Full Profile
Rod’s practice is primarily commercial insurance coverage and litigation. This ranges from financial lines, commercial property, general and excess liability, cyber environmental insurance, and reinsurance.
He also continues to defend professionals in civil liability matters, notably architects and engineers, insurance brokers, and accountants.
Based in Toronto since 2011, his practice covers Canadian and North American matters. He also has extensive experience in the English Courts and London arbitrations, with in-depth knowledge of the London insurance market, based on a decade of practicing law in the UK.
He is admitted to the Bar in Ontario (2010) and Quebec (1998) and remains an active member of the Law Society of England & Wales (since 2003).
He has had the privilege to be involved in several of the largest Canadian insurance coverage matters, and has appeared before the Courts of Appeal of Ontario, Quebec, Alberta and Nova Scotia. He has also litigated in the Courts of England & Wales and been involved in cases ranging from the US, Argentina, France, South Africa, Brazil and Nigeria. He also provides non-contentious advice on insurance issues and policy wording.
He is named in various directories as a recommended lawyer for insurance coverage and litigation. He is also a sessional lecturer on insurance law at the University of Western Ontario.
Experience
Some representative insurance matters
- Counsel for certain insurers in the Valeant litigation.
- Acting for insurers in international corruption SEC, DoJ and SFO investigations of a multinational company.
- Resisting coverage applications within CCAA proceedings.
- Acting for insurers of D&Os of high profile UK corporate collapse leading to civil claims and directors disqualification proceedings.
- Representing excess GL insurers in one of the largest coverage claims in Canada for groundwater clean-up costs.
- Representing management liability insurers in the insolvency of a Canadian university.
- Numerous matters involving duty to defend under liability and environmental insurance policies.
- Acting for London market insurers on coverage for several of the largest bank cyber and privacy breaches in Canada.
- Dealing with commercial property claims, including Equipment Breakdown, in respect of mining operations, commercial property, pulp and wood mills, storage and logistics facilities.
- Advising and representing insurers in D&O claims involving Canadian canabis companies, pharmaceutical companies, fintech and crypto exchanges.
- Acting for (re)insurers of a worldwide insurance programme for international bank, on claims in Jersey, Japan, Nigeria, South Africa and other jurisdictions.
- Acting for insurers in a large coverage dispute with fund manager of suspended UK retail investment funds facing massive FSA compensation demands.
- Representing Lloyd’s managing agent E&O insurers in respect of coverage for “bad faith” claims and related coverage issues.
- Acted for or am acting for insurer clients in numerous offshore financial centre disputes involving fund managers, administrators and/or custodians, notably in Jersey, Guernsey, Caymans and Bahamas.
- Acted for Lloyd’s Underwriters on one of the largest Financial Institution Insurance claims in Canada.
Sample cases in Professional Negligence
- Acting for top auditors firm defending a complex multimillion pound claim by offshore trade finance company.
- Defending French insurance brokers in USD 480 million Commercial Court case.
- Defending an accounting firm in multimillion tax advice claim by a property developer.
- Defending a UK auditing firm in large claims by company liquidators arising from a failed merger and acquisition.
- Defending an international firm of solicitors in a professional indemnity claim in Singapore.
Sample non-contentious work
- Reviewed and prepared numerous specialised wordings and proposal forms client insurers.
- Performed claims audits for Lloyd’s syndicates and London market insurers in the UK and Canada.
- Prepared comprehensive risk and litigation reviews on various UK professions and sectors.
