Carmen Boothman
Carmen specialises in corporate insolvency and restructuring, acting for insolvency practitioners, secured lenders and other stakeholders in relation to all forms of external administration and informal turnaround.
Carmen provides commercial and pragmatic advice on legal issues arising in the context of securities enforcement, trade-ons by external administrators and stakeholder management, having regarding to broader strategic and reputational concerns that arise in the present market.
During her time in a commercial role for a global EPC contractor on the ExxonMobil Longford Gas Conditioning Plant project in regional Victoria, Carmen developed a thorough understanding of construction risk mitigation methodologies, effective stakeholder management and the intersection of operational activities with broader commercial, HSE, QA/QC and client objectives.
She has appeared in all state courts and the Federal Court of Australia on litigious matters, including liquidator actions, banking litigation and general commercial litigation. Carmen was the recipient of the International Women’s Insolvency & Restructuring Confederation WA Chapter (now RINWA) 2018 Rising Star award.
Experience
Carmen’s experience includes advising:
- The liquidator of an ASX listed miner in relation to a $40 million insolvent trading claim;
- ASX and large private boards on safe harbour advice and developing risk mitigation documentation and strategies to minimise potential exposure to personal liabilities;
- Foreign and local secured parties on various successful applications under section 293(1)(a) of the Personal Property Securities Act 2009 (Cth) (PPSA) and section 588FM of the Corporations Act (Cth) for orders extending the time to register security interests (including PMSIs) to ensure the priority of, and to avoid vesting of, the secured party’s interest;
- The voluntary administrators then liquidators of a major mining and civil construction contractor, including advice on complex PPSA issues, construction contract issues including enforceability of step in / take out rights and performance security, employee entitlements and voidable transactions;
- Major banks in relation to complex enforcements and management of distressed assets in various industries including building and construction, property development, pharmaceuticals, SMEs agribusiness and retail and acting for bank appointed receivers and managers; and
- Construction and property developer clients in providing front-end PPSA advice in relation to structuring contractual dealings to mitigate risks associated with counterparty insolvency and distress.