Jesse is a Senior Associate in our Liability Team.
Jesse is an experienced insurance litigator specialising in the defence of life insurance and disability claims on behalf of life insurers and superannuation trustees.
Experience & expertise
Jesse’s principal area of practice is acting for insurers and trustees of superannuation funds in relation to total and permanent disablement claims, income protection and death claims. He has considerable experience in this field, having worked in defendant law firms as a life insurance litigator, and, on secondment, with one of Australia’s leading life insurers, providing legal advice and support to internal clients. As a result, Jesse has an informed appreciation of what life insurers require from legal providers, which is reflected in his practical and strategic approach to defending claims and providing advice.
In addition to the courts of NSW and VIC, Jesse has conducted proceedings in QLD, ACT, WA and SA, as well as the Federal Court and the Family Court. He also has extensive experience in assisting clients to defend disputes made through the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA), Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) and the Superannuation Complaints Tribunal (SCT). He has extensive experience preparing submissions to AFCA.
Jesse also has experience defending solicitors against professional negligence claims on behalf of professional indemnity insurers.
Work highlights
Jesse has assisted his insurer and superannuation trustee clients reach settlements in numerous litigated claims. In recent times, on the rare occasion that a matter cannot settle, Jesse has:
- Assisting in the successful defence of a separate determination hearing in relation to the reasonableness of the decision of a life insurer in the NSW Supreme Court
- Instructing counsel before the Full Court of the Federal Court, successfully defending on behalf of a superannuation trustee an appeal against the decision of the Federal Court in a judicial review of decisions of the Superannuation Complaints Tribunal.
Professional background
