John Coorey
PartnerAbout John
John is a senior partner in our Insurance Group and a former Chairman of the firm. He runs a full-time practice that focuses on professional indemnity, directors' and officers' (D&O) liability, commercial litigation and aviation litigation.
What he does
John advises a wide range of professional people across the construction and financial planning industries and company directors, officers and other lawyers in defence of legal negligence claims.
He is mostly retained by large Australian and international insurers to defend their clients who become involved in litigation. In that context, John advises insurance company clients on policy coverage issues, financial reserving and estimating and strategic litigation management.
Who he works with
John works with a wide range of professionals and corporate entities.
What his clients say
John has been acknowledged as a leading Insurance, Litigation and Professional Malpractice Litigation lawyer in AFR's Best Lawyers 2019 and 2018.
"Insurance is a core practice area at Sparke Helmore Lawyers and the team, which includes Malcolm Cameron, John Coorey and Adrian Kemp, regularly defends claims in the areas of professional indemnity, D&O, latent diseases and casualty." – Insurance, The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2016
"John Coorey has a celebrated litigation practice, which covers a range of areas including professional indemnity and D&O matters." – Ranked Insurance Lawyer, Chambers Asia-Pacific 2016
Listed: Recommended for Commercial Insurance law - The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2018
Listed: Recommended Leading Professional Indemnity Lawyer – Sydney – Doyle's Guide 2015
Listed: Leading Lawyer in Australia – Asialaw Leading Lawyers 2018 & 2016
Ranked Insurance Lawyer – Chambers Asia-Pacific 2020, 2019, 2018 & 2017
Qualifications
John has a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws degree. He also has a post-graduate diploma in Corporate Law.
Life before Sparkes
John spent his first year after being admitted a boutique litigation firm before joining a predecessor firm to Corrs Chambers Westgarth. In 1989, John was sent on secondment to one of the major litigation firms in London (Lovells) where he spent three years before returning to Sydney. John was made a partner at Corrs Chambers Westgarth in 1995 and joined Sparke Helmore in June 2002.
Life outside of Sparkes
John has a passion for travel, food and sport. He is a very keen skier and loves to combine world travel with exotic ski destinations. A passion for rugby and cricket has also taken him to far flung corners of the globe to support the Wallabies and the Australian Cricket team. John also has a hard and fast rule of drinking at least one bottle of local wine in the country he is visiting. He does not recommend Japanese shiraz.