Books and articles
“Bankruptcy on a Budget” – what’s going on in the Netherlands is relevant here
An interesting article on Dutch bankruptcy law by respected insolvency academic Dr Jessie Pool[1] at Leiden University, and what she ...
The history of innovation, excluding the Hills Hoist
I was pleased to have attended the launch of The shortest history of innovation by Dr Andrew Leigh MP at ...
“have a glass of champagne … You’re just the person I’m looking for”: the creation of the Australian Law Reform Commission
Michael Kirby has written about how the Australian Law Reform Commission was established in 1975. “I want to tell you ...
Law, Justice and Other Challenges – Selected Speeches and Papers of Michael Kirby
I was pleased to have attended the launch of a book of the writings of Michael Kirby on 29 January ...
A corporate rescue regime should reflect some alignment with economic efficiency?
In order to stir comments on a forthcoming talk that I was giving on the law and economics of insolvency ...
New criteria for corporate restructuring?
I was pleased to have presented some ideas on ‘filtering mechanisms’ for corporate restructuring at the annual insolvency academics network ...
Corporate Restructuring, by Dr James O’Donovan
I am pleased to have received a copy of Corporate Restructuring, by Dr James O’Donovan, a 2,042 page book on ...
A controversial bankruptcy, from the archives – Alan Bond
The bankruptcy of Alan Bond in the 1990s generated outraged sentiment and language which we may not feel and use ...
New Directions in Bankruptcy 1989-2004 – on AustLII
Those of a certain vintage with an interest in bankruptcy may remember New Directions in Bankruptcy, a publication of the ...
The benefits of behavioural economics in law reform
In his address at the launch of the Canberra Behavioural Lab, on 28 August 2025, Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, ...
Dealing with assetless estates
An interesting article appears in (2025) International Insolvency Review 1 of INSOL International concerning how different jurisdictions deal with assetless ...
Insolvency Law Bulletin – 25 years
Twenty-five years ago, in August 2000,[1] I launched the Insolvency Law Bulletin through Oliver Freeman’s Prospect Media,[2] supported by an ...
The interaction of insolvency law and competition policy
My recent article in the Insolvency Law Bulletin concerns what has been described as the clash between market competition policy ...
Insolvency numbers – a positive slant
The Australian newspaper has again given a useful account of corporate insolvency numbers, although slightly premature given that personal insolvency ...
The worst is still to come! apparently
The Australian newspaper most usefully for some keeps a focus on insolvency numbers, this time in an article [1] that ...
Are pecuniary penalties actually paid?
One enforcement tool of regulators is to obtain a court ordered civil penalty against the respondent company or individual. That ...
Litigation Funding in Insolvency and in Class Actions
This queries corporate insolvency’s requirement for approval of liquidators’ litigation funding in the context of an article comparing litigation funding ...
Insolvency law reform – and income contributions
A 1997 article about the need for data in insolvency law reform, rather than relying on assumptions and anecdotes unsupported ...
Annotated Bankruptcy Act 10th ed, 2024, LexisNexis
Annotated Bankruptcy Act 1966, 10th edition I am pleased to have had published the 10th edition of the Australian Annotated ...