Our specialist Public & General Liability team work to understand the factual and technical issues at the heart of each issue that comes across their desk. By collaborating closely with our clients, their insurers and New Zealand’s leading experts we can devise a strategy to enable momentum and work to resolve the issue and achieve a positive outcome.

From policy response to product liability issues, to construction or horticulture liability, we have worked with all forms of liability policies. We understand how they work, but more importantly we also understand what they are designed to achieve.

Our job is to ensure we’re in the best position to manage our client’s exposure to risk – both prior to accidents and events and during investigations. In the event of an investigation, our team are incredibly focussed on presenting our client’s perspective as early and as clearly as possible. In order to put our client’s best foot forward, our people have a range of experts on hand with whom they consult and collaborate closely with. Likewise our relationships with regulators are something we build proactively and maintain carefully. The most common issues our team address relate to health and safety, where significant recent changes to legislation have led to a six fold increase in fines.

McElroys knows that all organisations will continue to face increasing regulation and compliance requirements in managing and protecting their customers’ information and data. With a clear understanding of the IT landscape and its transgression into Cyberspace, our team can advise on policy response and claims in this ever changing field.

We are constantly keeping astride of advances in the IT space. Our experience encompasses a broad range of disputes including claims against a professional services firm following a security breach, a dispute between an IT provider & their customer and a wide range of contractual issues.

McElroys’ team of specialists step in when needed to guide a director or officer through an alleged breach of duties – either to the company itself or to a third party, such as a creditor. We bring many years of well-considered experience advising both insurers and their insured directors and officers when they face claims, either in respect of civil liability or as a result of regulatory non-compliance.

The volatility brought about by the Global Financial Crisis saw our people acting for both insurers and directors, particularly in relation to the collapse of finance companies. We also have comprehensive experience in defending health and safety prosecutions where directors are often named individually in addition to the corporate entity.

Our team also work in an associated liaison role between insurers and their insured director/officers. Here we collaborate closely with the director’s counsel on defence strategy, whether that be civil or criminal.