Headquarters:
Level 29, 25 Martin Place, Sydney, 2000
Year founded:
1882
Number of employees:
868
Phone:
+61 2 9373 3555
Email:
webinfo@sparke.com.au
Website:
sparke.com.au
LinkedIn:
linkedin.com/company/sparke-helmore
“What drives our success is our results-driven people. Capable, entrepreneurial Rohitians are the driving force behind our growth”,
Masa Idelbi,
Manager - Human Resources
Andrew White
National Managing Partner
Sharon Bennett
Chief Operating Officer
Phil Harris
Director
Leadership
Andrew White is the national managing partner of Sparke Helmore. He is also the national service line leader of the firm’s mining and resources team. He is an outcome-driven lawyer who focuses on helping mining companies achieve operable, workable and defendable mining approval platforms. By working closely with general managers, environment managers, property managers and in-house legal teams, White helps miners deftly navigate issues such as the conflict between different land uses.
National Managing Partner
Andrew White
Sharon Bennett has more than 20 years of experience in human resources and operations, primarily in professional services environments across Australia, Asia-Pacific and globally. She is the COO of Sparke Helmore and is responsible for the successful delivery and execution of programs related to talent acquisition, employee capability, performance and reward, employee engagement and retention, diversity and inclusion, change management, risk management and workforce administration.
Chief Operating Officer
Sharon Bennett
Phil Harris has been with McCaw Lewis for almost 40 years and is an expert in all areas of commercial law. He has a wealth of knowledge not only in commercial and business law but also in general asset planning, where he assists clients with the overall structuring of their assets. He values strong client relationships and believes the importance of maintaining those relationships is essential to achieving optimum results.
Director
Phil Harris
“What drives our success is our results-driven people. Capable, entrepreneurial Rohitians are the driving force behind our growth”,
Masa Idelbi,
Manager - Human Resources
“We continue to see cyber as a key opportunity and will be further developing customer-centric solutions across various geographies and segments in line with our growth aspirations”
Erica Kofie, QBE
Leadership
“We continue to see cyber as a key opportunity and will be further developing customer-centric solutions across various geographies and segments in line with our growth aspirations”
Erica Kofie, QBE
“What drives our success is our results-driven people. Capable, entrepreneurial Rohitians are the driving force behind our growth”,
Masa Idelbi, Manager - Human Resources
Leadership
Daniel Shore
Director
Daniel Shore has led McCaw Lewis’ dispute resolution team since he was appointed a director in 2013. He advises clients on a range of commercial and property disputes, as well as assisting them through trust, estate and relationship property disputes. With a strategic approach, he provides practical advice by understanding the client’s objectives and assessing risk to formulate strategies that lead to the best outcome. Shire chairs the McCaw Lewis Foundation, a registered charity that supports causes important to McCaw Lewis. He is also a board member of the Graeme Dingle Foundation.
Director
Daniel Shore
Laura Monahan
Director
Laura Monahan, appointed as a director in 2020, leads the firm’s commercial law practice. She has extensive knowledge of commercial matters and expertise in the Māori commercial and governance space. Monahan provides practical and accurate legal advice to help clients meet their business goals. She likes to get behind a client’s business and prides herself on keeping her methods simple. Outside of her legal work, she is on the boards of the Waikato Family Centre Trust, a service for whānau having difficulty with their babies, Angel Casts with Amanda, and the Waikato Diocesan School for Old Girls Association Committee.
Director
Laura Monahan
He aha te mea nui o te ao? He tāngata, he tāngata, he tāngata.
McCaw Lewis is a great firm because it has amazing people. It has a long and honourable history in the Waikato region. Although it prides itself on being a modern law firm, its history stretches back to 1919, and the team at McCaw Lewis is very proud of this heritage.
McCaw Lewis is an authentically bi-cultural firm, which means it successfully combines its tikanga Māori with excellence in the law. This is not just something the firm says; the firm lives this through a strong focus on its core values – manaakitanga, kotahitanga and whāia te iti kahurangi.
McCaw Lewis has a whānau-first mindset in everything it does, with a focus on work-life harmony. The firm finds that offering that space to its people allows them to put their best foot forward for each other and for clients and provides opportunities that support McCaw Lewis’ values-based culture.
One of McCaw Lewis’ up-and-coming solicitors from its asset planning team, Renee Clark, shares her view: “The culture here is unlike any other firm I have experienced; everyone is very supportive, which makes it easier to do our jobs.”
“We continue to see cyber as a key opportunity and will be further developing customer-centric solutions across various geographies and segments in line with our growth aspirations”
Erica Kofie, QBE
Dale Thomas
Director
Amanda Hockley
Director
Chris Bounos
Underwriting Manager – Professional Risks
Simon Williams
Chief Strategy & Distribution Officer, Arch Insurance International
and Active Underwriter, Syndicate 1955
Dale Thomas was appointed a director in 2020 and leads the firm’s property practice. He has a broad range of skills across the property, commercial and asset planning areas on projects involving subdivision and development, farm succession, syndication, leasehold issues and iwi property interests. He believes in setting goals and achieving them by working closely with clients as part of a team. He is a member of the Property Law Section of the NZ Law Society.
