Defendant-only insurance specialist HBA Legal has bolstered its national presence with the opening of a new office in Canberra.

The move comes months after the firm won a place on the whole of Australian government legal panel and makes the firm truly national, with offices in Sydney, Perth, Brisbane, Melbourne, Newcastle, and now Canberra.

The firm, called NewLaw, has recruited specialist workers’ compensation expert Kate Watson as HBA Legal’s newest partner.

A former special counsel at Lehmann Snell Lawyers, Watson has more than 20 years of industry experience and specialises in federal workers’ compensation. She is also an expert in the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988. Her career included seven years with Comcare in various roles, as well as eight years with the Australian government solicitor.

“The time has come for us to have a presence on the ground in Canberra, particularly now we are on the government panel and Kate will do an amazing job growing that office,” said Brett Ablong, managing director. “We’ve been doing Canberra based work ever since we started HBA, this is not new. But it’s exciting that we’ve got to the point that we can justify this significant expansion of our business.”