Gilchrist Connell has appointed insurance litigator Judy Truong (pictured) as a principal in its Sydney office.
Truong has specialised in insurance litigation since 2002. Before moving into private practice, she worked at AIG as an underwriter and claims examiner. Her practice covers public and products liability, contractual recovery, worker-to-worker claims, property damage and coverage. She regularly acts for insurers in long-tail catastrophic injury claims, workers’ compensation recoveries, occupiers’ liability, labour hire disputes and SafeWork prosecutions.
She is listed in Doyle’s 2024 Guide among leading NSW defendant public and products liability lawyers. She also hosted the ANZIIF Australian Liability Conference in 2022 and 2023.
Gilchrist Connell chief executive Belinda Cohen said the appointment reflected the type of work the firm expects its insurer clients to need. Serious workplace injuries now often extend into contractual indemnities, labour hire arrangements, regulatory proceedings, recovery and coverage. Product and property claims can bring their own complications around supply chains and how risk is allocated between parties.
“The opportunity for us isn’t simply to do more liability work. It’s to build greater depth in the claims where liability doesn’t sit neatly in one box,” said Cohen.
Cohen added that Truong’s underwriting background meant she understood a claim from the insurer’s side before it reached litigation.
Truong said the multi-faceted nature of current liability disputes drew her to the firm.
“The most challenging liability claims rarely involve just one issue,” said Truong.
The appointment continues a run of senior hiring at the firm. In June, Gilchrist Connell added five senior lawyers across Adelaide, Perth and Sydney. That followed mid-year promotions that took its principal count to 47.
The claims Truong handles are the ones brokers’ contractor, labour hire and manufacturing clients are most exposed to. In a serious site injury, the outcome often depends less on the underlying negligence than on the contracts. These include indemnity clauses between principal and contractor, insurance requirements in labour hire agreements, and whether more than one policy responds.
Insurers continuing to invest in specialist defence capability for these claims is a reminder of where disputes are concentrating. For brokers placing liability cover, contract review and confirmation of what each party is insured for are worth checking before a claim arrives, not after.
