Matthew Pokarier

Full Profile

Matthew acts for Australian and international clients involved with the insurance and reinsurance sector including insurance companies, brokers and insureds. He has experience in all areas of insurance law but particularly professional indemnity, financial institutions and directors and officers' liability, both as coverage and defence adviser.

Matthew has extensive experience before the Supreme Court of Queensland and the Federal Court of Australia. He has also advised directors, corporations and insurers involved in commissions of inquiry and investigations by regulatory bodies. He works with clients in a range of sectors to build organisational wide resilience.

Matthew is recognised as a leading insurance lawyer by Best Lawyers in Australia 2021 and is a recommended QLD Professional Indemnity lawyer in Doyle's Guide 2021 rankings.

Experience

• D&O and regulatory – Acting for the CFO of a former ASX listed company in public examinations into the collapse of the company, investigations undertaken by ASIC and subsequent court proceedings and prosecutions brought by creditors and the DPP
• Directors and officers – Acting as coverage counsel in an AUD 30 million directors and officers claim alleging oppression and fraud committed against the minority shareholders of a property development joint venture
• Commission of inquiry – Advising the insurer of a government instrumentality concerning the Queensland Flood Inquiry
• Commercial litigation – Acting for an international company, and its directors, dealing in the supply of rail track clips alleged to be of the wrong specification resulting in the need for a significant rectification program and recovery proceedings from the manufacturer of the clips
• Professional indemnity: construction – Acting for engineers and their insurers in a claim for inadequate design of a container wharf in Gladstone allegedly resulting in the wharf being structurally deficient for its purpose. The claim was successfully resolved with no damages paid
• Professional indemnity: construction – Defending a fire engineer/certifier in multi-party AUD 20 million litigation regarding works to the Alice Springs Hospital in the Northern Territory
• Professional indemnity: financial services – Acting for the insurers of a major investment company in a claim arising from a regional manager's fraud. The claim in this matter is over AUD 10 million
• Professional indemnity: construction – Defending an engineering firm in multiple claims arising from the negligent design and certification of a car park and shade sail structures erected at the Brisbane Airport
• Professional indemnity: financial services – Acting for the primary insurer of a major Australian fund manager in a claim arising from a trading irregularity which was alleged to have caused the insured's clients' losses in excess of AUD 60 million
• Professional indemnity: lawyers – Defending a national law firm in Supreme Court of Queensland proceedings alleging the firm negligently prepared a loan agreement and ancillary documents which secured a multi-million dollar advance, and a failure to advise the client on the adequacy of the securities included in the transaction