Wotton + Kearney

Property, Energy + Infrastructure

Adam is the Head of Property, Energy + Infrastructure. He is consistently recognised as a Legal 500 key player in insurance law, and is widely acknowledged in Australia and the region as an expert in market management on major losses with parties located both locally and offshore. In Australia and internationally, Adam is noted for handling property, ISR and contract works matters in the energy, resources and power sectors, regularly managing complex market-profile indemnity disputes. He is recognised as a market leader for his work on the Christchurch earthquakes, Queensland floods, and is currently assisting the international insurance market on some of the largest, multi-billion-dollar gas and infrastructure losses in Australia.

Adam is the ‘go-to’ adviser to many of W+K’s Australian, European and North American insurer and reinsurer clients operating in the mining, energy and power sectors. He also manages the catastrophe response team, which is deployed to roles throughout the region.

Adam has been recognised by clients and colleagues in Chambers Asia-Pacific 2020 as “an experienced lawyer” who “practices extensively in insurance and is briefed by a lot of insurers“, and a partner with “a very strong practice in the very specialised area of property damage, which he has made his own“.

Adam successfully ran the pivotal case of Ace Insurance Ltd v Moose Enterprise Pty Ltd [2009] NSWSC 724 which is now the leading Australian authority on choice of law and jurisdiction clauses in insurance policies. He also successfully ran the case of Globe Church Incorporated v Allianz Australia Insurance Ltd [2019] NSWCA 27 in the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal, striking a win for insurers on the critical timing trigger for limitation purposes under a first party insurance policy.