Courtney McDonald is a Special Counsel in HWLE’s Litigation and Insolvency and Securities Enforcement group. Based in the firm’s Sydney and Adelaide offices, Courtney has over a decade of experience advising financial institutions, insolvency practitioners, directors, and creditors on complex commercial disputes and insolvency related matters. She is known for her practical, strategic advice and ability to manage high-value disputes involving multiple stakeholders.
Courtney specialises in corporate and personal insolvency, restructuring, commercial litigation, PPSA, and secured enforcement. She has extensive experience acting in matters involving receiverships, liquidations, voluntary administrations, and financial services litigation with a strong track record of success in the Supreme Court and Federal Court of Australia. Her clients include major banks, insolvency practitioners, private lenders, directors, body corporates and shareholders across a range of industries.
Courtney is the current Vice President of the Women’s Insolvency Network Australia (WINA) NSW. Courtney is a Professional Member of the Australian Restructuring Insolvency & Turnaround Association (having completed post-graduate level training in restructuring, insolvency and turnaround) and a member of the Turnaround Management Association.
Courtney holds a Master of Laws from the University of Adelaide and was the most meritorious student in her cohort.
Expertise
Experience
- Voluntary administrators Assisting voluntary administrators of a national labour hire business with over 1,000 staff across Australia and the Asia-Pacific, advising on ongoing trading issues, the implementation of a restructure of the business via a deed of company arrangement and creditors’ trust arrangement which secured jobs, and successfully securing urgent relief to limit the liability of the administrators for payroll continuity and trade-on funding In the matter of PGP Group (Aust) Pty Ltd [2023] FCA 1554.
- A payment services company Advising in relation to the urgent recovery of a mistaken $1 million payment via injunction proceedings, with the full payment recovered via a negotiated settlement and litigation strategy.
- Receivers of a large property developer Advising a developer company in the Toplace group, on all aspects of the receivership including successfully negotiating and completing the sale of the.3ha site at Box Hill (which had approval for a 22,843sqm shopping centre and 660 apartments) and related issues.
- Receivers and non-bank lenders Advising in relation to distressed construction and development finance exposures (valued up to $23 million), advising on funding continuation, enforcement options, and inter-party disputes.
- A large aged care operator Negotiating with a major bank and other financiers to restructure approximately $150 million in secured debt, avoiding formal insolvency of the business.
- Voluntary administrators of a national hostel group in connection with a pooled deed of company arrangement and successful share acquisition transaction exceeding $8 million.
- Major creditor Acting to successfully terminate a deed of company arrangement on the basis it was an abuse of Part 5.3A of the Corporations Act, In the matter of ACN 613 909 596 Pty Ltd [2023] NSWSC 753,
- Large body corporate Acting to recover a $16.5 million deposit paid on an option contract for land via the negotiation of a deed of forbearance which secured the full repayment plus indemnity costs, and avoided the need for formal enforcement action to be taken.
- Deed administrators Advising in multi-company construction group restructures, including challenges by statutory creditors to set aside deed arrangements.
- Administrators of a financial services group Advising on director liability claims exceeding $134 million and issues involving unauthorised debt purchases and lost opportunity costs.
- Trustees in bankruptcy Assisting with complex asset recovery strategies including proceedings involving voidable transfers, tracing claims and judicial advice on income classification.
- Financiers and insolvency practitioners Acting on complex enforcement matters, including cross-collateralised forbearance arrangements, mortgagee sales, and PPSA issues.
- Financiers Advising on the preparation and enforcement of statutory demands against foreign entities, with complex defaults.