Toby Barrie

Toby is a principal in our Insurance & Health team and is based in the Perth office.

At Barry Nilsson, Toby specialises in:

• Professional indemnity
• Directors’ and officers’ (D&O) liability
• Errors and omissions (E&O)
• Management liability
• Public liability.

‘When I started my legal career, I worked in insurance. I enjoyed both the work and the clients. I also found it fascinating being exposed to professionals working in an incredibly broad range of fields.’

‘I think that all good insurance practitioners, including lawyers, live by the mantra, “risk never sleeps”. I tend to develop long-term relationships with my clients because I take the time to understand their businesses and am very pragmatic in the way I work, which I believe are the keys to achieving the best possible outcomes.’

Toby regularly acts on behalf of professional indemnity insurers defending professional negligence claims against insureds in a wide range of professions. He has also acted in connection with investigations instigated by regulatory and disciplinary bodies. More specifically, Toby has acted for the professional indemnity insurers of various professionals in relation to disputes litigated in the District Courts, Supreme Courts and the Federal Court of Australia, including:

• Accountants
• Architects
• Design consultants
• Engineers
• Financial service providers
• Real estate agents
• Stockbrokers
• Valuers.

Over the years, Toby has defended the insurers of directors and officers of large mining companies, publicly listed entities and financial services providers. He has also assisted directors and officers facing claims relating to managed investment schemes.

Toby also acts for management liability insurers of a number of small, managed entities.

‘I believe that one of the reasons Barry Nilsson’s clients are so loyal is that the firm takes the business of insurance so seriously. We know the industry back-to-front; it’s the core focus of what we do. This simplifies and streamlines our work with clients.’

Toby has been recognised in Best Lawyers since 2014 for Insurance Law, Litigation and Class Action Litigation, and has been named a 'Lawyer of the Year' in Perth for Class Action Litigation, and a 'Lawyer of the Year' for Insurance Law in Perth, in 2021. He has been consistently recognised by Doyle's Guide, most recently in the 2024 edition as one of Western Australia's Preeminent Public & Product Liability Lawyers and Leading Medical Negligence & Malpractice Lawyers, he was also recognised as a Preeminent Professional Indemnity Lawyer in the 2023 edition. Toby was also recognised as a Market Leader for Professional Indemnity and is listed in the Chambers & Partners Australia Guide 2025.