Rocco Pirozzolo is the managing director and underwriting director of Harbour Underwriting Limited. He brings over three decades of experience in legal practice and dispute insurance to the company.
Professional background
Rocco began his legal career as a barrister and in-house lawyer for a FTSE 100 company before transitioning to private practice as a solicitor. He spent a decade litigating a wide range of civil and commercial disputes, representing both claimants and defendants. In the early 2000s, he moved into the emerging field of dispute insurance, a shift that coincided with significant changes in the civil justice system.
Before joining Harbour Underwriting, Rocco served as the director of litigation funding at Harbour Litigation Funding Ltd, gaining valuable experience in funding complex litigation risks.
Leadership at Harbour Underwriting Ltd
At Harbour Underwriting Ltd, Rocco leads the company’s strategic direction, client relationships and business development. He manages a team of underwriters who provide insurance solutions for businesses involved in or initiating litigation. The firm offers a range of products, including adverse costs cover, disbursements cover, solicitor’s fees cover and insurance for damages-based agreements and conditional fee agreements.
Harbour Underwriting operates both in the UK and internationally, underwriting cases in jurisdictions such as Australia, Hong Kong, Canada and the Netherlands.
Industry recognition and thought leadership
Rocco is widely recognised as a leading figure in the dispute resolution community. He has been ranked in Band 1 for Litigation Insurance Underwriters in the UK by Chambers and Partners and was named one of Lawdragon’s 100 Global Leaders in Litigation Finance in 2025.
He contributes to the legal field through authorship and speaking engagements. Rocco is the general editor of The Law Society’s Litigation Funding Handbook and co-authored a chapter on legal expenses insurance in the practitioners’ textbook Friston on Costs.
Rocco has been instructed as an expert on dispute insurance, including by The Law Society in its intervention in a landmark case heard before the Supreme Court in Coventry v Lawrence [2015] UKSC50.
Notable cases
Rocco has underwritten several significant cases, including:
- An intellectual property dispute where a family clothing firm successfully sued Bentley Motors for trademark infringement
- A case supporting union activist construction workers who were blacklisted from work sites, aiding them in obtaining financial compensation
- Various class actions and environmental claims, such as Barr v Biffa Waste Services Ltd.
Industry engagement
Beyond his role at Harbour Underwriting, Rocco has contributed to the broader legal community. He has served on forums and working parties of the Civil Justice Council since 2003 and chaired The Association of British Insurers’ Legal Expenses Committee.
