Global law firm Clyde & Co has today announced the appointment of Melanie Mooney as a partner in its global insurance practice to further enhance its casualty group and the firm's offering to clients in credit hire defence.

Melanie joins from Keoghs where she was Credit Hire Strategy Director, leading a 200-strong team in the defence of complex and high-value credit hire claims, and responsible for devising, implementing and maintaining credit hire strategies both internally and for insurers. She has taken seven cases to the Court of Appeal, successfully winning cases that have shaped both the insurance industry and legal practice, including Singh v Yaqubi, Opoku v Tintas and McBride v UKI.

Melanie will form part of Clyde & Co's Defendant motor team based in Manchester, which works on catastrophic injury and major bodily injury matters together with associated losses.

Mark Hemsted, Partner, comments: "Melanie has built up an exceptional track record and reputation in credit hire over the last 20 years. Her arrival will boost our expertise in credit hire – a significant and growing area of concern for motor insurers – and will dovetail with our existing motor insurance capabilities. Through Melanie's expertise, we will be able to offer an even more complete service to motor insurers."  

Melanie comments: "As the largest insurance law firm in the world, Clyde & Co represents a fantastic platform to take the work I do with motor insurers around credit hire to a whole new level. The credit hire market is undergoing significant change with the advent of one-stop-shops for such claims and I feel the team at Clyde & Co is well-placed to help insurers respond to the opportunities and challenges ahead."

Melanie's arrival follows the appointment of Estelle Machell as a partner in the firm's Casualty insurance team in September. The team is one of the largest in the UK with more than 40 partners across ten offices. The group provides a full range of casualty expertise, from volume claims through to complex liability cases, to Clyde & Co's insurer clients. The personal injury team is experienced in handling the full gamut of personal injury claims, ranging from large scale and complex multi-track catastrophic injury to small and fast-track liability.

Melanie joined Clyde & Co on 4 February.