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CHRIS WOOD

Admission date

Professional experience

Chris has over 25 years experience as an insurance and risk management lawyer. Hs is an advisor and litigator for local and overseas insurance companies, state and local government, self insurers and brokers.

He has worked extensively in professional indemnity, public and product liability, financial lines, reinsurance, property and statutory classes of insurance cover.

His reputation was formed as a founding partner of McCabe Terrill where for 18 years until 2010 he was head of that firm’s insurance division developing an enviable following of insurance clients.

Examples of Chris’ experience include:

Professional Indemnity

• Lead panel lawyer to the longest standing insurer of barristers in the country.
• Representing members of a wide range of professions before disciplinary and administrative tribunals including doctors and other health care professionals such as physiotherapists, psychologists and chiropractors before the HCC.
• Acting for construction professionals such as design engineers, including the recent scaffolding collapse at a CBD site.
• Financial advisers and accountants.

Public and Product Liability

• Chris has particular experience and interest in the liability of educational bodies (schools), local government, roads authorities and occupiers of retail and licensed premises.
• Panel lawyer to the independent local government insurance pools, Westpool and Metropool.
• For over 20 years Chris has advised one of Australia’s supermarket chains regarding its liabilities.
• Representing a state government authority in the High Court in a leading case dealing with causation as a factor in the liability of roads authorities.
• Acting for a school following the highly publicised death of a child on its premises in Coronial proceedings and subsequent damages claims.
• Acting for the insurer of a religious denomination facing sexual abuse claims.

Policy Drafting and Coverage Advice

• Advising Lloyds (London) Insurers in current high profile representative action involving Commonwealth Government Agency.
• Advising underwriter on coverage for professional advisers in tobacco related litigation.
• Drafting foundation, governing agreements and covering documents for local government insurance pools.
• Advising the insurers of a transnational medical services corporation regarding the nationwide recall of diagnostic equipment.
• Drafting policy wordings for a client underwriting agency including professional indemnity insurance cover with a focus on disciplinary and regulatory covers and the interaction between professional and general (public) liability exposures.

Professional and other relevant Memberships and Experience

• Member AILA
• Member RMIA
• Member Institute of Company Directors
• Accredited Personal Injury Law Specialist
• Former District Court Arbitrator
• Served for 3 years on Law Society Litigation Law and Practice Committee.
• Law Society of NSW
• Member of Board of Directors St. Augustine’s College Sydney.