Marjorie was called to the Bar in 2021, following more than 10 years’ practice as a senior lawyer at a national law firm in which she worked in its Canberra, Melbourne and Brisbane offices. Marjorie also worked for three years in Oxford, England, in a boutique professional indemnity law firm.
Marjorie has broad experience acting for government and private sector clients and their insurers as well as a extensive general commercial litigation practice.
In insurance law her experience includes:
- acting for the Legal Practitioners’ Liability Committee and its insured legal practitioners and barristers in the defence of negligence claims
- acting for Australian and international insurers in the defence of all financial lines negligence claims (architects, legal practitioners, accountants and other construction professionals)
- Supreme Court multi party litigation arising from declinature of insurance cover
- providing coverage advice on a broad range of policies of insurance (D&O, public and products liability, professional indemnity and project specific construction insurance)
- acting for the Victorian Managed Insurance Authority (VMIA) in the defence of civil claims commenced against Victorian government departments and statutory agencies
- providing legal liability advice to Australian government departments and agencies and their insurer, Comcover, in respect of civil claims and advising them in respect of their obligations under the Legal Services Directions 2017 (Cth)
- providing insurance related due diligence advice in mergers and acquisition transactions, particularly in the field of construction
In commercial litigation her experience includes:
- acting for a building construction contractor in the Supreme Court of Queensland alleging breach of contract and negligence by its sub-contractor in respect of the use of aluminium composite panel cladding on a multi-story commercial building
- advising liquidators on the formulation of a claim against a firm of auditors alleging negligence, breach of contract and breach of statutory duties under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) in respect of a failed managed investment scheme
- acting for a company in the defence of preference claims brought by the liquidator of Gunns Limited (Tasmanian sawmill)
- acting for a Commonwealth Government department in the defence of a high value loss of opportunity claim arising from a dispute over the Commonwealth’s obligations in a deed of grant. This required qualifying experts in forensic accounting, market share economics and geospatial surveying
Marjorie holds a Bachelor of Arts (History) and a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) from the University of Queensland.
Marjorie’s curriculum vitae is available on request.