David Baker

Partner

David’s practice focuses on corporations and securities law, bankruptcy and insolvency, with an emphasis on litigation in these areas.  He provides advice to some of Victoria’s leading insolvency practitioners in bankrupt estates and corporate liquidations, as well as to directors and shareholders in disputes within proprietary and public companies. 

He has over 15 years’ experience providing corporate advice and litigation services in a diverse range of industries, and is highly regarded for his ability to provide timely, strategic and commercially-focussed advice.  David has acted for and against insolvency practitioners in numerous Court proceedings involving recovery of unfair preferences under the Corporations Act, voidable transfers of property under the Bankruptcy Act, public examinations of company officers, bankrupts and associates, and in insolvent trading cases.  He is also regularly involved in the financial restructuring of distressed businesses and individuals via Voluntary Administrations and Deeds of Company Arrangement, or via Part X of the Bankruptcy Act.

David has a keen interest in shareholders’ rights and remedies, and has acted in several minority shareholder oppression cases in Court, as well as numerous other shareholder and partnership disputes which were resolved without litigation.  He is also regularly involved in the negotiation and preparation of shareholders’ deeds, business succession and “buy-sell” deeds, partnership agreements and joint venture agreements.

Outside of the law, David is a keen competitive road cyclist and mountain biker and is an active member of Hawthorn Cycling Club.

David holds degrees in Law and Arts from Monash University.

Key areas of practice:

Banking and finance

Bankruptcy and insolvency

Commercial litigation

Commercial law

Contract law

Corporations and securities

Employment Law

Equity and trusts

Property law

Notable previous assignments:

• Acting for several unregistered managed investment schemes involved in litigation concerning residential aged care facilities and a related ASIC investigation in the Federal Court of Australia and the Supreme Court of Victoria

• Acting for the majority shareholders of a large Victorian manufacturing business defending claims brought by an international private equity firm

• Advising in the establishment of the Australian division of a US investment firm

• Conducting (as counsel) wide-ranging public examinations of a bankrupt and his associates under the Bankruptcy Act in the Federal Court.

• Acting for a major concrete manufacturer in a multi-million dollar real property priority dispute with a bank

• Successfully obtaining a freezing order to prevent millions of dollars (representing the proceeds of sale of property which was the subject of a void transaction by a bankrupt) from being dissipated or removed from Australia

• Acting for and against company directors for breaches of common law and statutory director’s duties in various claims in the Supreme Court of Victoria

• Acting against the Commissioner of Taxation in relation to voidable transaction claims

• Acting for Trustees in Bankruptcy in various voidable transaction and property recovery proceedings

• Acting in several breach of contract claims against insurers of income protection insurance policies

• Advising in the merger of a business with a listed Australian health insurer

• Acting in a civil dispute in the Supreme Court of Victoria connected with Australia’s largest single instance of cattle rustling