Director
Dale Thomas
Amanda Hockley was appointed a director of the firm in 2020. She leads the asset planning team, providing practical legal advice to clients and their families in often difficult circumstances. She advises private clients and their various entities on the structuring of their assets and works with other advisors to develop solutions that bring the clients’ desired results. Hockley believes in giving back to the community and has significant knowledge of charitable trusts, including in her role as a trustee of ConneXu, a disability support service, and Angel Casts, which supports whānau through child loss by creating keepsakes for bereaved parents.
Director
Amanda Hockley
Chris Bounos is the professional risks underwriting manager at Pen. He has been with the company since 2016. Bounos has been underwriting PI for 16 years, having worked at Dual, Allianz and Quanta.
The professional risks team specialises in excess loss, professional indemnity and cyber. The PI focus is mostly on the construction and engineering sectors for medium-sized and smaller corporate accounts, as well as lawyers and other miscellaneous professions. The company’s cyber facility has a very broad appetite and can accommodate risks up to $450m in turnover.
The professional risks team prides itself on service, technical knowledge and a solution-driven attitude for their broking partners.
Underwriting Manager – Professional Risks
Chris Bounos
Kimi Shah leads the Estate Planning and Wealth Protection team and is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners. She understands the complex and delicate nature of family estate planning, the technical requirements around probate and estate administration, and the importance of preserving wealth for future generations. Her advice is accurate, commercial, strategic, and tailored to each situation.
Partner
Kimi Shah
Kimi leads the Estate Planning and Wealth Protection team and is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners. She understands the complex and delicate nature of family estate planning, the technical requirements around probate and estate administration, and the importance of preserving wealth for future generations. Her advice is accurate, commercial, strategic and tailored to each situation.
Partner
Kimi Shah
Kimi leads the Estate Planning and Wealth Protection team and is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners. She understands the complex and delicate nature of family estate planning, the technical requirements around probate and estate administration, and the importance of preserving wealth for future generations. Her advice is accurate, commercial, strategic and tailored to each situation.
Partner
Kimi Shah
“Despite the challenging claims environment, QBE’s coverage and risk appetite have remained consistent. Brokers and customers know and understand our risk appetite and the cover we offer, providing them with certainty for the future,” says Erica Kofie, head of cyber proposition. “We put our customers at the centre of our business, responding to brokers in a proactive and timely manner and working with the customer to understand their unique risk profile and tailor appropriate solutions.”
Kofie adds, “Through 2022, QBE successfully delivered significant growth in the cyber sector, reflecting the depth and strength of our team. We continue to see cyber as a key opportunity and will be further developing customer-centric solutions across various geographies and segments in line with our growth aspirations.”
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Turnaround time – claims
Broker's Pick – Personal Accident and Illness Insurance
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Small business
The Rohit Group acknowledges the importance of mental health awareness and supports all its employees and their families by offering a Customized Mental Health Program with regular Mental Health Workshops to all Rohitians. The program covers up to $2,500 per employee for additional psychologists, psychiatrists, mental health specialists, marriage counsellors, and more. The company also collaborates with its psychologist partner to cover the cost of all confidential counselling sessions for staff and their family members.
Under Rohit University, the company introduced customized mental health workshops where every employee can learn about mental health, proactively address mental health issues on personal and professional levels and become more resilient. Over the past two years, the Rohit Group celebrates Mental Health Awareness Week in Canada (May 1-7) by having a townhall to discuss the year’s theme.
With emphasis on living a culture of continuous learning and development, Rohit University is launched by the Human Resources team to address the drive for growth. It offers a variety of different technical and interpersonal courses to address the needs of Rohit’s growing business. Rohit University’s Leadership Development Program is the first program launched in November 2022 in collaboration with University of Alberta’s Executive Education Program. Since launching, Rohit University has provided meaningful learning experiences for 40 people leaders on Emotional Intelligence (learning about self), how to manage others (different personality), financial and strategic management, and being comfortable with discomfort (decision making).
To build on its exceptional employee learning programs, the Rohit Group regularly partners with other organizations to provide Rohitians with a variety of courses on problem solving in home building, construction and condo fundamentals, stress management, and work-life balance to mention few.
Sparke Helmore Lawyers has come a long way since its doors opened in the Hunter in 1882, evolving and expanding its capabilities and services to reflect the changing landscape and needs of its clients. Yet some things remain constant: the firm’s ability to collaborate and deliver results. Working together effectively lies at the heart of everything Sparke Helmore does and achieves, whether it’s with its clients, people, suppliers or the communities in which it serves.
As a truly national, award-winning firm, Sparke Helmore covers six core areas of law – commercial insurance, corporate and commercial, government, property environment and finance, statutory lines insurance and workplace – with more than 30 specialised areas of expertise. The firm has more than 850 people across nine offices, servicing an enviable client base of Australian and global organisations.
Sparke Helmore’s collective vision and shared values guide and inspire how it works. It’s what unites the firm, enabling it to grow, transform, lead and connect with one another.
As a corporate citizen, Sparke Helmore is responsible for and committed to supporting work practices, policies and initiatives that contribute positively to the welfare of its people and the social fabric of society.