Newly appointed Cathro & Partners principal John Laird will lead the division, offering independent advice to government agencies on complex corporate insolvency investigations, enforcement and recovery proceedings.
Mr Laird said his team would be ideally suited to provide advice on regulatory investigations and litigations to agencies such as the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), the Australian Taxation Office, Department of Employment and Workplace Relations and the Australian Financial Security Authority.
“Cathro & Partners has the expertise and resources to be a trusted adviser to government agencies operating in an increasingly complex regulatory and risk management environment,” Mr Laird said.
“History has shown that as money becomes more expensive and funding dries up, there is an increase in insolvencies, fraud and illegal phoenix activity. Our aim is to support government agencies and other private clients in getting to these distressed companies sooner to lessen the impact on Australian employees, creditors and investors caught in the fall-out of a collapse or fraud.”
Mr Laird has worked in corporate insolvency advisory for the past three decades, most recently undertaking independent compliance reviews for individual liquidators and national insolvency firms. During the GFC, he served on the registered liquidators team at ASIC, on various taskforces advising on insolvency and investigating complex corporate collapses.
The launch of the new division follows Cathro & Partners announcing a strategic alliance with international business advisory firm Quantuma in December in response to significant demand for specialist advisory services as challenging and uncertain global economic conditions and financial market turbulence prevails.
