William Roberts Lawyers name 2 new principals as part of their continued growth and expansion plan – Oliver Gayner and Fred van Reede and elevate 5 lawyers to senior roles.
Oliver Gayner, who will be based in Sydney, joined William Roberts Lawyers on 7 August 2023. He has a depth of experience in law, litigation funding and corporate leadership, having previously served as Omni Bridgeway’s Co – Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer for the Asia Pacific Region.
Oliver will significantly bolster William Roberts’ class actions and commercial litigation offering.
Before entering litigation funding, Oliver was a litigation and dispute resolution lawyer with Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP and Olswang LLP in London, where he was a solicitor advocate with Higher Rights of Audience, and Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.
Oliver has degrees in Law (City University, London) and English (MA First class Honours, University of Edinburgh). He has a certificate in Financial Analysis from INSEAD. He is a frequent conference speaker and writer on issues relating to law, economics, and civil justice.
Oliver is also an advocate for the arbitration market in Australia and sits as a member of ACICA’s Users Council.
Oliver has managed a wide range of case types, including, class actions, commercial litigation, international arbitration, and insolvency.
Fred van Reede who will be based in Brisbane as the head of our Brisbane office, joined William Roberts Lawyers on 7 August 2023.
Fred comes to William Roberts after having most recently served as the head of the Brisbane office of a national insurance and commercial litigation specialist firm.
Fred will significantly bolster William Roberts’ insurance and commercial litigation offering, including for our national insurer clients, whilst closely working with our National Insurance Lead Principal lawyer, Brian Silva.
Fred commenced his legal career in South Africa with Savage, Jooste & Adams following the completion of his Bachelor of Commerce degree at the University of Pretoria in 2000, as well as his Bachelor of Law degree at the University of South Africa in 2002.
Continuing the William Roberts Lawyers philosophy of commitment to invest and develop their people, William Roberts Lawyers also announce the promotion of Georgia Wiadrowski to Senior Associate, Insurance, Melbourne; Muska Namdar to Senior Associate, Insurance, Melbourne; Vincent Hui to Associate, Insurance, Sydney; Alex Bogaty to Associate, Class Actions, Melbourne; and Molly Kinghorn to Associate, Insurance, Melbourne.
Robert Ishak said ‘In its 18th year, William Roberts continues to innovate and grow through its investment in its people. I want to warmly welcome Oliver and Fred to the William Roberts leadership team and to congratulate each and every one of those recently promoted.’
