About Stephen
Stephen Lloyd is a partner in the firm’s dispute resolution & litigation practice with a particular focus on insolvency litigation and commercial contractual disputes, as well as regulatory investigations and white collar defence work.
Prior to joining the firm in 2014, Stephen was a litigator at one of Australia’s leading firms before serving as an Associate to Justice Bell in the High Court of Australia. Stephen joined the firm after returning to Australia following a year at Oxford obtaining his master’s degree and was appointed as a partner in July 2019.
Stephen is recognised for his expertise in dispute resolution and restructuring & insolvency by independent legal guides Legal 500 Asia Pacific and Doyle's Guide. He is also a member of the ABL team that won 'Insolvency & Restructuring Deal of the Year' and 'Australian Deal of the Year' for its work on the Arrium administration at the 2018 Australasian Law Awards.
Recognised for Dispute Resolution and Restructuring and Insolvency in Australia
Practice focus
Stephen’s practice focuses on the following areas:
- insolvency and restructuring advice and litigation
- commercial litigation and dispute resolution, and
- regulatory investigations and white collar defence work.
Experience
Stephen has acted on a range of matters, including on behalf of:
Restructuring & insolvency
- in the voluntary administration of Probuild, on behalf of the owner of Probuild’s largest project
- a hedge fund: in relation to the insolvency of Trigon Trading, seeking recovery of more than US$25 million
- the Administrators of Arrium Limited, including:
- in a seminal Personal Property Securities Act case regarding the validity of a creditor’s security interest in a $23 million piece of mining equipment leased to an Arrium company
- in an application seeking orders limiting the Administrators’ personal liability for hundreds of millions of dollars of debts incurred during the Arrium administration, and
- as a general adviser to the Administrators on matters concerning the complex administration, including issues relating to the sale of the Arrium steelmaking and steel distribution business.
- Spicers Limited: in a capital restructuring involving a trust scheme and share issue
- the Commonwealth of Australia seeking to recover amounts from insolvency practitioners under the FEG scheme, and
- financial guarantors: in a refinance and restructuring of Reliance Rail’s debt portfolio.
Dispute resolution & litigation
- an aged care provider in relation to a class action brought by residents and their family members alleging a failure to adequately care for its residents and protect them from COVID-19
- Australian credit card payments technology entrepreneurs: in a claim against a major credit card network operator regarding anti-competitive conduct
- a major international bank: in relation to defending a claim by senior executives for severance pay and bonuses
- a leading coal producer: in various disputes involving complex logistics and supply agreements
- an investment fund: in disputes regarding the control of its Australian assets
- the former directors of Babcock & Brown companies: in litigation relating to complex financial transactions
- an advisor to the former MFS Group: in litigation brought by the MFS liquidator, and
- a leading coal producer: in disputes relating to access pricing.
Regulatory investigations & white collar defence
- Non-exec directors of The Star Entertainment Group: in relation to civil penalty proceedings commenced by ASIC alleging contraventions of statutory duties and care and diligence by members of the board
- an aged care provider: in relation to criminal proceedings brought by WorkSafe in relation to alleged training failures in relation to the use of personal protective equipment in a COVID-19 outbreak
- the board of Star Entertainment Group Limited: in connection with the inquiry into The Star’s suitability to hold a NSW casino licence
- executives: in regulatory and criminal investigations, including foreign bribery investigations
- a company investigating and freezing the assets of a fraudulent employee
- a company unwinding a massive international fraud, and
- various companies in relation to ASIC compulsory document production and examination notices.
Awards & recognition
Stephen is recognised as a leading lawyer by an international guide to lawyers and law firms:
- Best Lawyers® International: litigation
- Doyle's Guide: litigation, dispute resolution & insolvency
- Legal 500 Asia Pacific: dispute resolution and restructuring & insolvency.
