Jane Coventry

Jane Coventry is a Special Counsel in our Insurance & Health team and is based in our Melbourne office.

Jane specialises in financial lines insurance with a particular focus on:

• Statutory liability insurance
• Professional indemnity insurance
• Directors & officers (D&O) liability
• Defamation

Jane has extensive experience defending professional negligence claims on behalf of a range of professionals, including accountants, solicitors, financial planners, health professionals and educational institutions.

She has developed significant expertise acting for companies and their directors and officers in relation to prosecutions and investigations under management liability and statutory liability policies. This includes claims brought by WorkSafe Victoria, the Environment Protection Authority (EPA), the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), the Independent Broad-Based Anti-Corruption Commission (IBAC) and the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR).

With a strong focus on regulatory matters and a background in a variety of litigation in all Victorian Courts, the Federal Circuit Court, the Federal Court and the High Court, Jane is an experienced litigator who understands the importance of adopting the right strategy at the outset to achieve the best outcome for her clients as cost efficiently as possible.

“Behind every claim is a person and a story. I enjoy learning and understanding what led to the litigation, and then problem-solving to to obtain a result that allows them to move forward with their business or life beyond the claim. Litigation, in particular a prosecution, can be one of the most stressful times that an individual or business will experience. I enjoy assisting insurers and insureds through the process and hopefully alleviating some of the stress along the way.”

Before joining Barry Nilsson, Jane worked in the financial lines / professional indemnity insurance team of a global law firm and she has also worked at the Supreme Court of Victoria.

“I enjoy the rigour and the challenge of litigation, and I was drawn to Barry Nilsson because of its progressive, high performing insurance team. BN fosters a culture of working as a team to provide a high level of client care, whilst also providing a healthy working environment for its staff.”

Jane has been recognised in the 2025 edition of Best Lawyers for Insurance Law.

Jane holds a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) and a Bachelor of Arts. She is a member of the Law Institute of Victoria (LIV), the Australian Professional Indemnity Group (APIG), the Australian Insurance Law Association (AILA) and Women in Insurance.