Sparke Helmore adds two to board

Sparke Helmore has added partners Belinda Michalk and Scott McDonald to its board.

Michalk and McDonald will work alongside chairman Andrew White to shape the firm’s strategy and to deliver on its goal of becoming a market-leading Australian professional services business, Sparke Helmore said. The board also includes current members and partners Andrew White, Philip Salem, Karwan Eskerie, and Mick Dwyer, as well as non-executive directors Carolyn Tregarthen and John Martin.

Michalk, a partner in the firm’s commercial insurance practice group, has been with the firm since 2002. She is the local managing partner of the firm in Perth and she also serves on the firm’s diversity and inclusion advisory committee. She works with national and international insurers, self-insureds, and government agencies.

McDonald is a fairly new partner to the firm, joining in 2017, but he spent more than three decades at DLA Piper, including in leadership roles, the firm said. McDonald is a partner in the firm’s corporate and commercial practice group, as well as a commercial litigator. He also sits on the firm’s diversity and inclusion advisory committee.

Salem, the firm’s national managing partner, congratulated Michalk and McDonald on their appointments to the board.

“I look forward to working closely with them as we look beyond our 2020 strategy toward the next phase of the firm’s growth. Belinda and Scott each bring distinct and complementary skills and expertise to the board, and I have no doubt their enthusiasm and commitment to the firm will prove invaluable,” Salem said.

Sparke Helmore, an Australasian Lawyer Employer of Choice 2019 firm, recently added a 25-strong team in Brisbane.