Justin Tivey

Justin specialises in the professional liability claims and insurance policy coverage advice. He has extensive experience across the sector latterly with a focus on data protection, privacy and cyber liability.

He has over 23 years’ experience advising clients across a range of sectors including professional advisory, financial services, construction, infrastructure, retail, technology, local authorities and health service providers. His key clients include insurers and their insureds as well as public bodies and corporate clients of the firm who face liability risks.

Justin helps clients to manage incidents successfully and to deal with claims. Actions range from the urgent response to data incidents to the defence of claims through litigation, mediation and direct negotiation.  With a background in insurance law and professional negligence claims Justin looks for commercial and pragmatic solutions. Able to handle complex or sensitive matters and lead teams or manage junior lawyers to deliver cost effective solutions.

Relevant experience includes advising:

• A security printing company experiencing a malware attack impacting on its operations and jeopardising sensitive client data. This included advising on data protection and contractual issues and also involved co-ordinating with forensic IT and Public Relations consultants. Despite being under great time and commercial pressure regulatory action and wider contractual disputes were avoided.
• Public health bodies, retailers, insurers, charities and training providers following disclosures of personal data, security incidents and defending the resulting claims. In each case ensuring that the regulatory exposure was minimised and that claims were either seen off or resolved on beneficial terms. Taking swift action, protecting client reputations and saving them money.
• A major regional law firm facing a claim for mishandling a business dispute causing the losing party significant expense. This included defending the legal proceedings attending settlement meetings with the opponent and his counsel. Settlement on very favourable terms was ultimately achieved by direct negotiation.
• The insurers of a law firm on a policy coverage dispute relating to multi-million pound frauds suffered by lenders across dozens of loans. This involved conducting arbitration proceedings and managing a team of lawyers to review transactions and analyse the legal risks as well as instructing two leading counsel. Settling the dispute on favourable terms saving significant further costs and preventing the risk of further claims emerging later.

Justin is recognised by Chambers and Partners as a lawyer to watch and the directory records “An impressed interviewee reports: “It was clear that he knew the case inside out.”  The Legal 500 lists Justin as “a key contact for policy coverage disputes”.