Colin Biggers & Paisley boosts insurance practice with expert D&O team

Colin Biggers & Paisley boosts insurance practice with expert D&O team | Insurance Business Australia

Insurance News

Colin Biggers & Paisley boosts insurance practice with expert D&O team

New hires expected to deepen key area of firm’s insurance practice

Insurance News

By
Roxanne Libatique

Colin Biggers & Paisley has expanded its insurance practice with the addition of Patrick Boardman, a seasoned insurance lawyer.

Boardman (pictured) is joined by his team, which includes:

special counsel Susanna Khouri;
solicitor Ashlee Blannin; and
legal assistant Victoria Tripi.

The group brings substantial expertise in handling complex directors and officers (D&O) liability claims, professional indemnity matters, class actions, and coverage disputes, serving both Australian and London market insurers.

Gavin Creighton, co-lead of Colin Biggers & Paisley’s insurance practice group, said the addition of Boardman and his team highlights the firm’s strategic commitment to expanding its capabilities by bringing on board highly specialised practitioners who enhance its market-leading reputation in insurance law.

“The alignment of culture and clients and breadth and depth of specialist expertise has made this an opportunity we jumped at, diverging from our usual strategy of organic growth,” he said.

Boardman is expected to collaborate closely with key members of the firm’s financial lines team, including well-established practitioners such as Keith Bethlehem and Michael Russell.

On joining the firm, Boardman noted that his team’s expertise aligns well with the firm’s culture and focus on delivering top-tier legal services in the insurance space.

“This opportunity enables us to leverage our collective expertise to deliver top-tier support and strategic advice to our clients. This move not only enhances directors’ and officers’ capabilities within a leading insurance team, [but] also reflects a strong alignment with the practice’s culture and their focus on growth and development of talent,” he said.

Patrick Boardman and his team

Boardman’s nearly 30 years of experience in insurance litigation spans high-profile class actions and shareholder disputes, with a client list that includes major corporations like Iluka Resources and AMP.

Khouri and Rose bring additional strengths to the firm’s insurance group. Khouri’s focus on contentious financial lines and Rose’s experience in regulatory litigation add to the firm’s ability to manage complex insurance cases.

In addition to the rebrand, the firm was recently recognised for its insurance law expertise. Forty-three of its lawyers were listed in the 2025 edition of Best Lawyers in Australia. Among those honoured was Andrew Tulloch, named “Lawyer of the Year” in aviation law, reinforcing the firm’s standing in complex insurance matters, particularly in the aviation industry.