Our people

John Corcoran AM is Principal at the law practice of Russell Kennedy and was Chair of that firm for 10 years until 30 June 2017. He is a member of the board of Mercy Health.

He has been a board member of the Legal Services Board as well as the International Bar Association. He is also a past President of the Law Institute of Victoria and was President of the Law Council of Australia in 2009.

His experience as a commercial lawyer is in the areas of commercial property, retirement and aged care, as well as sale and purchase of business, and securities.

Adrian signed the Victorian Bar Roll in 1998, was appointed Silk in 2012 and is a leading Victorian barrister practising in the areas of planning and environment, local government, and major projects. He brings to LPLC a broad range of skills arising from the various committees on which he serves, including Barristers Chambers Limited, the Bar Readers Course Committee (as Vice Chair) and the Victorian Planning and Environment Law Association (as Vice President) and as a past member of the Victorian Bar Council.

Danny has practiced as a solicitor in Victoria since being admitted to practice in 1996. He is currently a director of Dawes & Vary Riordan, a large regional law firm with multiple offices in various regional towns including Shepparton, Kyabram, Echuca, Cobram and Tatura.

Danny practices primarily in agribusiness, commercial litigation and employment law. In addition to his legal practice, Danny is a former executive member of the Law Institute of Victoria, including serving as President in 2009. He has also served as a director of the Law Council of Australia. He remains a member of the Ethics Committee of the Law Institute of Victoria.

Helen, a chartered accountant for over 30 years, has extensive experience in governance, audit and risk management. She held senior leadership roles at Deloittes, KPMG and BHP Ltd as well as BlueScope Steel Ltd where she was responsible for the global risk management and insurance program. Helen has been a non-executive director for over 18 years and is an experienced Chair of Audit and Risk Committees. She is currently on the boards of ISPT Pty Ltd, Treasury Corporation of Victoria, Yarra Valley Water, Ansvar Insurance, Austin Health and served previously on the board of Zoos Victoria.

Mark has held several leadership roles in the insurance and health sectors, serving as director, CEO and executive.

For 13 years Mark served as CEO of GMHBA Limited, a top 10 health insurer and regional health care provider. Major features of his leadership focussed on revitalising the organisation’s purpose, strategy, scale and culture.

In addition to his role on the Committee, Mark is now a non-executive director of a general insurer, and a non-executive director of a disability services organisation.

Mark brings a wealth of experience in insurance, including in professional indemnity. He has a deep understanding of strategy development, capital and financial management, reinsurance, and risk management.

Michelle is a partner of Maddocks, an Australian law firm with offices in Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra. She was the firm’s CEO between 2014 and 2020.

Michelle is a member of a number of advisory and fiduciary boards including In-Life Independent Living Limited, The Nature Conservancy, Women and Leadership Australia and Global Sisters Limited.

A strong advocate for women in leadership, Michelle’s contribution to the profession was recognised by being awarded both the Victorian Award for Excellence in Women’s Leadership and Executive of the year at the Lawyers Weekly Women in Law Awards in 2016, and in 2019 being named as NSW Women Lawyers’ Change Champion of the Year.

Nicole is the Executive Director, Regulatory Services and Director, Consumer Affairs at the Victorian Department of Justice & Community Safety, and was formerly the Executive Director Family, Youth and Children’s Law and for the Gippsland region at Victoria Legal Aid.

Experienced as a consumer advocate and in the development of legal research and policy, including as a former Director Policy and Campaigns at the Consumer Action Law Centre, Nicole has also worked as a lawyer across private practice and within the community legal sector. She was admitted to practice in 2001. Nicole has also served on a number of public interest boards and committees including as Chairperson of CHOICE (2013–2017).

Justin was appointed as Chief Executive Officer from 1 January 2018. He was Deputy CEO at LPLC from 2005 with primary responsibility as Head of Claims. Prior to joining LPLC, Justin’s career spanned five years in a senior executive position with the Institute of Architects’ professional indemnity scheme and 15 years in private legal practice including time as a partner with Tress Cocks & Maddox specialising in professional indemnity litigation acting as a panel solicitor to LPLC.

Paul was appointed as Chief Operations Officer from 31 January 2022. Prior to joining LPLC Paul’s leadership career spanned the healthcare, transport, technology and education sectors, including five years as COO of a private healthcare company in New Zealand. Paul has a passion for sustainable, people-centric business, and is a strong advocate for the use of technology and data in achieving business goals.

After working in the property/leasing department of several city law firms, Bernadette joined the Committee in 1988. In addition to supervising the annual renewal of insurance and overseeing the maintenance of the LPLC database, Bernadette is the reference point for insured practitioners, LPLC service providers and other stakeholders.

Martin joined the Committee as Chief Financial Officer in January 2014.

Martin manages the accounting, finance and payroll functions.

Prior to joining LPLC in January 2018 Jodie was a partner in the professional indemnity team of Moray & Agnew, Melbourne, having joined that firm in 2006 from Herbert Geer & Rundle. Jodie is an experienced insurance litigator who has worked for Australian and international insurers across a range of businesses (professional indemnity, directors’ and officers’ liability, management liability, financial lines, employment practices liability and construction risks). Jodie has strong property and commercial dispute resolution experience.

In the 10 years prior to joining LPLC, Bronwyn worked in private practice in Victoria and South Australia as a professional indemnity solicitor. She joined the Committee in 2006 from the Melbourne office of specialist insurance firm Moray & Agnew. Bronwyn also spent 5 years at a Law Claims panel firm in South Australia.

Prue specialised in commercial litigation with Allens for 24 years prior to joining LPLC in 2014. She also practised as a general common law and insurance litigator with Ashurst.

Prior to joining LPLC in June 2019, Ryan practised professional indemnity insurance litigation for 19 years with HWL Ebsworth, Moray & Agnew and Sparke Helmore. Ryan also practised commercial litigation in Singapore for around 5 years before coming to Australia. He was the State Editor of the Australian Insurance Law Bulletin for a number of years.

Prior to joining LPLC in January 2020, Alix worked in private practice for 16 years, practicing in the areas of commercial litigation and insurance and professional indemnity litigation, including as a Panel Solicitor for LPLC. Alix brings to LPLC broad and extensive litigation and dispute resolution experience.

Rebecca joined LPLC in 2020 following 15 years in private practice at two large national law firms as a commercial disputes and insurance specialist. Rebecca has extensive experience in managing complex professional indemnity claims and advising corporate insureds on risk management issues and their insurance programs.

Heather practised as a solicitor for eight years in insurance litigation at Minter Ellison specialising in professional indemnity litigation before joining the Committee on secondment in 1999. She became a permanent member of staff in 2001.

Phil has been a legal practitioner for over 25 years specialising mostly in property law. He is also a Senior Fellow of the University of Melbourne where he lectures in Property Law to postgraduates in the Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning. Phil’s experience includes chairing a number of government boards relevant to the property industry and assisting the Victorian Law Reform Commission. For most of his career Phil has been a volunteer as a chair and member of a number of committees at the Law Institute of Victoria. In 2011 Phil received the Law Institute of Victoria Certificate of Service Award for his services to the legal profession.

Stephen joined the Legal Practitioners’ Liability Committee as a Risk Manager in January 2016 after 18 months at the Law Institute of Victoria and over 30 years in private practice. He has 20 years of practical experience as a legal practice manager and a focus on practice management issues.