Akash D. Brijpaul

Full Profile

With a deep knowledge of the insurer-insured dynamic and proven experience litigating both complex and untested insurance claims, Akash provides the firm’s insurer clients with real-world solutions tailored to their specific objectives and risk tolerance.

Akash’s coverage counsel practice includes reviewing and preparing policy wording drafting solutions, coverage opinions, position letters and client advocacy on property/casualty and financial/specialty lines forms including property, business interruption, commercial general, fidelity, umbrella and excess liability, professional liability and cyber insurance.

Akash has appeared at Canadian trial and appellate courts. He has represented both insurer and insured clients at large-loss mediations and acted as both lead and co-counsel in commercial arbitration proceedings.

Akash was called to the bar in 2016 after completing his articles at one of Canada’s top litigation boutiques. Immediately after his call, Akash restricted his practice to insurance coverage, honing his skills at a well-known coverage law boutique in Toronto, where he also acted as Chief Information and Privacy Officer. With a lifelong background in programming and data structures, Akash has a keen interest in the intersection of emerging technology, global privacy regimes and insurance coverage.

A lifelong learner, Akash is currently enrolled in courses from both Harvard Law School and Osgoode Hall. He is conversant and striving for fluency in both French and Mandarin.

Admissions

• Ontario (Year of Call: June 2016)

Education

• Osgoode Hall Law School Certificate in Privacy Law and Cybersecurity Law, 2024 
• J.D., University of Western Ontario, 2015
• Hon. B.A., High Distinction, University of Toronto (St. George), 2012

Professional Associations

• Canadian Defence Lawyers
• CBA/OBA
• DRI (Cybersecurity and Data Privacy Sub-Committee)
• Toronto Lawyers Association

Recent Experience

As lead (or sole) counsel:

• Represented insurer in first comprehensive Canadian cyber insurance reported decision, litigating 1st party property and 3rd party liability cyber coverage under three insuring agreements, multiple exclusions and conditions. Successful summary judgment dismissal of action including seven-figure standalone claim for bad faith. Appellate court appeal abandoned by insured.
• Represented insurer, successfully negotiating under-limits D&O policy release following mediation and subsequent settlement discussions in complex financial loss/fraud claim involving allegations of colluding individuals acting in alternating capacities across multiple companies and partnerships administering investment funds.
• Drafted insurance policy endorsements for insurer client to remove risk of overlapping coverage between CGL, E&O and cyber insurance policies.
• Updated commercial property, business interruption and general liability base forms during COVID-19 pandemic to unambiguously exclude cyber and communicable disease risks.
• Advised insurer on preserving cyber reinsurance coverage while complying with both privacy regulations and reporting obligations following security breach of a 3rd party vendor.
• Represented insurer, successfully defended against attempts by D&O insureds to obtain control of appointed defense counsel due to an alleged conflict of interest following a reservation of rights.
• Represented multi-national insured in three-panel arbitration chaired by a former provincial chief justice, seeking indemnity for settlement of multiple class actions under GL/UL insurance policies.

As co-counsel:

• Represented insurer in a landmark reported trial and appellate decisions on complex GL/UL coverage dispute, involving the manufacturing and distribution of opioids in Canada. Oral submissions at the Court of Appeal focused on conflicts of interest and the disclosure requirements of insureds for the purposes of coverage assessment.
• Represented insurer in successful reported decision altering the law on when liability insurers must surrender control of appointed defence counsel to the insured. Drafted materials for a landmark related second decision at Court of Appeal endorsing first decision and again confirming insurer client can maintain control of appointed defence counsel in underlying claim.
• Represented insurer in long-tail contamination claim involving 20+ insurers at primary and excess layers on a multiple decade insurance program, providing strategic input to client on multi-jurisdictional dispute and successfully arguing for client’s pre-discovery release from action as contested by insured.
• Represented a GL insurance tower in arbitration before a former provincial chief justice, seeking resolution of complex multi-tower allocation dispute.

Publications

• Brijpaul, A. “COVID-19 Pandemic: An Analysis of CGL Coverage Issues in the Canadian Context” (December 2020), published in the Annotated Commercial General Liability Policy (Thomson Reuters)
• Brijpaul, A. “Sharing the Umbrella: Commercial Liability Coverage for Additional Insureds in Canada” (February 2020), Panel Paper for Canadian Defence Lawyer’s 16th Annual Insurance Coverage Symposium
• Brijpaul, A. “Conflict of Interest Issues for Policyholder and Additional Insureds in Canada” (August 2018), published in the Annotated Commercial General Liability Policy (Thomson Reuters)