Alex is an insurance, construction and commercial litigation specialist. Since 1998, he has acted on behalf of a wide range of organisations in Australia, London and New Zealand. Alex’s practice focuses on defending claims and providing insurance coverage advice on matters involving professional negligence, insured construction disputes, directors and officers liability, management liability, cyber liability, defamation, warranty and indemnity and crime/fidelity. Alex frequently acts as defence or coverage counsel on class actions and other large litigation.
Allied to this, Alex has a construction and commercial litigation practice, in which he primarily acts, for owners, developers and major contractors in relation to building and construction disputes, ranging from claims for defects to apartment buildings to complex contractual claims involving multiple parties, as well as for corporate entities on claims brought against them and claim, including recovery claims, on their behalf.
Experienced in managing the commercial and business priorities of underwriters, re-insurers and insurers through his previous role at AON in London, he now applies the same rigorous pragmatic and commercial approach to all of his insurer and non-insurer clients alike to meet their business objectives. Alex is also known for his extensive legal knowledge and, when the circumstances require it, his forceful approach to litigation.
With wide-ranging experience in insurance and reinsurance policy advice and disputes, Alex has advised insurers on issues arising out of various sections of the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth), including sections 13, 21, 28(3), 33, 37, 40(3), 45, 51, 54 and 56.
Alex regularly delivers informative and practical seminars and papers to clients on topics as diverse as privacy law amendments, defamation, debenture trustees, exclusion clauses, advocates’ immunity, cyber risk, personal costs orders, risk management and contractual indemnities.
Alex publishes in the Law Society of New South Wales Journal and other industry publications, presents in video and podcasts formats, and contributes articles to, and is the editor of Gilchrist Connell’s industry newsletter ‘Limelight’.
Articles and Presentations
Alex Haslam & Richard Mitry, Defteros v Google LLC [2021] VSCA 167 – BenchTV 2021
Alex Haslam, Tony Reynolds, How law firms can mitigate the risk of cyber attacks, (2021) 78 LSJ 80
Presentation to brokers on ASIC investigations May 2021
Alex speaks with the Australian Financial Review about the current hard insurance market – featured article – A tailored approach to managing risk, Australian Financial Review Jan 27, 2021
Alex Haslam, Sarah Wood, Elissa Baxter (General Counsel Lawcover) Lawcover Podcast – Employment risks in the aftermath of claims 2020
Presentation to clients on the new Practice Note SC CL July 2020
Lawyers want virtual hearings to stay in a post-COVID world Lawyerly, June 11, 2020
Common fund orders made in increasing class action market Lawyerly May 15, 2020
Alex Haslam, Elissa Baxter, (General Counsel Lawcover) Lawcover Podcast – The cost of Defamation 2019
Presentation to insurers on misleading and deceptive conduct – the growing trend 2018
Alex Haslam, Elissa Baxter, Limitation periods in equity – taking an analogous approach (2018) Issue 48 (September) LSJ 78
Presentation to insurers – Fundamentals of D&O insurance, 2018
Alex Haslam & Elissa Baxter, Defamation claims against solicitors BenchTV, 2018
Seminar series to insurers on Insurance Contracts Act 1984, Professional Standards and developments in PI and D&O and recent case law, 2017
Clarity on offers of compromise – Case note; Whitney v Dream Developments Pty Ltd (2013) 51(7) LSJ 44
Presentation on Cyber Risk
- NSW Court of Appeal confirms expanded duty of care for building professionals, with duty set to expand further
- Supreme Court confirms broad ambit of duty of care for design and building professionals
- Recent developments in the liability landscape for design and building professionals
- Insurers largely succeed in appeal of latest business interruption test cases
- Insurers generally successful in second business interruption test case
- Update in the Australian business interruption insurance/COVID-19 test cases
- Policyholders succeed in UK Business Interruption Test Case at first instance
- When ignorance is not bliss: recent appellate court guidance on deeming provisions in professional indemnity policies
- Standard form loan contract terms found to contravene the unfair contract terms regime
- Limitation periods in claims against valuers - Court of Appeal provides a useful reminder
- COVID-19 Toolkit - Common fund order made in increasing class action market
- Google liable for ‘publishing’ search results and newspaper webpages
- Cryptocurrency and insolvency: Are “coins” property?
- COVID-19 Toolkit: Cyber risks and exposures amid COVID-19
- COVID-19 Toolkit: Security advisory services amid COVID-19
- COVID-19 Toolkit: Safe Harbour advisory services amid COVID-19
- Defaming through google reviews
- Hallucinations and delusions not enough to displace testator’s capacity
- Australia's first shareholder class action judgment
- Proposal to extend the unfair contract terms regime to insurance contracts
- Defamation and corporate Facebook pages – a company can be deemed the publisher of third-party troll comments
- Publishers up for $300,000 for publishing defamatory newspaper articles actuated out of malice
- First case on the duty of a debenture trustee under section 283DA(a) of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth): Oztech Pty Ltd v Public Trustee of Queensland (No 15) [2018] FCA 819
- Causes of data breaches, industries most impacted and regulator comments following the first 8 months of the NDB Scheme
- Royal Commission into misconduct in the banking, superannuation and financial services industry – UPDATE
- Royal Commission into misconduct in the banking, superannuation and financial services industry is formally established
- ASIC successfully enforces best interests and appropriate advice duty laws in Federal Court
- ACCC successfully enforces new unfair contract terms laws in Federal Court
- Section 54(1) of the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth)
- The interplay between civil liability and occupational health and safety legislation
- Advocates’ immunity curtailed
- Joinder of insurers to proceedings by a non-party to a policy of insurance
- Apportionment of claims under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth)
- No duty of care to avoid reasonable economic loss owed by a builder to the owner or subsequent purchaser of a commercial building
- Finalist - Lawyers Weekly Partner of the Year Awards 2022 - Insurance
- Best Lawyers - Professional Malpractice Litigation 2023, 2024
- Best Lawyers - Insurance Law 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
- Finalist - Lawyers Weekly Partner of the Year Awards 2020 - Insurance
- Finalist - Lawyers Weekly Partner of the Year Awards 2017 (Insurance and Dispute Resolution)
- Finalist - Lawyers Weekly Australian Law Awards 2017 - Partner of the Year.