Kelly MacDonald

Full Profile

Kelly is a partner in the Melbourne office with extensive experience advising and representing clients in complex litigated and unlitigated disputes.

Kelly has quickly established herself as a respected litigator, acting in matters involving alleged breaches of professional, statutory and common law duties, commercial litigation and superannuation law matters.

She thrives on novel and complex work and is regularly engaged on high profile disputes where she provides invaluable and strategic advice, leads stakeholder management and guides clients through challenging legal and regulatory issues. Kelly is known for delivering clear, commercially focussed strategies for both her insurer clients and their insureds in Courts across Australia.

Kelly is also highly regarded for advising clients in response to public and regulatory inquiries, particularly in Victoria. She brings strategic judgement, meticulous attention to detail and strong stakeholder management to navigate complex investigations and deliver effective outcomes.

In addition to her defence practice, she also regularly advises domestic and international clients on various coverage issues involving casualty, third party liability, contract works and professional indemnity policies including the defence of litigated indemnity disputes in State and Federal Courts.

Kelly remains at the forefront of developments and emerging trends in her field. She is an active contributor to thought leadership through publications, seminars and internal and external presentations, drawing on these experiences to provide practical insights and value-driven advice to her clients.

Memberships

• Women In Insurance 
• Victorian Claims Discussion Group

Awards and Recognition

• 2026 & 2027 Best Lawyers “Ones to Watch” for Insurance Law

Experience

Casualty 

• Defending companies in response to worker-to-worker claims particularly in the construction space from initial investigations through to trial and resolution.
• Defending local councils in response to liability, negligence and statutory duty claims.
• Defending various entities including shopping centres owners and managers, hotel owners, electricity distributors, car and machinery manufacturers, cleaning contractors and children’s entertainment business from public liability claims.
• Advising and defending manufacturers in response to product liability claims and alleged breaches of Consumer Law.
• Advising on and defending proceedings in the Supreme Court of Victoria in relation to circumstances occurring on Nauru.
• Advising and defending clients arising from various high-profile fatalities including defence of prosecution, coronial enquiries and common law claims. 

Professional Indemnity

• Acting for top-tier global law firms defending professional indemnity insurance matters arising from complex transactions.
• Acting on behalf of ASX 200 company in relation to a multi-million dollar recovery against a state-owned entity. 
• Defending brokerage in response to a multi-million dollar professional indemnity dispute involving over 16 different court proceedings. 
• Providing clear and strategic advice in response to various errors and omissions claims.
• Defending environmental consultants in response to silica dust exposure.
• Coverage
• Advising London market insurers on complex coverage and indemnity issues across all insurance lines and jurisdictional-specific issues including international of contractual indemnities and double insurance issues.
• Advising and defending clients in response to complex indemnity disputes in the both State and Federal courts. 

Regulatory and Investigations

• Acting on behalf of individuals in response to investigations and inquiries by state government regulators.