John Martin

Partner
Norton Rose Fulbright Australia

Sydney
Australia
T:+61 2 9330 8122
Sydney
Australia
T:+61 2 9330 8122
John Martin

John Martin

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Biography

John Martin is one of Australia's leading insolvency and restructuring law experts based in Sydney, with a particular specialty in cross-border insolvency.

John's cross-border experience has included assisting clients with issues in England, US, Fiji, Bermuda, Cambodia, Cayman Islands, Brunei, Myanmar and Norfolk Island.

In June 2016, John was appointed to the Board of the prestigious International Insolvency Institute, and he currently also serves as President. John's appointment is recognition of his commitment to the Institute and his standing in the profession, both within Australia and overseas.

In July 2017, John presented a paper (jointly authored with Professor Ros Mason) to the United Nations' 50th Anniversary UNCITRAL Congress in Vienna, titled "Conflict and Consistency in Cross-Border Insolvency Judgments".

Together with restructuring partner Scott Atkins, John is drafting new insolvency laws for the Republic of Myanmar, and has twice presented to members of the Parliament's Upper House.

In the field of cross-border insolvency, John has been directly involved in three of the seminal international cases:

  • In 2008, he advised the successful appellants in the House of Lords in Re HIH, in which Lord Hoffmann identified the "golden thread of universalism" as having been the foundation for cross-border insolvency law.
  • In 2012, he advised the successful Australian liquidator of New Cap Re in the Grant proceedings determined jointly with Rubin v Eurofinance, in which a majority of the UK Supreme Court retreated from Lord Hoffmann's embrace of universalism.
  • He was also part of the Australian legal team acting for Perpetual Trustees in the so called "flip clause" litigation in the US and the UK arising out of the Lehman bankruptcy.

John was also technical co-chair of the INSOL Quadrennial Congress, INSOL Sydney 2017, and has chaired two prior INSOL Insurance Conferences. John has presented at numerous conferences domestically as well as internationally in the US, England, Japan, South Africa, Singapore, Canada, New Zealand, Austria and the Netherlands.


Professional experience

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  • High Court of Australia 1987
  • Supreme Court of New South Wales 1985
  • English