Expertise

Paul is experienced in large scale commercial disputes, with a focus on reconstruction and insolvency, and engineering/ construction disputes.

Before joining Cornwall Stodart in January 2008, for 14 years Paul was the Principal of his own firm in South Africa, where he practised in commercial law. His clients value his depth of expertise in dispute resolution, and his ability to deliver commercial outcomes.

Paul's expertise extends to advising liquidators, administrators, banks and creditors on proof of debt claims, as well as enforcing securities, unfair preferences, receiverships, commercial transactions, deeds of company arrangement and insolvent trading. 

In 2011 Paul became a co-editor of three chapters in the Lexis Nexis Australian Corporation Law - Principles & Practice (External Administration). He edited chapters 5.4 (Winding up by the Court), 5.6 (Winding up Generally) and 5.8 (External Administration Offences) of this loose-leaf volume on a quarterly basis.

Paul has extensive international experience in engineering/ construction and complex technological legal issues. He has successfully led teams in large technical engineering disputes - giving him a unique 'big picture' perspective in dealing with these matters. He is renowned for identifying cost-effective and commercially sound alternatives to litigation.

Experience

Paul's experience includes:

Insolvency and general litigation:

• successfully defending a claim on behalf of 40 investors against the liquidators of the Treecorp Management Investment Scheme, whereby the liquidator claimed that the funds held on behalf of the investors and scheme were the benefit belonging to the responsible entity
• implementing cross border insolvency provisions internationally (including in countries throughout Europe) for the purpose of seizing funds on behalf of liquidators
• managing a large scale litigation in 2001 on behalf of National Potato CoOperative Ltd (NPC) against its former auditors, PricewaterhouseCoopers Inc, and earlier partnerships. IMF (Australia) LTD provided funding to NPC in claiming damages
• acting for the voluntary administrators of a company that is the responsible entity of a property trust engaged in real property investments with a particular focus on the retirement and aged care village industry. In advising our clients on a complex administration of a registered managed investment scheme, we successfully used the legislative framework of Part IV of the Corporations Act in a new and innovative way, in order to validate the appointment of our clients as administrators
• advising on issues relating to the new Personal Property Securities Act 2009 (PPSA)
• advising, litigating and making significant recoveries of unfair preference payments, often for 100 per cent of the claim, interests and costs
• successfully achieving various recoveries of voidable transactions (unfair preferences and uncommercial transactions)
• advising on recent changes to civil dispute resolution legislation
• acting for and advising a range of clients in numerous applications for interlocutory relief, including injunctive relief, and Anton Pillar orders
• acting for and advising various clients in an extensive range of commercial disputes, including those arising from commercial contracts, joint venture agreements and the sale of real property.

Engineering/Construction:

• managing large scale litigation in Australia and New Zealand on behalf of a US-based induction heating and engineering company in commercial construction and engineering disputes regarding repudiation of contracts, termination of contracts and recourse to performance
• advising a mining engineering company on risk avoidance strategies, negotiation and drafting of contracts and ancillary documentation on high value, complex and multi-jurisdictional disputes via litigation and alternative dispute resolution. These disputes concerned EPC contracts, joint venture and alliance agreements, licensing agreements, mining rights and ancillary contracts such as insurance, storage, international payments, carriage and shipment including mining equipment acquisitions and hiring.

Pro bono and Community Work

Paul is a supporter of Life Goes On, an organisation that assists survivors of cancer.

Memberships and Associations

Founding member of the South African Business Network (Victoria)

Law Society of Gauteng

Law Institute of Victoria

Qualifications

B Proc (University of Pretoria, South Africa) (the equivalent of a four-year law degree in Australia)

Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia (under the direction of the Council of Legal Education Australia) - gained recognition of South African law degree in Australia and qualified as an Australian legal practitioner

Jurisdictions Admitted to Practise

Victoria

Federal Court of Australia

High Court of South Africa