Crawford’s Australian law firm appoints more top talent
Date: August 17, 2021
Media Release
BRISBANE: HBA Legal, part of Crawford & Company®, the world’s largest publicly listed independent provider of claims management and outsourcing solutions, is continuing to strengthen its Queensland workers’ compensation, insurance litigation and public liability expertise, appointing highly regarded solicitor Robert Parcell as Special Counsel.
With 30 years’ experience, Parcell is the fifth significant lateral hire for the Crawford owned law firm, following its acquisition in November 2020.
HBA Legal Managing Director, Brett Ablong, said Parcell had spent the past three and a half years with DWF and was well known and respected within the insurance sector in Queensland.
“Robert is an Accredited Personal Injury Specialist, a notation he obtained back in 1998 – this is considered formal recognition of a practitioner’s high level of competency and knowledge and a mark of a true leader in their area of expertise.”
“HBA has always been a firm seen as a refreshing alternative to a traditional law firm in terms of client service and employee experience. But now, as part of Crawford we can elevate that proposition to offer unique services, bold pricing models and create legal solutions at the forefront of technology. I think all this combined is playing a very significant part in the talent we are attracting into this business,” Ablong said.
Parcell said he was looking forward to being part of the only provider in Australia to offer a single supplier integrated claims solution including legal.
“Workers’ compensation is where my primary focus has been for the past 20 years. In this space, the end-to-end claims solution with TPA claims managers and lawyers working side by side collaboratively has enormous benefits to clients in terms of helping to drive down both claim costs and duration.”
“For me, when you make a career move it has to be somewhere where there’s high quality work and great opportunity to take client service to the next level. I’m looking forward to the next chapter with Crawford and HBA,” Parcell said.
Crawford Australia President Tim Jarman said the addition of legal services was proving attractive to Crawford’s existing client base.
“Clients are genuinely telling us that our offering is game changing because we can handle the entire claim lifecycle under one roof. This provides us with a real differentiator in the Australian market. We are seeing clients drawn to this One Crawford model because, put simply, it takes the hassle out of their claims management by only having to deal with one company for the life of the claim,” Jarman said.
Robert joined HBA on Monday 16 August. HBA has also recently welcomed Mariella Leeman, Solicitor, also formerly of DWF.
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Media contact:
Sarah Tempest, Head of Communications (Crawford Legal Services)
0402 946 603
sarah.tempest@hbalegal.com
About Crawford®
Based in Atlanta, Crawford & Company (NYSE: CRD‐A and CRD‐B) is the world’s largest publicly listed independent provider of claims management and outsourcing solutions to carriers, brokers and corporates with an expansive global network serving clients in more than 70 countries. The Company’s two classes of stock are substantially identical, except with respect to voting rights and the Company’s ability to pay greater cash dividends on the non-voting Class A Common Stock (CRD-A) than on the voting Class B Common Stock (CRD-B), subject to certain limitations. In addition, with respect to mergers or similar transactions, holders of CRD-A must receive the same type and amount of consideration as holders of CRD-B, unless different consideration is approved by the holders of 75 percent of CRD-A, voting as a class. More information is available at www.crawco.com.
About Crawford Legal Services™
Crawford Legal Services™ (CLS) is reimagining legal services, offering clients a range of integrated and unbundled legal solutions both locally and globally. Crawford’s legal expertise has grown considerably in recent years, with over 380 employees in Australia, Chile and the UK focused on this sector. Legal services are a significant part of Crawford’s diversification strategy, supporting its goal to be the embedded partner of choice for clients worldwide across the insurance industry supply chain. As part of Crawford, CLS is not restricted by traditional thinking and is transforming service delivery and pricing models, while utilising leading Crawford technology. With Crawford an established leader in many of the existing and targeted growth territories for legal services, we are able to leverage the same sales channels and market entry points as the wider business while uniquely connecting our legal services around the world.
www.crawcolegal.com www.hbalegal.com