At Murphy’s Law, we always say expect the unexpected, but in this case, we had no doubt that our Kirstie Watts would win the Lawyers Weekly 30 Under 30 Award! On Thursday night in Sydney, she was named the overall national winner in the Health, Medical and Personal Injury category!
This prestigious awards program is dedicated to celebrating and highlighting the nation’s finest legal professionals under 30 who have achieved remarkable feats over the past year, providing them with the career-elevating exposure they deserve.
This recognition acknowledged her contribution to our firm’s Vaccine Injury Team, which navigated the uncharted waters of a completely new area of law under the Federal Government’s COVID-19 Vaccine Injury Scheme.
Since the inception of the Scheme, Murphy’s Law Accident Lawyers has helped almost a thousand injured vaccine participants and Kirstie – along with our senior practitioners – are now regarded as Australia-wide experts on the operation of the Scheme.
“At the Scheme’s beginning we were starting from scratch, assessing the operation of the Scheme and the challenges we needed to overcome. It was an entirely new and unknown area to navigate,” Kirstie said.
“Through coordinated collaboration, our team grew a sophisticated internal assessment and evidence gathering framework, unique to Murphy’s Law.”
Winners were selected using quantitative and qualitative judging criteria, which acknowledged growth, business development, diversity, leadership, innovation, business excellence, and contribution to Australia’s legal sector.
Kirstie bested a shortlist of talented nationwide finalists from McInnes Wilson, Minter Ellison, Maurice Blackburn, DWF (Australia), Turner Freeman, RMB Lawyers, Slater and Gordon, Travis Schultz & Partners, and Barry Nilsson, to take out the top prize in her category.
The win comes as Murphy’s Law Accident Lawyers continues to mark its tenth year of operation, a milestone underscored by a string of achievements, including prestigious awards, a flawless five-star Google review rating, and outstanding settlement outcomes.
The team also entered the new year with a strengthened team of 15 new hires and six staff promotions.
Murphy’s Law also recently received a Best Law Firms™ accolade for personal injury litigation, placing the firm among the top two per cent of practices nationwide, while Principal Chris McManus and Special Counsel Chris McMahon were again named in the year’s edition of The Best Lawyers in Australia™.
These acknowledgements built upon the firm’s back-to-back recognitions in Doyle’s Guide to the Australian Legal Profession, which Murphy’s Law Accident Lawyers has received each year since 2017.