Our People
Our People
Our team of legal and insurance professionals, together with our support staff, is committed to providing outstanding professional services to our insured law practices.
We acknowledge our unique position as a licensed and regulated insurance company which is part of the legal profession. We also recognise our role in ensuring that the profession’s obligation to clients who have suffered loss as a consequence of negligence is appropriately managed and met.
The team continuously assesses internal work practices and works closely with our panel of external lawyers to develop more proactive, efficient and cost-effective ways of managing claims. Our aim is to reduce the frequency and cost of claims and, as a consequence, provide you with predictable and affordable insurance premiums.
Lawcover Insurance Board
Peter has over 40 years’ experience in the global insurance sector, spanning retail and wholesale markets, reinsurance, broking, underwriting and claims. He held a number of senior executive roles as CEO of Aon Re Australia, Aon Risk Services Australia Pacific, Aon Limited UK, CGU and the listed IAG.
Peter is currently a non-executive director of Commonwealth Bank, an executive mentor with Merryck & Co ANZ, and a member of Bain & Company’s Advisory Council.
Peter has completed the Harvard Advanced Management Program.
Justin has over thirty years’ experience in both the insurance and banking industries in Australia and Asia. He has held senior executive roles at Insurance Australia Group (including Group Chief Risk Officer, and CEO Asia) and ANZ Banking Group (including General Manager Asia, and Regional GM, Business Banking Asia Pacific). Justin has held non-executive directorships on a number of boards including Westpac’s Insurance boards and Aviva Limited (Singapore), and he is currently a non- executive director on the board of Nuchev Ltd and related companies. He holds a Bachelor of Economics and is a Certified Practising Accountant.
Joan has over 30 years’ of finance and leadership experience in the general insurance and reinsurance industry. She has held senior executive roles in Australia and England, including at QBE Insurance Group Limited and GE’s London Market reinsurance operations.
Joan is currently a non-executive director of Steadfast Group and Gordian Runoff Limited. She holds a Bachelor of Laws, and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Brett is the current serving President of the Law Society of New South Wales and has served on the Council of the Law Society of New South Wales since his election in 2018. Brett has also served as Chair of the Audit, Risk & Finance Committee; Deputy Chair of the Professional Conduct Committee; and member of the ADR, Diversity & Inclusion, and Family Law Committees.
Brett is also a Partner at Marsdens Law Group. He is the Partner in charge of Family Dispute Resolution department and specialises in family law.
Brett attended Western Sydney University where he earned a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) and where he also returned to lecture and teach the next generation of lawyers in Family Law, Advanced Family Law and Family Dispute Resolution subjects from 2016. Brett is also a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD) and has extensive experience in corporate governance.
John is an accomplished company director and strategic advisor to growth companies, startups and purpose-driven organisations. Currently, he serves as a Non-Executive Director at Lawcover, OpenLearning, and SAAFE CRC, and chairs Orijin Plus, Cashrewards and Experimenta Media Arts. Over 25 years as an executive in the technology industry, John has been a successful entrepreneur, and the CEO of companies such as Flybuys, Integrated Research and Experian. With a background in genetics (PhD University of Melbourne), John’s leadership experience spans data commercialisation and digital transformation, digital health, edtech and digital marketing/loyalty.
Kenneth joined the Law Society in 2006 and has held a number of positions since that time including Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operating Officer and currently as Acting Chief Executive Officer. Kenneth has 25 years of finance and management experience, and prior to joining the Law Society he worked in several finance roles in both Australia and the UK with companies including Insurance Australia Group, Marsh and Toyota Finance.
Kenneth holds a Bachelor of Business, a Master of Professional Accounting, and is a Chartered Accountant. He is also a fellow of CPA Australia, a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and a member of the Governance Institute of Australia.
Joanne is the current serving President of the Law Society of NSW. She has been actively involved with the Society for more than ten years, serving on the Audit, Risk and Finance committee, Disclosure Committee and Rural Issues Committee, and previously on the Professional Conduct Committee, Employment Law Committee, Property Law Committee and Human Rights Committee.
Joanne van der Plaat was a longstanding partner at Blaxland Mawson & Rose Solicitors in Cooma. and has been with the Firm since 2003.
Joanne provides commercial and practical advice in the area of workplace relations, focusing on unfair dismissal, workplace investigations and contract and policy drafting. She appeared in FWC for employers and employees. Joanne also has over 10 years’ experience in acting for SME, SMSF, trusts, developers and commercial clients in property matters including commercial and retail leasing, development, rural, retail, commercial and residential subdivisions and acquisitions/disposals.
Joanne has previously been involved with her local Rural Fire Service, on the Board of local schools, early childcare and the local nursing home.
Joanne holds a Bachelor of Laws from Macquarie University and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Lawcover Executive
Kerrie joined Lawcover in February 2013 as Chief Operations Officer with primary responsibility for leading Professional Services – Claims, Insurance Services, Underwriting, ICT/Business Solutions and Practice Support Services.
Kerrie commenced the role of Chief Executive Office at Lawcover on 7 September 2020.
Kerrie’s legal career began in 1996 and she moved into the general insurance industry in 2001. During this time Kerrie worked with personal lines, public liability and professional indemnity insurance policies and claims. Before joining Lawcover she was Executive Manager, Professional Services at the medical indemnity insurer, MDA National. Her insurance career has also included time with AMP, GIO, Suncorp and QBE Insurance.
