Australian Liability Conference

In 1988, Richard Cavanagh became a partner at a prominent Sydney law firm. He began practising as a barrister 10 years later.

Mr Cavanagh has appeared in matters ranging from professional and product liability, construction, medical negligence, life insurance, to fraud and personal injury matters. He has undertaken significant appeal work, appearing in 80 cases in the NSW Court of Appeal.

Mr Cavanagh has been a member of the Bar Council and a Director of Bar Cover, which provides sickness and accident income protection insurance for barristers in Australia.

Richard Cavanagh was appointed Justice of the Supreme Court NSW in 2019.

Robert is a Principal and Practice Group Leader at Meridian Lawyers.

He specialises in insurance law with a focus on professional indemnity as well as public and product liability.

Robert has been a member of the ANZIIF Liability Conference Organising Committee since 2017.

Pat has worked at the intersection of legal, risk and insurance for over 30 years. He started out in the early 90’s at a union/plaintiff firm, then 15 Years as a Senior Associate then Partner in the insurer/defendant firms, the majority of that time at DLA Piper.

Pat moved in-house 2012, and has been Risk & Insurance Counsel at Linde Plc (BOC Ltd in Australia/NZ) for most of that time.

Pat’s work these days is a combination of:

1. Front-end contract drafting and negotiations, focusing on the liability and insurance components;
2. Managing the businesses’ global and local insurance policies (ISR, Liability, PI, D&O, MV, WComp);
3. Managing and running claims and litigation – as well as interactions with the regulators on WH&S, where connected to insurance;
4. Oversight of BOC’s WComp self-insurance program (NSW-only).

During his down-time Pat can be found teaching his kids to drive (groan…) or down at the local dog-friendly beach with Luna (yay!)

With a background in specialty loss adjusting and business management, Jonathan joined Crawford in 2016 as Head of Business Improvement, before being elevated to Chief Client Officer. He spent five years as one of Crawford’s most senior Executive Adjusters within Global Technical Services® before his appointment as President in 2023. He is a chartered loss adjuster and a former director of the Australasian Institute of Chartered Loss Adjuster.

Jonathan has a proven track record of leading high performing teams with a focus on quality, technical ability and customer service excellence. He is constantly focused on empowering the Crawford team to act quickly with solutions to restore lives, businesses and communities when they need it most.

Nick is an insurance specialist with over 30 years experience in the industry. At General Reinsurance, Nick is the Casualty Manager responsible for the broader range of casualty products.

Nick has a background in property and casualty reinsurance as well as direct insurance. His past executive roles have included marketing, underwriting and claims management.

Nick has spoken regularly at seminars in Australia, New Zealand and Asia. He has also previously held the post of Specialist Lecturer at the University of Technology, Sydney, lecturing the Liability subject within the post-graduate course “Executive Certificate in Insurance".

James Samut has over 12 years of Underwriting and Management experience in both the Sydney and London insurance markets, specifically in Casualty.

He holds a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) and Bachelor of Arts (BA) from the University of Wollongong, and also studied at New York University.

James leads Vero’s newly launched Higher Hazard Liability product as Underwriting Manager. 

Charu specialises in environmental, construction, directors & officers and management liability.

Charu represents and advises clients in relation to claims arising out of pollution incidents; claims against construction professionals; and environmental, social and governance liability risks faced by companies and their directors and officers, including those arising from climate change.

Charu leads Wotton + Kearney’s environmental liability product focus group.

Zoe is an environmental scientist with over 10 years of experience in contaminated land assessment and remediation, with a strong focus on PFAS contamination. Zoe has led complex investigations into the extent and risks of PFAS in soil, groundwater, surface water, and sediment.

She has managed large-scale environmental projects across the property, transport, and government sectors, including state significant developments and linear infrastructure. Zoe brings deep expertise in field investigations, risk-based remediation strategies, and regulatory engagement.