Headquarters:

Melbourne, VIC

Year founded:

1980

Number of employees:

144

Phone:

03 9947 4500

Email:

infoemail@ligeti.com.au

Website:

ligeti.com.au

LinkedIn:

linkedin.com/company/ligeti-partners

“We prioritise embracing cutting-edge technologies, creative problem solving and continuous improvement to enhance our premium funding solutions and provide exceptional value to our clients”

Brett Bastow, IQumulate Premium FundinG

James Mulcahy

Managing Director

Andrew Sawkins

Principal Lawyer

Virginia Waters

Principal Lawyer

Leadership

James Mulcahy brings extensive experience in managing property damage matters for major Australian insurers, specialising in motor vehicle insurance, commercial property and marine insurance. His passion lies in collaborating with claims teams to develop systems and strategies that enhance recovery and settlement rates. Mulcahy works closely with clients to create frameworks that equip their teams with effective tools to navigate the complexities of property claims, ensuring alignment with business goals and values. Through his commitment to regular, transparent communication, Mulcahy has cultivated strong, long-lasting relationships with clients, consistently delivering results that meet their unique needs and objectives.

Managing Director

James Mulcahy

Andrew Sawkins is dedicated to ensuring Ligeti Partners delivers exceptional service and personalised support in resolving insurance and commercial disputes. As a key member of a motivated national team, he is committed to building and nurturing long-term client relationships, always valuing their trust. With over 35 years of experience, Sawkins is relationship-focused, commercially savvy and results-driven. His expertise spans residential and consumer claims, motor vehicle claims and issues involving fraud and indemnity. Sawkins’s clear, consistent communication fosters a professional service rooted in mutual respect, trust and teamwork, providing clients with tailored solutions to meet their unique needs.

Principal Lawyer

Andrew Sawkins

Virginia Waters brings extensive expertise across all Australian jurisdictions, specialising in liability, quantum, credit hire, “recovery agent” claims, fraud and indemnity and Australian Consumer Law. Her in-depth knowledge directly benefits the team of lawyers she leads, all of whom share her commitment to swiftly and efficiently recovering funds for clients. Waters is deeply passionate about fostering long-term partnerships with her clients to help them achieve both strategic and financial goals. She is frequently sought after for her expert advice on complex indemnity and policy interpretation issues, as well as counter-fraud strategies, making her a trusted advisor in her field.

Principal Lawyer

Virginia Waters

Spencer Pascal

Principal Lawyer

Spencer Pascal has extensive experience in managing complex liability, indemnity and property recovery litigation for national insurers in the motor vehicle, construction, plant, marine, commercial property and home insurance sectors. He is frequently sought after for his expertise in policy interpretation and indemnity, particularly in cases involving suspected fraud, non-disclosure or breaches of policy. Pascal is also recognised for his deep understanding of Australian Consumer Law, which he leverages to secure successful recoveries in complex product liability claims. He works closely with insurers to train their staff and develop proactive strategies that minimise exposure and maximise available defenses.

Principal Lawyer

Spencer Pascal

Doran Yacobi

Principal Lawyer

Doran Yacobi represents leading national insurers in property damage litigation across all states. With his extensive knowledge and experience, he is frequently sought after by clients for strategic advice, offering clear and practical recommendations on current best practices throughout Australia. Yacobi has been a key figure in credit hire car and repair litigation nationwide, working closely with clients to develop innovative strategies in this evolving and complex field. He prides himself on fostering strong lasting relationships with clients, passionately advocating for their strategic interests to secure excellent outcomes in challenging cases.

Principal Lawyer

Doran Yacobi

Stevens & Associates Lawyers is a leading and trusted employment law firm based in Sydney known for delivering high-quality legal expertise in the area of employment law and industrial relations across Australia, alongside a proven track record of effectively and swiftly resolving a variety of workplace law issues. In the past year, the firm’s growth has been notable. It has: • experienced a 213% growth in the number of client matters, increasing from 149 client matters in the 2022 financial year to 390 client matters in the 2023 financial year • improved its online visibility, leading to over 50 online enquiries each month and a conversion rate of client leads of up to 40% • significantly expanded the breadth and type of matters that it advises on day to day, which has increased the firm’s skillsets, diversity and resilience • expanded its community outreach by collaborating with local Sydney venues for client seminars and continuing active participation in a Sydney small/family business group Stevens & Associates Lawyers has adapted to digital trends by implementing an effective strategy with SEO and web design, resulting in a structural shift that has seen increased representation of employees where the firm previously mainly advised employers. The firm’s recognition as a “Fast Firm” attests to its momentum in the employment law space.

