April
McClements
Partner
April McClements is a Partner in the Disputes and Investigations Group.
April is a commercial litigator and specialises in insurance disputes. She is recognised by Legal 500 as a “Leading Individual” for Insurance and has won Insurance Lawyer of the Year twice at the EMEA Women in Business Awards. She is ranked by Chambers & Partners for Insurance Disputes.
April advises on the full spectrum of insurance disputes, in particular complex coverage disputes, across all lines of business. She also advises on policy wording interpretation and drafting, D&O claims, professional indemnity claims (including any potential third party liability), cyber, W&I and emerging risks, and subrogation claims.
Experience and Education
April’s experience includes:
- Advised four aircraft lessors in the largest and most significant litigation to come before the Irish Commercial Court, relating to insurance coverage for aircraft detained in Russia following the invasion of Ukraine;
- Advising an aircraft leasing company on Commercial Court proceedings relating to insurance cover for aircraft and engines detained in Russia;
- Advised a pharmaceutical company on a high value precedent setting coverage dispute with three towers of insurers relating to cover for US securities class actions under D&O policies and aggregation in insurance law;
- Advised two insurers on the successful defence of separate test cases relating to cover for Covid-19 business interruption claims and advised numerous insurers on their response to Covid-19 business interruption claims;
- Advised an insurer on a successful application to stay Commercial Court proceedings where the other party was arguing that the dispute was non-arbitrable on public policy grounds;
- Advised a reinsurance company in an arbitration relating to cover for claims under a reinsurance treaty;
- Advised an insurer in a London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) arbitration relating to a high value coverage dispute;
- Advising on a coverage dispute under a cyber insurance policy;
- Advised an income protection insurer in two separate successful appeals of findings of the Financial Services & Pensions Ombudsman (and successfully defending a further appeal in one case to the Court of Appeal);
- Advised an insurer on a landmark subrogation claim against the ESB relating to flooding in Cork City in November 2009;
- Advised a number of insurers in relation to implementation of the Consumer Insurance Contracts Act 2019;
- Advising numerous insurers on their response to complaints to the Financial Services & Pensions Ombudsman;
- Advising various insurers on policy wordings for the Irish market including cyber wordings;
- Acted for a client in the successful appeal to the Court of Appeal of a €10 million defamation award and;
- Advised an insurer in relation to coverage of a fidelity claim notified by an Irish head-quartered company under its Commercial Crime Insurance Policy in respect of losses suffered by its US subsidiary as a result of alleged theft and fraud by other parties including former employees.
- University College Dublin and Osgoode Hall Law School, Toronto (BCL, International)
- Law Society of Ireland, Diploma in Commercial Litigation
- Qualified as a solicitor in Ireland
- Qualified as a solicitor in England and Wales (non-practising)
