Bond Pearce

Joanna is a senior associate specialising in professional indemnity. She has experience in all areas of defendant professional indemnity with particular experience in solicitors' claims and brokers' claims.

Joanna has also been involved in defending barristers, accountants, educational institutions, surveyors and management consultants amongst others.

She also has significant experience in coverage and in considering D&O policy wordings.

Examples of experience include:

• providing coverage advice to insurers in respect of complicated financial defalcations by an accounts clerk and considering the role of the partners and the meaning of the word 'condonement' of a dishonest act
• defending a broker who failed to ensure that it had obtained business interruption cover for a London restaurant in circumstances where the public facilities were interrupted
• considering issues of successor practices in solicitors' insurance where there was a sham partnership
• defending counsel in respect of her limited role in providing assistance to a firm of instructing solicitors which involved considering the extent of counsel's duty to advise on a clearly stated limitation period
• providing coverage advice to insurers in respect of a major personal injury firm which had become involved in the taking of secret commissions arising from deliberate defrauding of third party insurers
• advising solicitors in respect of a claim made against them for breach of trust and negligence for their alleged reporting of their client's precarious financial position to the client's proposed lender and in particular in respect of causation issues as to what the effect of such advice might have been
• defending a school for failing to deal appropriately with a pupil who was suffering from Asperger's syndrome
• providing directors with advice as to the response of their D&O policy in respect of certain personal guarantees provided to third parties
• providing advice to insurers on lender's claims on a regular basis.

In addition, Joanna has been involved in providing seminars to clients, drafting articles on relevant areas of law and has assisted in the drafting of a professional indemnity policy wording for a client. Joanna is a frequent user of mediation and is committed to all forms of ADR but has also taken many cases to trial over her career when necessary.