Shaun McCarthy

Admitted to the Bar in 1999, for over 25 years Shaun has maintained a highly successful insurance/common law practise in all states of Australia.  Uniquely, throughout that period, Shaun has appeared (equally) in the interests of plaintiffs and insurers, including self-insured and uninsured defendants.  Although he has extensive experience in medical negligence, administrative law and motor accident litigation, Shaun’s practise is now tightly focused on public liability and historical abuse litigation, including appeals. Within those fields, he is briefed predominantly in complex litigation involving multiple parties, where either significant monetary sums are at stake or where the law requires clarification. He is briefed by almost all the large insurance firms, together with many smaller and mid-tier plaintiff firms.

Shaun appears (exclusively unled) at both trial and appeal. Many of his cases have set important precedents.  Shaun has developed finely tuned forensic skills that have seen him achieve success on countless occasions before trial courts and intermediary state appellate courts.  He has also appeared on several occasions in the High Court of Australia.

Shaun has been briefed in thousands of common law cases, many of which have proceeded to verdict.  He also recognises that very few litigants wish for their cases to proceed to trial, and he understands that almost all litigants, private or institutional, prefer to settle their cases as early as possible.

Shaun is highly regarded for his ability to present a strong and fearless approach to advocacy in the Courtroom while maintaining a warm and cheery face to clients and witnesses in chambers.  He invests the time to connect with people on a personal level to make the litigation journey as harmonious as possible.

Prior to being called to the Bar, Shaun worked for several national insurance companies before working as a senior solicitor for the Insurance Division of Henry Davis York Lawyers.

Shaun is an active member of the NSW Bar Association Common Law Committee. For over 15 years he has sat as an arbitrator/committee member of the Disciplinary and Ethics Committee and the Grievance Committee of Football Federation of Australia (now Football Australia). He recently presented a seminar for the Bar Association on the legally vexed subject of ‘vicarious liability’ and he regularly speaks at and/or Chairs seminars concerning legal issues arising in historical abuse claims.

Outside of the law, Shaun enjoys distance running, including marathons and half marathons and plays soccer (quite badly according to his team mates) on weekends.