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Sophie Devitt

Partner
Brisbane
About

Sophie Devitt is a litigation and regulatory lawyer in the insurance sector. She provides regulatory advice to participants in the financial services industry relating to compliance and risk management issues particularly for general insurers, intermediaries and insurance brokers. She also provides general commercial advice for participants in the sector. Her litigation practice has a particular focus of professional indemnity disputes.

Sophie has many years of experience advising those involved in the insurance industry including insurers, intermediaries, brokers and broker associations on issues involving indemnity and policy interpretation. She has also defended a range of professionals in the financial services industry and the property industry and their professional indemnity insurers including insurance brokers, finance brokers, engineers, architects, surveyors and real estate agents.

Areas of FocusInsurance
Professional QualificationsSolicitor of the High Court of Australia, 2003Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Queensland, 2003

EXPERIENCE

Financial services claims

  • Defending a claim against a financial advisors relating to advice given for the investment in an investment scheme which included apparent misrepresentations within the product disclosure statement for the investment
  • Defending a number of claims against mortgage originators and finance brokers in relation to circumstances of alleged fraud on behalf of the borrower
  • Acting for a number of insurance brokers involving primarily claims for failing to arrange adequate insurance

Engineering claims

  • Recently settled a matter on behalf of a large engineering firm with respect to allegations of negligent specification of structural connections for multi-level residential apartment blocks

Property industry claims

  • Acting for a national real estate agency on multiple claims for failure to comply with statutory obligations pursuant to the Property Agents and Motor Dealers Act 2000 (Qld)
  • Acting for the Applicant, a construction manager, in a claim before the Commercial and Consumer Tribunal regarding the design and construction of a luxury waterfront home

Insurance industry

  • Acting for a number of insurance brokers in defending claims arising from the January 2011 floods in South East Queensland and natural disasters in Queensland in 2010 and 2011
  • Providing regulatory and compliance advice to insurance brokers
  • Providing advice to insurers with respect to policy wordings and compliance with regulatory obligations pursuant to the Corporations Legislation
Education

    Awards

    • Recognised as "Lawyer of the Year" for Insurance Law and Legal Malpractice Litigation in the Brisbane market - Best Lawyers in Australia, 2021

    Publications

    Memberships And Affiliations

    • Australian Professional Indemnity Group
    • Women In Insurance Association

    My latest insights

    Publication

    Unfair Contract Terms Reforms

    29 February 2024 .4 minute read

    Publication

    Insurance Industry - Regulatory Reform Roadmap

    3 August 2021 .1 minute read

    Publication

    Insurance horizon scanning - upcoming reforms

    18 November 2020 .2 minute read

    Connect

    Phone

    +61 7 3246 4058
    (Work, Brisbane)
    +61 407 597 989
    (Work)
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