Melbourne boutique commercial law firm Kelly Hazell Quill has strengthened its litigation, property and general commercial law capabilities via three new job appointments.

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 15/06/2011 – Kelly Hazell Quill, a boutique Melbourne commercial law firm, is pleased to announce three staff appointments for its Litigation, Property and General Commercial groups. Victoria Keller has been promoted to the position of Senior Associate, while Riad Yasmine joins the Property group and Claire Kowarsky will work primarily with the Commercial group with a focus on marketing law.

Victoria Keller joined Kelly Hazell Quill in September 2008. She is originally from England, having worked at national insurance litigation firm Berrymans Lace Mawer for 5 years following graduation from the University of Liverpool. There she was regularly instructed to act on behalf of FTSE 250 companies in a wide range of professional indemnity and general commercial disputes. Since joining Kelly Hazell Quill, she has gained further experience in a range of commercial disputes including contractual disputes, insolvency and franchising disputes. She also practices in the field of media law including defamation.

With a rich background in property development, sales and acquisitions, commercial leasing and support, Riad Yasmine practiced for three years in London with US firm Reed Smith in the Commercial Property team prior to joining Kelly Hazell Quill. There, his work included working with corporate clients on a range of property matters including high profile city leasing transactions in buildings such as the famous ‘Gherkin’ in the City of London. Prior to working in London, Riad practised in Melbourne with Norton Gledhill working on high-profile property developments such as Yarra’s Edge by Mirvac and Watergate Place by Pan Urban, both in Melbourne Docklands.

Claire Kowarsky is currently a law clerk with Kelly Hazell Quill but once she is admitted (circa October 2011) she will be the firm’s new first year lawyer. Claire brings to Kelly Hazell Quill a wealth of advertising, marketing, PR and events experience from her previous career. In addition to her law degree (Honours), Claire holds a Bachelor of Business – Marketing (Dist) from RMIT and has previously worked in both client and agency roles including Marketing and Communications Manager, Events Manager and Account Manager.

Kelly Hazell Quill Director David Kelly welcomed these staff appointments saying: "Riad, Claire and Victoria each bring wide ranging work experience from both Australia and abroad. These additions to our firm will ensure that we are able to continue to provide the service and responsiveness that Kelly Hazell Quill prides itself on, in light of our continued growth. Victoria's promotion is testament to Kelly Hazell Quill’s 'grow our own' philosophy."

Notes to editors: Kelly Hazell Quill (www.khq.com.au) is a boutique commercial law firm established in Melbourne in 2006, providing practical, efficient and commercially-driven legal solutions to a wide variety of corporate clients. The firm practices in four groups under the leadership of five directors: David Kelly (Business and Commercial Law); Michael Hazell (Commercial Dispute Resolution); Justin Quill (Media Law); Greg Thomas (Business and Commercial Law) and David Krolikowski (Commercial Property).