The global law firm Jones Day has announced that Roger Dobson and Katie Higgins have joined the Firm's Sydney Office as partners in its Business Restructuring & Reorganization Practice. Both arrive from the Sydney office of Henry Davis York, where Mr. Dobson was head of that firm's banking, restructuring and insolvency practice.
"We are pleased to welcome Roger and Katie to Jones Day," said Chris Ahern, Partner-in-Charge of Australia and Japan. "Both have strong reputations in restructuring and insolvency, an area of increasing importance in the Asia-Pacific. Roger and Katie will strengthen our skills in this area in the Asia-Pacific, a region that will be adversely impacted by slower China growth and lower commodity prices in the near term. As a single partnership, our local restructuring lawyers will work closely with their partners in the U.S. and Europe to deliver cross-border solutions on complex restructurings and work-outs. On the heels of our opening in Brisbane, Roger and Katie also reflect our commitment to building an elite cross-practice capability throughout Australia with market-leading lawyers who practice local law."
As one of the leading lawyers in his field, Mr. Dobson has worked on many large, complex restructuring and insolvency matters in Australia over the past decade, including Babcock & Brown, FreightLink, Yellow Pages New Zealand, Nine Entertainment, Hastie Group, I-MED, ABC Learning, and Allco Finance. In most of these matters, he represented main banking syndicates, offshore funds holding a substantial debt position, or, in the case of an insolvency, the liquidator, administrator, or receiver. Mr. Dobson has represented clients across a diverse range of industries, including energy and resources, mining services, construction, engineering services, media and communications, investment banking and financial services, retail, manufacturing, and infrastructure. Mr. Dobson earned his LLB with Honors from Adelaide University, and his LLM from Columbia University.
"Roger and Katie are terrific restructuring lawyers and they are arriving at an ideal time," said Paul Leake, global leader of Jones Day's Business Restructuring & Reorganization Practice. "With falling commodity prices, Australian firms in the resources sector and beyond will continue to face significant stress and will likely require restructuring assistance, whether in the form of refinancings, recapitalizations, asset or business sales, or otherwise. Roger and Katie not only have experience ideal for our Australian clients with those needs, but also add to our substantial global capabilities assisting clients facing and investing in distressed situations all over the world."
Ms. Higgins has extensive experience with advising leading Australian and international banks, funds, and financial institutions on their exposure to distressed companies and special situations investing. She is known for her commercially focussed and responsive advice on a range of complex matters such as high profile social infrastructure PPPs, project finance, structured and property transactions, and debt restructuring and workouts. Ms. Higgins has acted for borrowers, financiers, and insolvency practitioners; her clients have included high profile organizations such as Westpac and NAB (both Big 4 Australian banks), Reed Group, Reliance Rail, Sunshine Electricity, Centro Property Group, and AllCo Finance Group. Ms. Higgins earned her BA and LLB with Honors from the University of Sydney.
Jones Day is a global law firm with 43 offices in major centers of business and finance throughout the world. Its unique governance system fosters an unparalleled level of integration and contributes to its perennial ranking as among the best in the world in client service. Jones Day provides significant legal representation for almost half of the Fortune 500, Fortune Global 500, and FT Global 500. Jones Day has been operating in Australia since 1998 and its clients there include leading Australian and multinational companies across a range of industry sectors, including financial services, energy and resources, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, technology and telecommunications, health care, agriculture, retail and consumer goods, manufacturing, and chemicals.
