Omni Bridgeway announces new appointments in Australia

Omni Bridgeway announces new appointments in Australia

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA 9 February 2022: Omni Bridgeway (ASX:OBL), the world’s largest dispute finance team, is pleased to announce new appointments to its Investment Committee and Investment Management team in Australia.

Michelle Painter SC joins Omni Bridgeway’s Investment Committee, the decision-making body responsible for selecting the group’s investments, where she will consider cases for funding along with fellow Committee members comprising former judges, founders of the dispute finance industry and highly experienced legal practitioners.

Ms Painter brings decades of experience as a Senior Counsel at the NSW Bar and a solicitor in Canberra, ACT. She has particular expertise in commercial law, including large commercial disputes, regulatory proceedings, construction law, equity and trusts. She also practises in family provision and probate.

Ms Painter was admitted to the NSW Bar in 1998, appointed Senior Counsel in 2013 and was accredited as a mediator in 2015. Prior to joining the Bar, Ms Painter was a solicitor at the Office of the Australian Government Solicitor and the Office of General Counsel, Commonwealth Attorney General’s Department in Canberra, ACT; and a solicitor in private practice at a leading national law firm.

Grant Covington also joins the Australian team as an Investment Manager in Sydney. Mr Covington is an insurance law and commercial litigation specialist with over 20 years’ experience advising clients of major insurers, underwriters and underwriting agencies operating in the Australian market, including Lloyds syndicates and in handling disputes involving the financial services and institutions sector. Mr Covington was formerly Special Counsel at law firm Wotton & Kearney where he acted for insureds in complex professional indemnity and D&O claims, and advised on commercial litigation and class actions. Prior to this he was Special Counsel with Moray & Agnew.

Philippa Briggs joins the team as Investment Manager based in Sydney, where she will be undertaking due diligence and management of funded cases. Ms Briggs was previously in private practice at law firm Minter-Ellison for a decade (in the Disputes, Competition & Insurance team) and prior to that at Hunt & Hunt. Ms Briggs brings comprehensive experience in commercial, insurance and corporate litigation, including large scale complex litigation, professional indemnity, directors’ and officers’ liability, financial institutions, shareholder disputes, corporation disputes, public and product liability, construction, medical malpractice, general liability and general litigation.

Chris Lisica joins as an Investment Manager in Sydney. He was formerly a Senior Associate in Herbert Smith Freehills’ disputes (class actions) team and brings significant experience in complex and large-scale commercial disputes and product liability litigation. Mr Lisica was also previously with DLA Piper in their litigation and regulatory team, where he primarily focused on professional indemnity and general liability disputes, and personal injury litigation.

Christopher Kahwaji joined the Australian Investment Management team at the end of 2021 as an Investment Manager, based in Sydney. Mr Kahwaji brings experience in the dispute finance industry, where he has managed funded claims covering insolvency, commercial disputes and class actions. Mr Kahwaji previously practised at Herbert Smith Freehills specialising in class action proceedings, contentious regulatory work, and large-scale commercial disputes. He has extensive experience managing complex litigation and has acted in commercial disputes in the Supreme Court and Federal Court of Australia. 

Tania Sulan, Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer (Australia and New Zealand) said: “We are delighted to welcome these wonderful new colleagues to our expert team. Omni Bridgeway is a founder of the dispute finance industry in Australia and the largest dispute finance team in Australia and around the world. The macro economic landscape, implications from the pandemic, and increasing appetite for dispute finance amongst corporate clients, are generating exciting opportunities for our expanding team.”

ABOUT OMNI BRIDGEWAY

Omni Bridgeway is the global leader in financing and managing legal risks, with expertise in civil and common law legal and recovery systems, and with operations around the world. Omni Bridgeway offers dispute finance from case inception through to post-judgment enforcement and recovery. Since 1986, it has established a record of financing disputes and enforcement proceedings.