Robert McKenzie

Name: Robert McKenzie

Qualifications: LLB; B.Juris; FAICD

Title: Partner

Organisation: Blackwall Legal LLP

State: WA

Immediation Practice Area: Mediation, Expert Determination

Profile

As a partner of Blackwall Legal LLP I  specialise in corporate, commercial, reconstruction and insolvency law and in  particular business commercialisation, structuring, governance and resolution  of disputes.

 

For 22 years I was a partner of Clayton Utz  and for a period, head of reconstruction and insolvency. I was co-managing  partner of boutique law firm McKenzie Moncrieff for five years prior to  merging with Jackson McDonald, where I was partner for an additional six  years including four years on the board.

I have extensive experience in a wide range of  industries such as mining, mining services, financial services, medical,  education, technology, retail and agriculture. I acted on a number of  significant listed company reconstructions such as Anaconda, Kingstream,  Brandrill and Sons of Gwalia. I was a pioneer in the use of structures such  as creditors’ and members’ schemes of arrangement, voluntary administrations,  deeds of company arrangement, creditors’ trusts, backdoor listings and  reverse takeovers. I have acted for all of the major banks for a number of  years and taught part-time at the University of Western Australia for 10  years.

I have served as the national chair of the Law  Council of Australia Insolvency and Reconstruction Committee and the state  chair of the Western Australian Corporations Law Sub-Committee. I have also  chaired the Law Society of Western Australia Commercial Law Committee.

I am a member of the Federal Government  Takeovers Panel, a director and chairman of the Risk Committee of Keystart  Loans Ltd and a non-executive chairman of Source Certain International  Limited which provides scientific analysis of materials provenance. I was a  director of the West Coast Eagles, Black Swan State Theatre Company and a commissioner  and chair of the risk committee of the WA Football Commission.

Personal Comment

My legal practice has been as a corporate  trouble-shooter finding solutions to complex problems  and mediation has formed an important part  of that.

Immediation Area(s) of Expertise

Corporate  and commercial (Agribusiness, ASIC, Contracts, Corporations, Directors’  duties, Franchising, Joint Ventures, Listing rules, Mergers and acquisitions,  Partnership, Shareholder remedies, Sport, Takeovers), Banking and Finance  (Banking, Bankruptcy and insolvency, Mortgages), Property, construction,  environment, oil, gas and mining (Franchising), Wills estates and charities  (Equity, Trusts)