“IQumulate is on a technology journey, and we’re just getting started”

Wayne Tower, IQumulate Premium Funding

Steve Tchepak

National Underwriting Manager

Michael Prokopis

Manager – Southern Region

Jeffrey Valdivia

Manager – Commercial Strata

Pam Chhabra

Manager – Residential Strata

Steve Tchepak became the national underwriting manager at CHU in June 2019. He has over 13 years of experience in strata management and strata insurance. He has held various positions, including commercial underwriter, team leader and NSW and ACT branch manager.

National Underwriting Manager

Steve Tchepak

Thierry Pascal has over 13 years of experience in business and corporate banking in various financial/credit analytical and relationship management roles with the NAB and CBA. After a career break to undertake postgraduate studies, he joined GE Capital as a senior risk analyst in premium funding in 2010. Following the divestment of the premium funding business to the Macquarie Group in 2015, he joined Macquarie Premium Funding and was promoted to credit risk manager, where he led the credit underwriting team. Following the re-branding to IQumulate Premium Funding, Pascal was recently promoted to head of credit and legal, a role that sees him manage the credit underwriting team as well as oversee IQumulate’s in-house legal function. Pascal holds undergraduate and postgraduate tertiary qualifications in accounting and law.

Head of Credit and Legal

Thierry Pascal

Cemal Akgul sees the head of risk and collections role as pivotal in guiding and influencing business decisions. He has more than 15 years of experience across financial and government services, most recently with the NDIS, where he was the leading consultant driving the Risk Management process’ nationwide. Prior to that, he served various roles at BMW Finance across the United States, Hong Kong, Germany and Australia. During Akgul’s tenure at BMW Finance, he predominately worked in risk management, guiding the organisation through seismic changes between 2016 and 2018. In his time prior, he was based out of New York, leading BMW Finance’s American subsidiary's market risk and data analytics teams between 2011 and 2016. Akgul values a balanced approach to business, encourages a positive work culture and is passionate about teaching and guiding the business and individuals at IQumulate.

Head of Risk and Collections

Cemal Akgul

Stephen McMillan first entered the financial services Industry when he joined GE Capital as a finance analyst in 2008, from which he progressed through roles working both onshore and offshore. From there, he moved into Pacific Premium Funding as a financial planning and analysis leader in 2012 and was a key resource in the evolution of the business, first with the successful sale to Macquarie Pacific Funding and then the following progression into IQumulate Premium Funding, where he is now the commercial manager. As commercial manager, McMillan leads a team that is responsible for commercial analysis and business support, identifying and reporting improvement initiatives, and the securitization and treasury functions of the business.

Commercial Manager

Stephen McMillan

One culmination of these efforts has been the real-world, needs-based IQEdge solution. A one-stop online quoting tool designed for both the Australian and New Zealand markets, IQEdge delivers quotes in under 60 seconds. Plus, the solution offers quote comparison and quote versioning capabilities, enabling users to review vital historical and financial data in a single page view. IQEdge can streamline and automate application processing, underwriting document verification and payment collection, cutting the need for manual labour and minimising processing errors. A digital “self-service” platform, IQEdge, reduces the need for customer and administrative support. Meanwhile, borrowers can access their accounts, make payments and manage their policies independently and through sales and support teams, which are always available for further assistance. “We’ve created a quality platform that simplifies the quoting process yet amplifies the customer experience,” says Gordon. “It’s a real game changer.” IQumulate offers an online digital quoting tool to clients. The best-in-market solution enables IQumulate to tailor funding offerings to brokers that align with their prefered distribution channel.

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What does IQumulate have in mind for the future? “IQumulate is on a technology journey, and we’re just getting started,” says Wayne Tower, CEO. “Through continuous engagement with our clients, partners, marketplace and industry, we will listen to the needs as they arise and position our business to be agile and respond to changes as they occur. “Faster decision-making innovations such as AI-powered decision support systems can expedite the underwriting and approval process, leading to quicker responses to clients. This can improve client satisfaction and potentially attract more business, with the potential to allow IQumulate to capture a larger market share, whilst continuing to deliver service excellence to clients.” “As forward-thinkers with a digital and ‘do it better’ mindset, we collectively and proactively look to learn and improve on our customer experience for our clients, paving the way for successful business outcomes for our clients and our business in the coming years ahead. “We’re excited for the future and look forward to what’s on the horizon.”

