Matt is one of Australia’s leading insurance lawyers. Matt has vast experience and expertise in class actions, catastrophic infrastructure losses and first party coverage disputes. Matt has a specialist expertise in defending complex property and construction liability claims.
Matt is known for being an exacting practitioner. He is appreciated by his clients for his straightforward and cost-effective advice. Responsive and personable, Matt applies the insight of his years of experience across a broad range of legal work for insurers. He has a particular talent for conveying highly complex legal concepts, factual and expert reports in an accessible, user-friendly way.
Matt is recommended in the Legal 500 Asia-Pacific in class actions, public and product liability, professional indemnity, property and coverage disputes and in Chambers Asia Pacific for insurance.
Experience
- Leading a team acting for a consortium of insurers in NSW Supreme Court litigation arising from catastrophic engineering failure.
- Defending a multi-party NSW Supreme Court construction dispute arising from major defects in an apartment tower development.
- Successfully defending an $11 million claim against an ISR insurer client for a factory fire which was lodged eight years after the fire and then successfully defending a claim for double insurance made in relation to the same fire.
- Acting on instructions from various insurers in more than 50 VCAT proceedings, with a focus on construction, Water Act and Privacy Act disputes.
- Leading a team acting for a consortium of insurers in WA Supreme Court litigation arising the catastrophic failure of electrical infrastructure.
- Acting for a major insurer in multi-million dollar dual insurance dispute arising from a school fire.
- Providing strategic advice to major insurers in relation to a range of Covid-19 indemnity issues across numerous business lines.
- Acting for three major insurers in successfully running the Forcett bushfire litigation to judgment in the Supreme Court of Tasmania. This case made judicial history in Tasmania as the first ever entirely paperless trial. Matt and his team worked closely with the Supreme Court of Tasmania to facilitate this innovation.
- Acting in a multi-million dollar construction dispute in the Supreme Court of Tasmania arising from the catastrophic failure of water infrastructure.
- Representing the interest of four major Australian general insurers in the class actions arising out of the devastating Black Saturday fires, through which his clients collectively recovered approximately $250 million.
Chambers and Partners Asia-Pacific 2020-2025
Insurance
Best Lawyers in Australia 2024-2025
Litigation
The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2022, 2023 and 2025
Insurance
Doyle's Guide to the Australian Legal Profession 2021-2022
Leading Professional Indemnity Lawyers – Defendant (Victoria)
Lawyers Weekly Partner of the Year Awards (2016, 2019, 2020 and 2022)
Finalist | Insurance Partner of the Year
- Australian Insurance Law Association
- Law Institute of Victoria