Peter Murdoch

Peter Murdoch is a Principal in our Insurance & Health team and is based in the Brisbane office.

‘I became interested in insurance law early in my career. I always knew I wanted to be a litigator, especially once I was given the opportunity to work as an associate to a judge in the Supreme Court of Queensland. The complexity of insurance law appealed to me and, as a young lawyer, I quickly realised that insurance issues sat behind a high percentage of litigation matters.’

Peter manages an energetic team of lawyers that specialise in advising insurance industry clients on all aspects of the following lines of business:

• Casualty
• First party property
• Professional indemnity
• Construction

Over the years, Peter has developed a reputation as someone who is extremely well equipped to handle complex claims. He has a detailed knowledge of the claims management process including reserving. Each year, he travels to London to meet with UK clients.

Peter’s expertise extends to a broad range of industries and professions, including:

• Local authorities
• Building and construction
• Mining
• Small-to-medium size enterprises (SMEs)
• Sporting organisations
• Engineering, surveying and financial advisors
• Security providers
• Rural activities.

Peter was listed in the 2015 to 2024 editions of Doyle's Guide as a Preeminent Public and Product Liability Lawyer in Queensland, and a Recommended Professional Indemnity Lawyer in 2019 to 2024. He has also been listed in Best Lawyers for Insurance Law since 2016.

‘I think one of the ways in which Barry Nilsson is different from other firms is that we make a conscious effort to avoid creating silos. Instead, the partnership is committed to collaborating and taking advantage of our respective specialisations, especially if it is in the client’s interest. We are a team and we like to see ourselves as approaching solutions to our clients’ problems in a collaborative team focused way.'

We’ve also put a lot of work into building outstanding teams of junior and mid-level lawyers. Unlike a lot of firms, we don’t hide our junior people behind the scenes. Instead, once they’ve got some experience, we encourage them to meet our clients. This ensures that our legal work is of the highest quality, because senior associates and associates get to directly hear the clients talk about both their objectives and concerns. At Barry Nilsson, we avoid situations where a team of lawyers is working on a complex matter with no proper context and poor communication between senior and junior lawyers.’