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Veronica Chapman

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Consultant
Image > Team Member > Veronica Chapman

Veronica is a highly respected litigator and negotiator, with over 30 years' experience advising, and acting for, clients in the insurance industry.

Experience

Veronica specialises in insurance law and dispute resolution, with extensive professional indemnity and casualty/property expertise. Her experience encompasses all manner and types of management liability, professional indemnity, securities disclosures and financial institutions claims, product liability and property damage claims, and Directors and Officers claims. Veronica also provides expert advice on coverage issues arising from casualty, management liability, professional indemnity and D&O policies – including securities claims, prospectus liability and entity coverage, and acts as monitoring counsel for primary and excess layer insurers in class actions.

Veronica has been routinely ranked as a "Leading Individual" in the Legal 500 directories since 2008, and in Chambers Asia Pacific since 2017. She is listed as a "pre-eminent practitioner" in Insurance Law in Doyle's Guide.

Career highlights

Veronica's career highlights include:

  • Acted as coverage and monitoring counsel for all London Market excess layer insurers of the Commonwealth Bank, in multiple proceedings taken against that entity arising out of the collapse of Storm Financial in Queensland.
  • Appointed as coverage and defence counsel by the professional indemnity insurer of a large firm of accountants and auditors in examination proceedings taken against two of its Directors by the Liquidator of a property and development unit Trust, and subsequently acted for the accountants in negotiations with ASIC, and in significant proceedings commenced against it by the Liquidator.
  • Acting for London Market excess layer insurers of Crown Resorts in an ongoing share market non-disclosure class action in the Federal Court of Australia.
  • Acted as local monitoring counsel for the US excess layer insurers of the Lehman Brothers group of companies, arising out of a class action brought against them in the Federal Court.
  • Acted as coverage and defence counsel in multi-party Supreme Court litigation for the professional indemnity insurer of the independent structural engineering consultants, engaged to assist Sydney Airport Corporation in tendering for the design and construction of the “third runway”.
  • Acted as coverage and monitoring counsel on instructions from the first and third excess layer insurer of Multiplex Ltd in class action proceedings taken against Multiplex for material market non-disclosures arising out of projected profit and losses sustained in the construction of the Wembley Stadium.
  • Acted as coverage and defence counsel for a firm of certifiers in litigation arising from the rectification and renovation of the heritage listed and historic Goldsbrough Mort wool store building at Darling Harbour.
  • Acted as defence counsel for the Superannuation Fund Trustee of a large multinational manufacturer in multiple claims made against that party in the Equity Division of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, arising out of the management and payment of TPD claims made against the Fund.