Joel maintains a broad commercial, common, and regulatory law practice. He focuses on four principal areas:
Joel is an experienced advocate. He provides commercially sensible advice to his instructing solicitors and their clients. His advice practice focuses on insurance coverage, liability, quantum, evidence, procedure, and drafting pleadings. His work as a barrister is informed by a significant period working in-house as an insurance claims manager in Singapore and London.
Insurance Law
Joel’s insurance law work frequently involves advice and litigation relating to policy coverage and the construction of policy wording. He has experience across a broad range of wordings and policies, including cargo, crime, cyber, directors and officers, energy, marine and aviation hull, life science, management liability, private equity/venture capital, professional indemnity, property damage/business interruption, product liability and recall, public liability, specie, trade credit, and warranty & indemnity. He also has experience advising on coverage under life insurance policies, including total and permanent disability, income protection, accident, and trauma cover.
Professional Liability and Medical Negligence
Joel represents a wide range of professionals in civil and regulatory disputes, including allied health, architects, auditors/accountants, building professionals, doctors, financial advisers, insurance brokers, lawyers, valuers, and veterinarians. He is regularly instructed in various medical negligence claims, including delayed treatment, misdiagnosis, surgical errors, and failure to warn brought against hospitals, general practitioners, surgeons, and consultants.
General Liability
Joel is experienced in personal injury and property damage litigation. He has acted for plaintiffs and defendants in road traffic accidents, employer’s liability, product and public liability, and property damage claims. He has been instructed in serious and catastrophic cases involving psychiatric injury, chronic pain, and brain and spinal injuries. Joel is particularly interested in life science claims and has advised on product recall, liability for medical devices and clinical trial compensation claims. Joel has experience with both the Victorian and Commonwealth workers’ compensation schemes.
Maritime and Aviation
Joel has experience in insurance and non-insurance maritime and aviation disputes. He has advised on coverage and subrogation recoveries disputes arising under cargo, specie, aviation and marine hull contracts. He also has experience in international personal injury claims involving injuries on aeroplanes and cruise ships. He has experience with disputes arising from charter parties and bills of lading, including fraud claims. He has advised on admiralty matters, including the arrest of ships.
Advocacy
Joel regularly appears in a range of Courts, including the Supreme and County Court of Victoria and the Federal Court of Australia. He appears at VCAT in the Building and Property, Review and Regulation, Legal Practice and Civil Claims Lists. He regularly appears in the Compensation Division of the AAT. He has experience drafting submissions in disputes before the Australian Financial Complaints Authority. He has experience in all forms of ADR, especially mediation and arbitration.
International Arbitration
Joel has experience with arbitrations administered by the ICC and the SIAC rules. He is an Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and a member of the Singapore Chamber of Maritime Arbitrators. Joel also accepts appointments as tribunal secretary, having completed the ICC's training for tribunal secretaries and is on the HKIAC panel for tribunal secretaries.
Previous Experience
In 2022, Joel returned to practice at the Victorian Bar after five years of living in Singapore and two years in London. In Singapore, Joel worked as a qualified foreign lawyer for Clyde & Co in the firm's Coverage, Speciality and Reinsurance department. He also worked as a claims manager for the Newline Group, a leading Lloyd’s of London syndicate on the Lloyd's Singapore platform. In London, Joel worked as an in-house lawyer and claims manager for the Medical Protection Society, a leading international medical defence mutual.
In November 2016, Joel was called to the Bar of England and Wales and is a member of The Honourable Society of Middle Temple.
Joel first signed the Bar roll in May 2012. Before coming to the Bar, Joel worked as a solicitor at Sparke Helmore Lawyers and Meridian Lawyers. Before working as a solicitor, Joel was an Associate to Her Honour Judge Davis of the County Court of Victoria.
Joel has a BA and LLB(Hons) from the Australian National University and a Master of Laws from the University of Melbourne.
Appellant
Ford v Comcare [2018] FCAFC 127 (led by Tom Howe QC)
Herald & Weekly Times Ltd and Victorian WorkCover Authority v Jessop [2014] VSCA, led by Philip Jewell QC).
Judicial Review
Midfield Meat Processing Pty Ltd v Fish & Ors [2015], led by Andrew Keogh SC (as his Honour then was)
Statutory Insurance
Ford and Comcare [2018] AATA 648
Banwell and Comcare [2016] AATA 30
Fernandez and Australian Postal Corporation [2014] AATA 703
FVNH and Comcare [2013] AATA 832
Personal Injury/Serious Injury Applications
Ebejer v Hobsons Bay City Council & Anor [2014] VCC 795 (unlead)
Mentha v Naddvick Holdings Pty Ltd and Ors (2013) (jury trial led by K Judd QC)
Botte v TAC [2013] VCC 1036 (led by D Hore-Lacy SC)
Holovka v VWA [2013] VCC 1918 (unled)
Brennan v Swire Cold Storage Pty Ltd & Anor [2012] VCC 2005 (unled)