Thomsons

Banking & Finance; Insolvency & Restructuring

Partner

Michael acts for banks and other financial institutions and insolvency practitioners and the Australian Taxation Office on complex high end insolvency matters.

Michael advises on high-end insolvency and restructuring work including formal administrations, Deeds of Company Arrangement, informal workouts, securities enforcement and associated dispute resolution. His practice spans both transactional and contentious restructuring mandates, with particular expertise in navigating formal administration processes under significant time pressure and competing stakeholder claims.

Michael’s matters include major Australian insolvency administrations with creditor pools in the hundreds of millions. He has acted for the Administrators and Liquidators of Penrice Soda Holdings, an ASX-listed entity with approximately A$200 million in creditors. He led the Nuheara administration for KPMG, navigating unprecedented legal issues through to a successful Full Federal Court decision resisted to the High Court by a well-resourced multinational opponent. Earlier work includes the defence of former Gunns Limited directors in proceedings with a face value of approximately A$280 million, and acting for Adelaide Airport in relation to the Virgin Australia Group and the Rex Group administration.

Michael has a reputation as the go-to partner on the most difficult restructuring and insolvency assignments. He is commercially astute and numerate. He is able  to cut through undue complexity and derive a result which meets a client's commercial objectives. He is able to derive commercial solutions and negotiate constructively with counterparties to a transaction even when faced with intractable opponents. He is proactive and drives his matters to the promptest outcome available.

Australian Restructuring Insolvency and Turnaround Association (ARITA)

Bachelor of Laws, University of Adelaide Admitted to the Supreme Court of South Australia and the High Court of Australia Advanced Insolvency Course - ARITA