committed to ensuring our recruitment processes are as inclusive as possible. We expect all employees to be aware of and comply with all relevant policies and procedures within their jurisdiction, including those relating to Information Security, Data Protection and Quality Management, refer any breach promptly to Risk & Compliance and to complete all mandatory training when requested.