Doyen of restructuring Dominic Emmett strikes out on his own

afr.com:

Here’s one that slipped under the radar. Distressed debt guru Dominic Emmett is set to launch his own eponymously named firm.

Dominic Emmett, top corporate restructuring partner and founder of Emmett Law. 

The notoriously low-profile lawyer, considered to be the godfather of complex distressed debt and special situations in Australia, left Gilbert + Tobin in October with his next move unknown.

He specialises in non-contentious restructuring and insolvency work and has led some of Australia’s largest workout situations over a 30-year-plus career, including Allco Finance and Centro Properties.

Emmett is a go-to adviser for powerful US private equity and distressed debt firm firms Centerbridge and Oaktree. He acted for the pair on their recapitalisation and refinancing of troubled clothing retailer Billabong. Emmettt also acted for Oaktree as the secured creditor on fallen investment manager BlueSky.

He’s also been seen on deals surrounding media giants Ten Network and Nine Entertainment, advising the lender on its debt restructure of Wollongong Coal and Jindal Steel & Power, acting as conflict counsel to a syndicate of banks on Babcock & Brown Infrastructure, on Allegro’s off-market takeover of Slater & Gordon and Virgin Australia, acting for an underbidder.

G+T poached Emmett from Corrs Chambers Westgarth in 2012 to join its banking and finance practice group. There, he headed up the firm’s restructuring and insolvency practice. At Emmett Law, he intends to focus on identifying restructuring and opportunities for stressed balance sheets and businesses facing liquidity challenges.