Kott Gunning Celebrates 40 Year Partner

Kott Gunning is delighted to announce that our Chairman of Partners, Laurie James celebrated 40 years as a partner of Kott Gunning on 1st July 2007.

Laurie graduated from the University of WA with first class honours in law in 1963 and joined Kott Wallace and Gunning in December 1963. He became a partner of the firm in 1967.

A love of the law and its history along with a love of art and outstanding intellectual abilities has been the hallmark of Laurie’s career and persona. His encyclopedic knowledge of many areas of the law and ability to recall the details of judgments long past make him a popular in-house counsel at Kott Gunning.

Laurie has achieved national prominence in the field of building arbitration, having been elected National President of the Institute of Arbitrators and Mediators Australia in 1996 and again in 2006. In addition, Laurie has undertaken the role of Western Australian Gas Disputes Arbitrator.

During Laurie’s time in practice, he has seen the affordability of legal services, particularly in commercial litigation, diminishing along with the public standing of lawyers and the law in general. He sees this as a very regrettable trend that can only be overcome by a closer relationship between the community and the legal sector and improved accessibility to legal services. Laurie’s support for and involvement in mediation over many years reflects his desire to keep disputes out of court and to find practical solutions to legal problems wherever possible.

Laurie is showing no sign of slowing down and as well as having a major role in several practice areas he is a frequent contributor to legal publications and speaker at legal forums.

Kott Gunning is very proud of Laurie James’ achievement of 40 years as a partner and considers him an integral part of the vibrant and diverse team at Kott Gunning.