December 2016

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The Kennedy family, from left, Aislinn, Rhett, Meg, Gabby, Annie and Joe.

No world without cover


By Kate Tilley, Editor, Resolve

Insurance law appeals to Rhett Kennedy because "it's largely responsible for the evolution of tort law".

As the concept of insurance developed, the duty of care expanded. "Insurance is fundamental to our every-day lives," Rhett told Resolve. "The world couldn't operate without insurance and reinsurance; at least not the way we live our lives."

Rhett, Brisbane-based Barry.Nilsson.'s (BN) National Insurance & Health Lead Partner, is one of AILA's new life members – an award that is testament to his long-standing involvement with the association.

He was on the Queensland committee for 15 years until 2008 and was Qld president and the state's national board representative in 2000 to 2001. He was program chair for the popular Qld Insurance Law Intensive for its first seven years.

Rhett joined AILA after attending a conference in Qld in 1988. Life membership – awarded at the Adelaide national conference in October – came as a big surprise. "I had no expectation at all," he said.

His dedication to AILA is simply part of his commitment to the industry. "It's the area in which I want to practice, so I like to immerse myself in industry associations," Rhett told Resolve. "It's fundamental to being an effective insurance lawyer."

Rhett joined BN in October 1985 after returning from a year overseas that included playing club cricket in the UK ­ – a sport he still watches avidly but is no longer active in.

He didn't "wake up one morning and decide I wanted to be an insurance lawyer", but Rhett had a few insurance files in his intray when he started with BN and his career spiralled upwards from there.

He enjoys the relationships forged with industry personnel and the industry's "dynamic change".

"That's what energises me, there is so much change. You're only as good as you were yesterday, or maybe the day before," he says.

"I never take a one-size-fits-all approach when advising clients. Instead, I use my experience in the industry, and my legal analytical skills and insights into my clients' aims, to ensure I know what they want to achieve so I can get the best possible result. In the end, clients want their legal spend to be appropriately balanced against either the size of their claim or the volume of claims. As a partner, I make sure that happens."

Rhett likes to delve deeply into coverage issues. "That distinguishes the insurance lawyer from the litigator."

He now works predominantly in financial lines and professional indemnity and oversees BN's insurance & health team around the nation. In 2015, Rhett was listed in Doyle's Guide as one of Qld's preeminent PI lawyers and he was recognised in Best Lawyers 2017.

He has witnessed BN grow from a single city office of about 30 people to 220 partners and staff in offices in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Hobart. He is excited to see the firm he has so long been part of expanding interstate and being awarded ANZIIF's 2016 Professional Services Firm of the Year. While clients were "beating the jungle drums" for BN to expand, the growth was "offensive not defensive".

Boutique law firms realised they had to be in more than one jurisdiction to keep clients happy. "You need quality people on the ground." Rhett says BN's recruitment of insurance experts nationwide demonstrates its commitment to the market.

The new offices – Adelaide and Hobart only opened in August – mean increased travel as Rhett spends time in other states on client-driven work and national business development.  But he's a happy traveller, heading at least annually to London.

Rhett is a father of four, one of whom is following in her father's footsteps and studying business law at QUT University.

The Kennedy family is the proud owner of Foxie, a 12-year-old border terrier. "She's hard of hearing and grumpy, but we all love her," Rhett says.

 
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Resolve is the official publication of the Australian Insurance Law Association and
the New Zealand Insurance Law Association.