Tessa Merwood

Legal Executive | NZILE


Tessa is a registered Legal Executive and an Associate of the New Zealand Institute of Legal Executives (NZILE), a member of the Maritime Law Association of Australia and New Zealand (MLAANZ) and a member of Women’s Shipping and Trading Association (NZ) (WISTA)

Tessa joined McElroys in 2009 and is an integral part of the firm’s Marine Team, where she specialises in cargo claims and subrogated recoveries for both local and international clients.

Tessa also has a wealth of experience in litigation support, and an in-depth knowledge of process and protocols for discovery.

Principal areas of practice:


  • Marine cargo and transport – subrogated recoveries

Skills:


  • Numerous successful settlements of claims against international shipping lines.
  • Great working relationships across national and international cargo claims, parties and personnel.
  • Strong working knowledge of maritime laws, as well as local and international carriage regimes.
  • Able to achieve efficient resolution  of cargo claims of all sizes.
  • Strong working knowledge of discovery process and protocols.
  • Tessa recently spent twelve months as a Claims Handler for one of New Zealand’s leading Marine Insurance companies.