Kerrie’s broad expertise includes leading diverse teams delivering professional indemnity, advisory and risk management education services with a key focus on successful outcomes, business rigour and client value.
Peter joined Lawcover in February 2018. He has over 25 years of finance experience, and brings to his role a breadth and depth of general insurance knowledge, developed both locally and internationally.
Prior to joining Lawcover, Peter had a successful career with the QBE Insurance Group, holding a number of executive management roles with areas of expertise in strategic finance, treasury, reinsurance and capital management in a career spanning 16 years. He is financially and commercially astute with a strong ability to understand and lever key drivers of business value. Peter is passionate about developing and leading strong teams to bring positive change to the organisation. Peter has a Bachelor of Business from Charles Sturt University and is an Associate of the Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CA ANZ).
Elissa heads up Lawcover’s legal and claims teams. She provides general corporate and regulatory advice across the Lawcover business and to the Board. She also leads Lawcover’s claims team, which provides advice on coverage issues and supports solicitors who are facing professional negligence claims. Elissa regularly writes for the Law Society Journal and presents for AILA on solicitor’s professional indemnity cases.
Prior to joining Lawcover, Elissa practised for 13 years as a solicitor in Sydney and London, specialising in professional indemnity litigation. Elissa joined Lawcover in 2010.
James has worked in financial services for 30 years, most recently as Chief Risk Officer of Zurich Financial Services Australia, Zurich Insurance Asia Pacific, the Wealth Management business division of CBA and ClearView Wealth Ltd. Prior to these CRO roles, he held senior risk roles at American Express and AMP, and worked in trading rooms as a funds manager and a proprietary trader. James is an Adjunct Faculty Member of the Australian Graduate School of Management at the University of NSW.
Claims and Legal
Nicola joined Lawcover in 2019.
Nicola has over 20 years’ legal practice experience in the general insurance industry, having held various inhouse legal roles in London and Sydney since 2001.
Milica joined Lawcover in 2013 after her admission as a solicitor that year. While completing her degree, she had worked as a paralegal in private practice in the areas of litigation, property, criminal and family law.
At Lawcover Milica assists the Claims Solicitors in a wide range of areas including the conduct of litigated and unlitigated claims and case management.
Rachel joined Lawcover in March 2019 as Senior Underwriter.
Rachel was admitted as a solicitor in NSW in 1998, and has dedicated her career to the insurance industry, with a particular emphasis on professional indemnity insurance. Rachel’s expertise spans insurance broking, underwriting and claims across a range of risks. Her insurance career has included time with JLT, KPMG and MDA National. She is currently studying for a Masters of Law at Sydney University.
Sophie joined Lawcover in 2022 after being admitted as a solicitor in 2019.
Following a successful career in advertising and marketing Sophie entered the legal profession upon the completion of a Juris Doctor (JD) from the University of Technology in 2018. Sophie worked in private practice for 3 years focusing on litigation and dispute resolution and complex professional negligence claims.
Practice Support Services
Jen McMillan was admitted to legal practice in New South Wales in 1989 and in Western Australia in 1992. She is a Law Society of New South Wales accredited specialist in wills and estates, with extensive experience in this area in private practice as well as with a trustee company and as the Practice Leader – Wills and Estates in the College of Law’s LLM (Applied Law) program. Jen joined the Lawcover team in January 2017 as a Legal Practice Consultant and was appointed Manager of Practice Support Services in March 2020.
Jen is currently a member of the Law Society of New South Wales Elder Law & Succession Committee and the Law Society of New South Wales Property Law Committee. She is also a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners and a former member of the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
Malcolm joined Lawcover in August 2012 and is Practice Risk Manager. In this role, he conducts risk reviews of law firms which involve onsite visits and meetings with the principals, employed solicitors and senior support staff.
Malcolm presents risk management strategies through the Lawcover Risk Management Education Program’s workshops for principals, on-site at law firms, at the practice management courses of The Law Society of NSW, College of Law, FMRC, Regional Law Societies’ seminars and other events.
Prior to joining Lawcover, Malcolm ran his own company for 20 years providing consulting services to the general insurance industry and the legal profession as well researching and producing conferences. He has been a sole director and a co-director of private companies including a subsidiary of a publicly listed UK company and a director of a Sydney club.
With a degree in Psychology and his experience in business, Malcolm focuses his work on the importance of effective law firm management and profitability which helps reduce professional negligence risks.
Glenda was admitted to the Australian legal profession in 2014 and shortly after commenced her role as Regulatory Compliance Solicitor with the Law Society of NSW from where she joined Lawcover in the role of Legal Risk Manager in September 2021.
Prior to this Glenda was admitted as a solicitor in Ireland in 2006 and practised as an Associate Solicitor in the areas of personal injury law, wills and estates, conveyancing and family law. Glenda studied law and commerce in her undergraduate degree and went on to complete a post-graduate course in marketing practice at the UCD Graduate School of Business, Dublin, Ireland. With her background in business and marketing as well as law, Glenda has a keen interest in law practice management with a particular focus on promoting the benefits of good risk management practices for sole practitioner/small law practices.
Insurance
Erin joined Lawcover in March 2018 in a client support role and transferred into the role of Underwriter/Systems Support in May 2018.
She has completed Certificate IV in General Insurance through the Australian and New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance (ANZIFF).
Prior to joining Lawcover, Erin had work experience in a variety of client support/administrative roles across various industries in Canada and Australia.
