Michael Docker

Profil complet

Michael is a Senior Associate in the Sydney office, having joined the firm in early 2021 with experience in a broad range of insurance areas such as regulatory compliance and investigations, corporate governance and litigated and non-litigated disputes.   

Michael has experience in financial lines claims with a focus on professional indemnity and cyber claims, often advising on complex coverage and quantum issues. Michael has assisted defence counsel in a number of high-profile consumer class actions within the insurance sector. 

Michael has also had experience in advising financial services companies in a number of regulatory investigations and inquiries, assisting clients in implementing change following the Financial Services Royal Commission and assisting insurers with product development. 

Expérience

Professional Indemnity  

• Acted for Bresic Whitney (and its agent) in a number of proceedings instituted due to an alleged fraudulent sale of property. Sebie v Bresic Whitney Balmain Pty Ltd (2021/270284). 

• Acting as defence counsel in claims involving architects, accountants, financial planners and allied health professionals.  

Warranty and Indemnity 

• Acting for various excess underwriters in DTZ Worldwide Limited v AIG Australia Limited.  

• Acting for a commercial and industrial leasing company in proceedings instituted against a law firm for their failure to identify erroneous procedures in registering security interests leased to customers.   

• Multiple claims under buyer-side policies related to employee underpayments, involving significant financial exposure and complex coverage issues, particularly regarding claim quantification. 

Cyber 

• Acted for one of Australia’s largest non-government organisations in a confidential data breach involving approximately 6tb of data and 150,000 impacted individuals. Provided advice on privacy obligations and ransomware payments and assisted with project management and remediation, including assessing risk of serious harm on an individual basis. 

• Acting for an international not-for-profit organisation in response to a cyber-attack involving data theft and threat of online publication of personal data. 

• Acting for various small to medium-sized businesses on all aspects of cyber breach and response, including privacy advice, regulatory investigations and notifications to affected individuals. 

Class actions 

• Acting for a former non-executive director in a ~AUD1 billion shareholder class action against the entity, its directors and auditors that alleged misleading and deceptive conduct, breaches of accounting and auditing standards and breaches of the company's continuous disclosure obligations. 

• Acting as defence counsel for an international ASX listed company in a ~AUD50 million class action, relating to allegations of misleading, deceptive, and unconscionable conduct for the sale of consumer credit insurance.  

Coverage and Monitoring 

• Provided coverage advice on ~AUD1 billion in trade credit claims involving a commodity trading business (and several other related entities). 

• Providing coverage advice and monitoring in relation to two separate class actions commenced in Canada and the United States against a global resources company.  

• Provided advice to underwriters in relation to their entitlement to recover settlement funds paid pursuant to an Agreement under a political risk policy on account of clawback provisions.