David Kearney on Wotton + Kearney’s growth and the need for a ‘very clear vision’

Wotton + Kearney has grown from half a dozen staff in one office to over 700 staff in 10 offices across three countries. Here, its chief executive partner discusses the BigLaw player’s growth strategy, recent Singapore expansion, sale of a minority stake to a private equity firm, AI and transformation investments, and more.

In this episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, host Jerome Doraisamy welcomes Wotton + Kearney chief executive partner David Kearney to discuss his own journey in law, how and why W+K was founded and what its vision was from the start, its push to establish itself as a major insurance player in Australia, why it expanded into Singapore and the opportunities to be realised, as well as various practice areas it has recently moved into with appointments from BigLaw rivals.

Kearney also reflects on the firm’s sale of a minority stake to Straight Bat and why that sale made sense for the firm, transitioning from a partnership to a corporate entity, whether such a transition makes sense for all large law firms, W+K’s investment in artificial intelligence and innovation, why such evolution is so exciting, the firm’s approach to workplace and culture matters, and more.

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