My primary focus is managing legal risks, facilitating workouts and advising on how to handle distressed counterparties. However, I also help clients manage regulatory and reputational risks, including in the context of commercial litigation, voluntary product recalls, distressed property developments and distressed investment schemes.

I am a regular speaker on issues that affect the financial services and government sectors, including crisis management, ethics and professional responsibility, conduct and culture.

Career highlights

• Legal Practitioners’ Liability Committee – advised on claims against solicitors arising from the Personal Property Securities Act 2009 (Cth)
• Victorian Department of Education – helped the department restructure how funding is provided to the vocational training sector
• Victorian Department of Justice – counselled the department on restructuring the Ararat Prison private–public partnership
• Receivers and managers of the Great Southern Group – Assisted with restructuring certain core forestry management investment schemes, and the ultimate sale of a forestry estate to institutional investors for $415 million
• Elders Limited – advised the board in relation to the company’s exit from its forestry managed investment scheme business, including managing conflicts of interest and regulatory and litigation-related risks, attending board meetings and presenting to the Group’s banking syndicate
• ANZ – served as the bank’s primary adviser in relation to the collapse of Opes Prime Stockbroking, which affected approximately 1,200 clients and resulted in outstanding debts to ANZ of more than $700 million. This involved providing guidance on closing out its stock-loan book and acting for ANZ in proceedings brought by Opes Prime clients seeking title to shares that were loaned to the bank
• A privately owned supplier of mining services – acted in a contractual dispute with a distressed junior listed miner that involved more than $20 million in unpaid certified interim payment claims
• The non-executive directors of Harris Scarfe – advised on an insolvent trading claim in which the liquidators claimed more than $140 million from each director, eventually settling the matter on confidential terms