Crawford-owned HBA Legal has appointed solicitor Robert Parcell as Special Counsel.

His appointment is the fifth significant lateral hire since Crawford acquired the law firm in November last year.

Mr Parcell was most recently with legal and business services provider DWF. He is a well-known and respected figure within the insurance industry in Queensland.

“[He] is an accredited personal injury specialist, a notation he obtained back in 1998,” HBA Legal MD Brett Ablong said.

“This is considered formal recognition of a practitioner’s high level of competency and knowledge and a mark of a true leader in their area of expertise.”

Crawford Australia President Tim Jarman says the addition of legal services was proving attractive to the claims management group’s existing client base.

“Clients are genuinely telling us that our offering is game changing because we can handle the entire claim lifecycle under one roof,” he said. “This provides us with a real differentiator in the Australian market.”