Nick has practised in insurance litigation since 1997. His specific areas of practice include professional indemnity (including defamation), product and property liability and industrial special risks.
He has advised insurers on matters of policy interpretation and policy drafting and has acted in a number of large-scale recovery actions on behalf of insurers.
Nick acts for a range of Australian and overseas-based insurers with particular emphasis on Lloyd's Syndicates.
He has particular expertise in claims against financial professionals such as financial planners and advisers, stockbrokers, insurance brokers, mortgage managers, accountants and superannuation fund managers.
Nick has also acted on behalf of insurers in a number of large-scale property and product liability claims.
Nick has also acted in claims against valuers, estate agents and land surveyors and has provided risk management training to each of those professions.
Nick's recent matters include:
- acting for insurers in respect of representative proceedings commenced against financial planners arising out of the $300 million Westpoint property collapse;
- acting for an auditor (on instructions from insurers) in respect of a $6 million claim arising out of the audit of a statutory trust account of a major South Australian law firm;
- acting for various Lloyd's Syndicates in respect of liabilities arising out of the Varanus Island gas explosion;
- acting for an accountant (on instructions from a Lloyd's Syndicate) in defamation proceedings commenced in Victoria arising out of an alleged defamatory publication; and
- acting for a major Australian stockbroking firm in litigation proceedings concerning the provision of allegedly defective advice.
Nick has conducted litigation in a number of jurisdictions including Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory. He has also run litigation in both the Federal Court and the High Court of Australia. He is admitted to practise in Victoria, South Australia and the ACT.
Memberships
Nick is a member of the Australian Professional Indemnity Group and a Member of the Generation-i Committee for the Victorian Chapter of the Australian and New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance (ANZIIF).