Leading restructuring lawyer Nicholas Dunstone joins Jones Day in Sydney
Nicholas Dunstone, a leading pan-APAC restructuring lawyer, has joined Jones Day as a partner in its Business Restructuring & Reorganization Practice. He is based in the Firm's Sydney Office.
With more than 25 years of experience advising on complex cross-border restructuring and insolvency matters across the Asia-Pacific region and globally, Mr. Dunstone is a seasoned restructuring practitioner whose career spans leading international law firms and a prominent distressed-debt investment fund. His notable recent representations include advising bondholders owed $4.2 billion in one of Europe's largest restructurings totaling $25 billion in debt; representing an Asian based oil and gas engineering company in a multi-jurisdictional restructuring that involved a multi-billion dollar arbitration claim and a complex UK Restructuring Plan; and advising the bondholder steering committee in a successful and highly contested groundbreaking UK restructuring plan paving a way for its sale.
"Nick is an exceptional addition to our Business Restructuring & Reorganization Practice and to Jones Day as a whole," said Heather Lennox, who leads Jones Day's Business Restructuring & Reorganization Practice. "His deep experience representing creditors, distressed investors and debtors across multiple jurisdictions gives him the ability to see restructurings from every angle. Nick's track record of leading complex cross-border matters in Europe, Asia and Australia—combined with his investment-side perspective gained from building ARCM's restructuring platform—makes him uniquely positioned to deliver innovative solutions to our clients on their most challenging matters."
At Jones Day, Mr. Dunstone will join an international team of more than 100 experienced restructuring lawyers in financial centers worldwide who resolve complex restructuring issues and problems in jurisdictions throughout the world. He will work alongside his colleagues to advise debtors, creditors and other parties involved in business restructurings, out-of-court workouts and other transactions with financially distressed entities. Jones Day's Business Restructuring & Reorganization Practice provides clients with a full range of restructuring capabilities, including dedicated distress-related resources from other Firm practices such as litigation, tax, finance, benefits and M&A; extensive experience on all sides of restructuring matters enabling lawyers to see the entire picture and offer valuable perspectives; and global knowledge about restructurings in all major money centers, including Europe, Australia and Asia.
"Nick built one of the leading restructuring practices in Australia early in his career and went on to develop an extensive network across Asia-Pacific and global financial centers, which makes him a tremendous asset to our clients in Australia, Asia and across the globe," said John Cooper, Partner-in-Charge of Jones Day's Sydney Office. "His arrival will strengthen our ability to serve clients on complex cross-border restructuring matters that connect Sydney to Singapore, Hong Kong, London and beyond."
Added Chris Lovrien, Partner-in-Charge of Jones Day's Australia Region, "When we began our strategic growth push in Australia in mid-2024, one of our priorities was to build a world-class practice representing sophisticated financial institutions, investors, and corporates in cross-border finance, private credit, distressed finance and work outs. Nick's experience, accomplishments and reputation will further enhance Jones Day's ability to serve our clients in their most complex restructuring and financial matters. His arrival also underscores the Firm's continued investment in world-class legal talent in the Australian market. He is the fifth lateral partner to join us here since the start of the year, and the 13th to join us since we began our strategic growth plan."
Mr. Dunstone holds Bachelor of Laws (Honours) and Bachelor of Arts (Jurisprudence) degrees from the University of Adelaide and graduate certificates in Applied Finance from FINSIA and Advanced Insolvency from USQ. He is admitted as a Solicitor in England & Wales and as a Barrister & Solicitor of the Supreme Court of South Australia and NSW. Mr. Dunstone is also the Founder and Chair of the ILA and Light Cultural Foundation, which won the 2021 Creative Partnership National Award for Emerging Philanthropists, and has served on the boards of the Pembroke Foundation and TMA Australia (NSW). He has previously held board positions in a range of companies whilst at ARCM including corporate groups running Bulk and Chemical Shipping businesses and a large multinational audio technology company.
"Throughout my career, I have seen that the most complex restructuring matters demand a coordinated, multidisciplinary approach that draws on expertise in litigation, tax, finance, M&A and beyond. Jones Day's one-firm culture and the mutual commitment of its partners to work as a unified team means I can deliver to clients the full resources of a global firm operating on five continents," said Mr. Dunstone. "I look forward to contributing to this collaborative partnership to provide integrated and client-focused solutions."
