People

Giana Laidlaw

Giana Laidlaw Profile Photo
Special Counsel
Giana Laidlaw Profile Photo

Giana is an insurance coverage and litigation specialist focusing on complex financial and professional service disputes and class actions.

Experience

Giana advises a range of local and international insurers and financial service providers, including AFSLs, authorised representatives, mortgage brokers, real estate professionals and accountants.

She is also experienced acting on behalf of construction industry professionals including architects, engineers and building surveyors, and she has as a background in insolvency and restructuring.

Giana is committed to providing timely and strategic advice to clients to drive commercial outcomes.

Career highlights

Giana's experience includes:

  • acting as coverage counsel in shareholder class actions against AMP Limited arising from the Financial Services Royal Commission
  • providing coverage advice in other insurance claims made by AMP arising out of historical 'fee for no service' conduct and inappropriate financial and insurance advice
  • acting as coverage counsel in group proceedings commenced against Brambles alleging breaches of continuous disclosure obligations and misleading and deceptive conduct
  • defending a major engineering firm in a complex, multi-million dollar claim arising from the collapse of an earth embankment constructed to divert the Morwell River through the Yallourn Coal Mine
  • acting as coverage and defence counsel for Newline in a group proceeding and other individual proceedings commenced against a notorious cosmetic surgery provider
  • acting for an accounting firm in a long-running and acrimonious dispute over the division of a large family farming operation. The proceedings involved numerous interlocutory issues in relation to discovery, claims of privilege, pleading amendments and asset valuations
  • acting for construction professionals and consultants in claims for defective building work.