Carter Newell has announced the upcoming elevation of 10 team members, including two to Special Counsel, as its specialist expertise strengthens in construction, projects and infrastructure, insurance, and planning and environment law.
Effective from 1 July, Brisbane promotions are Special Counsel Olivia Gardener (Construction, projects and infrastructure), Senior Associate Sam Cooper (General liability), Associate Clare Ryan (General liability), and Associate Eliza Burke (Planning and environment).
Ms Gardener (pictured second from right) specialises in large and complex insurance coverage and indemnity disputes for domestic and international underwriters and insurance intermediaries, with a particular focus on general liability, industrial special risks, contract works, professional indemnity and construction all risks.
Since joining Carter Newell, she has advised on industrial special risks policies, annual construction and project works policies and general business insurance policies across the construction and engineering industry.
Ms Gardener has specific expertise in advising domestic and international insurers in respect of indemnity disputes arising out of severe weather events, with a particular focus on disputes regarding stormwater and flood damage.
She has also had previous experience with public liability claims arising from construction site injuries, sporting incidents and personal injury matters – including those engaging the Workers Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 (Qld) – as well as military compensation claims and industrial disputes on behalf of individual claimants, domestic and international insurers and listed construction entities.
Ms Gardener has instructed as lead solicitor in trials across the Magistrates, District and Supreme Courts of Queensland and the Federal Circuit Court, and has prepared pleadings in each of those jurisdictions. She is experienced in a range of alternative dispute resolution processes including mediations, Court ordered settlement conferences and compulsory conferences, across matters ranging from personal injury claims to complex multi-party insurance disputes.
Mr Cooper specialises in insurance law and dispute resolution for domestic and international insurers, with a particular focus on public liability, property damage and workplace prosecutions across Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria.
He acts for blue-chip and international insurers, insurance brokers, and private clients across pre-litigated and litigated claims. His practice encompasses personal injury, property damage, recovery claims and general commercial insurance matters, with a particular focus on agriculture.
Mr Cooper’s experience includes acting in complex multi-party liability disputes, acting for national retailers, commercial property owners and private clients including those facing workplace prosecution following a farming fatality as well as in claims arising from occupational exposure to silica dust. He also regularly advises on indemnity and coverage issues arising from liability policy wordings in high-value matters, including where damages sought exceed $5 million.
Mr Cooper has appeared and acted in compulsory conferences, mediations and trials across Queensland and New South Wales.
Across personal injury, property damage and aviation claims, Ms Ryan (pictured top left) acts for insurers and corporate insureds at every stage from pre-litigation strategy through to compulsory conferences, mediations and court appearances.
She manages settlement negotiations, instructs counsel, drafts pleadings and complex advices on liability, causation, quantum, resolution strategy and reserves, and conducts lay and expert witness interviews, consistently delivering outcomes at or under reserve for her clients.
Her work spans complex, multi-party matters for clients in the aviation, energy, construction, waste management, retail, shopping centres and food manufacturing sectors, where she has built strong working relationships with claims teams and in-house counsel.
Ms Ryan has a particular focus on aviation, working with major aviation hull and liability insurers on some of Australia’s most significant recent helicopter and fixed-wing crashes, and acting for two major Australian air carriers.
Ms Burke (pictured second from left) is an Associate in Carter Newell’s Planning and Environment team. She helps clients navigate the intersection of commercial ambition and regulatory constraint. Ms Burke advises and acts for private developers, retirement living operators, local government authorities, quarrying and resources operators, and renewable energy generators across Queensland.
Her practice centres on the Planning and Environment Court, where she manages complex, multi-party disputes involving large expert witness teams. Her resources and extractives experience spans multi-year court proceedings across specialist disciplines including town planning, ecology, acoustics, traffic, air quality, visual amenity, blasting, hydrology and economic need.
She also acts for local authorities in planning appeals, managing expert evidence, without prejudice negotiations and mediation preparation. Ms Burke maintains an active advisory practice, drafting detailed legal advice on development and planning matters, and supporting regional council clients through litigation and panel tender processes.
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