Roger Dobson offers clients his extensive experience working on large, complex restructuring and insolvency matters in Australia and has been involved in most of the major restructuring and insolvency matters in Australia over the last 20 years. He represents main creditor groups, offshore funds holding a substantial debt position, companies experiencing financial distress, liquidators, administrators, and receivers. His experience covers 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.
Recent matters include advising the largest creditor in Virgin Australia Airlines restructure; acting for a global bank in the Forum Group liquidation, Australia's largest fraud; representing a consortium that provided a recapitalization proposal for Arrium Limited; acting for the administrators of TopShop; acting for the administrators of the Payless Group; advising the major creditor of Paladin Energy Limited; and acting for the European and U.S. lenders and the receivers to the failed Australian satellite company, NewSat Limited.
Prior to joining Jones Day in 2016, Roger advised a group of mostly U.S. funds as creditors in the financial restructuring of the Nine Entertainment Group Limited and advised the senior banking syndicates in the restructure of Babcock & Brown and the collapse of ABC Learning Centres, one of the largest and most high-profile collapses in Australian corporate history. From 2012 to 2014, he acted for the liquidators of Hastie Group, a significant player in the construction industry, and 44 of its subsidiaries.
Experiência
The following represents experience acquired prior to joining Jones Day.
Acted for the syndicate of lenders at the headstock level in the Babcock & Brown group, which involved 400 operating entities across 26 countries, with total group debt of $66 billion.
Acted for two of the largest bank creditors in relation to the $1.2 billion debt restructuring of Allco Finance Group.
"Roger has an absolutely masterful grasp of restructuring and insolvency ... you get the incredibly comforting impression that there is no situation or scenario that he has not seen."Chambers Asia-Pacific
- Columbia University (LL.M. 1987); Adelaide University (LL.B. Hons. 1981)
- Supreme Court of New South Wales and High Court of Australia
Legal 500 Hall of Fame, restructuring and insolvency (2023-2024)
Recognized as a leading lawyer in IFLR, Doyle's Guide, and Chambers Asia-Pacific
Best Lawyers in Australia: recognized in insolvency & restructuring (2012-2025), distressed investing & debt trading (2013-2025), banking & finance (2020-2025), and litigation (2025), including multiple times as "Lawyer of the Year"
- Law Clerk to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of South Australia (1982-1983)