Nick Cooper
Clayton Utz
Deputy Chief Executive Partner
Overview
Recognised as a Leading Individual in Dispute Resolution by Chambers Asia-Pacific.
Nick Cooper is renowned for his strategic, pragmatic approach to large-scale disputes. With over 25 years of experience, Nick specialises in energy and resources, advising mining and oil companies on various challenges. Additionally, his expertise extends to professional negligence, defamation, and regulatory investigations, always providing clients with tailored risk-minimisation strategies.
Notable Work
- The State of Western Australia: acted for the Premier of Western Australia in defamation proceedings commenced by Clive Palmer against the Premier in the Federal Court of Australia, NSW Registry.
- AkzoNobel: acted in misleading and deceptive proceedings concerning coatings used on the USD$37 billion Ichthys LNG Project.
- Alcoa of Australia: acted on a variety of contentious matters including in relation to large negligence and insurance claims arising from a smelter power outage.
- CITIC Pacific Mining/Sino Iron: acted in a dispute with a former contractor concerning the termination of a Manufacture and Supply Agreement.
- The State of Western Australia: acted in relation to the introduction of the Iron Ore Processing (Mineralogy Pty Ltd) Agreement Amendment Bill 2020 including Parliament's plenary power, potential actions Mineralogy parties may avail themselves of, assisting with drafting the Bill, briefing opposition parties and representing the State in litigations related to legislation.
- The State of Western Australia: acted in defending a claim commenced by International Minerals Ltd alleging misleading and deceptive conduct, unconscionable conduct, misfeasance in public office – and conspiracy arising from the introduction of the Iron Ore Processing (Mineralogy Pty Ltd) Agreement Amendment Act 2020 (WA) (the Amendment Act).
- Commonwealth: acted in liquidator proceedings in relation to the Northern Endeavour, a petroleum production, storage and offloading facility located in the Timor Sea.
- Bumi Armada Berhad: acted against Woodside in relation to the termination of an FPSO charter agreement.
- Kipoi Holdings Mauritius Limited: acted in several complex litigation and insolvency proceedings in relation to the ownership and control of approximately USD$110 million of debt.
- Wright Prospecting Pty Ltd (WPPL): acted in high value disputes concerning royalty entitlements arising from the extraction of iron ore and proprietary interests in various mining tenements in the Pilbara Region of Western Australia.
- ASIC Investigations: acted for clients in a range of ASIC investigations and proceedings including insider trading, false trading and market rigging, continuous disclosure obligations, and capital fundraising and disclosure.
Insights
Media Release: Disputes lawyer Alex Tighe joins Clayton Utz partnership
2 Aug 2024 | Media Release
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Thinking strategically about mining – how Australia's Critical Minerals Strategy and FIRB will impact mining in 2024 and beyond
18 Dec 2023 | Article
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Media release: Clayton Utz CEP Elect names Nick Cooper as Deputy Chief Executive Partner
16 Feb 2023 | Media Release
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Litigation 101: Evidence – using foreign law in Australian litigation
2 Feb 2023 | Article
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New WA procurement regulations raise the stakes for government suppliers
25 Nov 2021 | Article
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ASIC's new immunity policy for market misconduct offences benefits individuals
24 Feb 2021 | Article
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COVID-19 claims under business interruption insurance – NSW Court of Appeal gives go-ahead in test case
19 Nov 2020 | Article
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Motive irrelevant as insurer's attempt to expand the operation of an insolvency exclusion in D&O policy fails
27 Jun 2019 | Article
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Consultants beware – you might be liable for combustible cladding following the Lacrosse Tower judgment
5 Mar 2019 | Article
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Important commercial purpose of D&O liability insurance upheld in "insolvency exclusion" case
7 Feb 2019 | Article
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Deploying your FPSO – the mitigation fiction vs. the technical and regulatory reality
1 Oct 2018 | Article
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