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)