IQumulate invests in education and people, which are vital to attracting new business and talent to the company. “We have long tenures for several of our key staff, including some in leadership positions, and this sound working knowledge of our business, practices and industry provides great insights and a wealth of experience to offer our clients,” says Bastow. “Our new head of sales, Graeme Gordon, formerly manager for New Zealand, joins us in Australia to drive our sales strategy and lead our team to successful outcomes for our clients and our business. We look forward to great things ahead with Graeme as he continues to be active and present in the New Zealand market as well as building sound working relationships and new connections in Australia.” Clients can also expect a lot from working with IQumulate. “Through active engagement with our trusted broker network, IQumulate provides relevant information, education and training content,” says Graeme Gordon, head of sales. “Our clients can expect IQumulate to support their business in several ways, providing an understanding of what premium funding solutions are available and how IQumulate can spread the cost of insurance and help borrowers get the right level of insurance cover to free up their cash flow for other expenses or business growth opportunities. Premium funding is often considered a tool for those who simply cannot afford to pay their premiums in full. While this is certainly a significant driver for many, it is also successfully used by profitable companies who use premium funding to manage their cash flows more wisely or better manage their liquidity.”

Adam Basaldella

Manager – Claims

Product Manager

Claire Watson

Commercial Manager

Stephen McMillan

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Ivan Verescuk

Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director

Shaun O’Brien

Head of Underwriting

Emily Walker

Head of Strata and Development

Rex Oakman

Head of Operations and Risk

Sandy Newton

Head of Underwriting

Andrew Mitchell

Manager – NSW

Michael Prokopis

Manager – Southern Region

Pam Chhabra

Manager – Residential Strata

Jeffrey Valdivia

Manager – Commercial Strata

Adam Basaldella

Manager – Claims

Few firms can claim to define their practice area rather than simply inhabit it. Ligeti Partners is one of them. The firm has spent more than 45 years focusing on motor insurance litigation, building what its leaders describe as the largest and most experienced team in the field nationally. Today, the firm acts for more than 50% of the Australian insurance market in the motor space, reflecting both the depth of its expertise and the strength of the client relationships it has built. The firm is led by managing director James Mulcahy, who continues a tradition of client-first leadership established by founder Tom Ligeti. That continuity of values is deliberate as each managing director has passed down institutional knowledge through structured mentorship, ensuring the culture that earned the firm its early reputation remains intact as it grows. Operating in motor insurance litigation means working in an environment defined by pressing timeframes and urgent demands. Where many firms default to reactive approaches under that pressure, Ligeti Partners has made proactivity a core strategic commitment. The firm works with insurer clients to get ahead of matters before they escalate, developing strategies that reduce exposure and improve recovery outcomes rather than simply managing claims as they arise. A particular area of focus in recent years has been advocating for insurer clients – and their insureds – against misleading practices by certain credit repair and credit hire providers. The firm has developed sophisticated strategies to reduce insurer exposure to these claims, which it argues ultimately supports the affordability of motor insurance more broadly. What distinguishes Ligeti Partners operationally is the degree of partner and leadership involvement across all files. Rather than reserving senior oversight for high-value or complex matters, the firm applies experienced partner-level direction to every file it runs. The firm argues this enhances decision-making quality, improves recovery outcomes and reduces litigation risk across the portfolio, an approach made possible precisely because of the firm’s single-area focus. Ligeti Partners invests heavily in training, systems and processes within motor insurance litigation, adapting quickly as the law, the courts and insurer needs evolve. That internal investment has accelerated significantly over the past four years. The firm’s growth during this period has been described by its leadership as exponential, encompassing a new Melbourne office to accommodate an expanded team, the appointment of its first chief information officer and first chief people and operations officer, and the development of new internal processes designed to support both scale and consistency. Emerging leaders from within the firm have been given the platform to contribute new ideas and approaches, reinforcing a culture of continuous improvement without compromising the expertise and standards the firm is known for. After 45 years, Ligeti Partners’ position in the Australian motor insurance litigation market rests on a straightforward proposition: when insurers face difficult claims, demanding timeframes, and complex recovery challenges, they need a firm that knows the terrain better than anyone else.

“This ‘boots on the ground’ approach has seen lawyers from CDI working directly with clients in their offices or on the project site for several different projects,” says XXX. Equally notable is the firm’s internal culture, as of CDI’s five principals, three – Christopher Rowden, Jason Pungsornruk and Jay Hatten – began as clerks under Pyman. Their shared history has fostered a continuity of vision, ensuring that CDI’s service-first philosophy remains deeply embedded. Junior lawyers are trusted to contribute meaningfully, provided they demonstrate discipline and aptitude. CDI also invests heavily in education-based marketing. From onsite seminars to thought leadership in legal journals, the firm seeks to upskill project teams and deepen client relationships. Its visibility across the legal landscape is reflected in its sponsorship and participation in key industry events – such as the ICC Arbitration Day in Tokyo and the SOCLA national conference – as well as its publishing credentials, including the widely used annotated guide to Queensland adjudication law. “We consider that success is only achieved when our clients feel they have received the most outstanding legal service experience they have ever received from a law firm,” says XXX. “Of course, results are important, but results can be unpredictable. What can be predicted and controlled is the commitment to adding value to our clients’ businesses.”