DLA Piper New Zealand has appointed insurance litigator Caroline Laband a partner. The firm says the appointment means it has 24 partners in New Zealand, 29% of whom are women.

Ms Laband moved to New Zealand in 2008 from the United Kingdom where she practised as a barrister at 7 King's Bench Walk Chambers.

She holds a BA(Hons) and LLM(Hons) from England's Cambridge University and has 15 years' New Zealand and United Kingdom experience, most recently as senior associate in a New Zealand firm.