Beth O'Connor

Beth is a Special Counsel in our Sydney office who has previously practised law in both Brisbane and London. She enjoys a diverse caseload, with files spanning healthcare, professional indemnity (focusing on construction and real estate claims) and product liability. She also provides advice on coverage.

Before moving to insurance, Beth represented plaintiffs in personal injury matters and acted on behalf of major financial institutions seeking recoveries from solicitors and valuers who had provided negligent financial advice. She credits her commercial approach and understanding to this plaintiff experience.

Beth also has a keen interest in marine matters, which saw her relocate to South Africa to complete a Masters of Law (Shipping) at the University of Cape Town. As part of her degree she produced a dissertation focused on attempts to circumvent the channelling and damages provisions of the 1992 Civil Liability Convention on Oil Pollution. A key focus of the dissertation was balancing the tension between the victim’s desire for maximum compensation against the economic concerns of the shipping and insurance industries.

While completing her LLM, Beth worked as a consultant at a digital start-up, liaising with external counsel and managing its communications strategy. Beth draws on this communications experience to produce articles on significant cases and developments in the law.

Beth contributed to the writing of Kennedys' ‘Rewriting the risk: Addressing the challenge of climate change’ report, which was published in July 2022.