Maurice Blackburn has promoted 12 Queensland lawyers as part of its latest round of legal promotions effective from 1 January 2026.
These include Kirsten Van Der Wal from the Brisbane medical negligence team, who is promoted to Principal Lawyer, and Alan Watkins from the Cairns office, who is promoted to Special Counsel.
Kirsten Van Der Wal and Alan Watkins.
The Queensland promotions also include five new Associates and five Senior Associates, from offices including Brisbane, Browns Plains, Maroochydore, Rockhampton and Southport.
The promotions span many of the firm’s practice areas including dust diseases, class actions, employment and industrial, medical negligence, and personal injuries.
Women make up nine of the 12 promotions in Queensland, representing the firm’s ongoing commitment towards gender equality.
Nationally, 35 lawyers across the firm have been promoted, including 17 in Victoria, four in New South Wales, and one each in the Northern Territory and Western Australia.
Maurice Blackburn’s head of Queensland injuries Michelle James congratulated all the lawyers recognised in the promotions.
“Maurice Blackburn is proud to recognise so many exceptional Queensland lawyers as part of our latest round of annual promotions,” Michelle said.
“Those who have been promoted exemplify Maurice Blackburn’s shared mission to expand access to justice for all Australians.
“Our firm has this year grown to 16 offices around Queensland, and these promotions reflect the spread of our talent across the state.
“Each promotion is a significant personal achievement, acknowledging dedication, growing expertise, and increased leadership within the firm.”
Promoted to Associate are Alice Sinclair (Brisbane, employment and industrial), Eli Cavallaro (Brisbane, dust diseases), Melanie Prew (Southport, personal injuries), Sara Andersen (Browns Plains, personal injuries) and Simone McGoldrick (Browns Plains, personal injuries).
Promoted to Senior Associate are Andrew Herzig (Brisbane, class actions), Codie Clarke (Maroochydore, personal injuries), Rebecca Coulter (Southport, personal injuries), Sarah Williams (Rockhampton, personal injuries) and Teagan Upton (Maroochydore, personal injuries).
Proctor helps firms and their teams celebrate promotions and new appointments. Please email details of any lawyer promotions or appointments to proctor@qls.com.au. Ensure you include some details of their areas of expertise and achievements, along with images.
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