Jason Opperman
Jason Opperman is Regional Managing Partner, Australia for K&L Gates and serves as a member of the firm's global management committee. He is responsible for the strategic leadership and management of the firm's offices and operations in Australia and is dedicated to delivering exceptional client service across the K&L Gates global platform as the firm continues its growth trajectory in the Australian market and enhances its global connectivity.
Jason is a market-leading, internationally recognised restructuring and insolvency lawyer. He has more than 25 years of experience acting for and advising Australia's largest banks and financial institutions on a range of insolvency, turnaround, special situations and securities enforcement matters. Jason also acts for insolvency practitioners in relation to complex formal appointments, investigations, asset tracing and recovery, contentious litigation and informal workouts.
Jason is highly experienced in cross-border insolvency matters, including the recognition of foreign insolvency proceedings and the coordination of parallel court proceedings and the distribution of assets in multiple jurisdictions involving complex corporate group structures. Jason has been at the leading edge of proceedings involving cross-border judicial cooperation and communication protocols, including in the precedent-setting joint sittings of Australian and New Zealand courts in the Halifax Investment Services liquidation. This work is now shaping the development of cross-border insolvency reform and practice regionally and globally.
Jason is also an experienced litigator and has been involved in a variety of corporate and commercial disputes and fraud-related matters, including urgent court applications to secure and recover assets on behalf of banking and corporate clients. He has successfully resolved many sensitive banker and customer disputes and other contentious cases through alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, including formal mediation and non-binding evaluative determination.
Prior to his appointment as Regional Managing Partner, Australia on 1 July 2023, Jason served as Co-Practice Area Leader of the firm's global Finance practice and actively guided the Restructuring and Insolvency practice group. He has also served as a member of the firm's Advisory Council since 2015.
Jason was the practice leader of the banking, restructuring and insolvency practice and a board member at an Australian commercial law firm and also previously worked in-house at a major Australian bank.
- Fellow of INSOL International (2022 with honors)
- Listed in the Best Lawyers in Australia™ for Insolvency and Reorganization Law (2021-present)
- Listed in the Best Lawyers in Australia™ for Litigation (2021-present)
- Listed in the Best Lawyers in Australia™ for Alternative Dispute Resolution (2020-present)
- Chambers Asia-Pacific, ranked individual in Restructuring/Insolvency - Australia (2017-present): Clients find: "He is an extremely measured and sophisticated operator. He's a calming influence, with a very clear and well-reasoned approach to complex or volatile situations."
- Legal 500 Asia Pacific, recognised for Restructuring and Insolvency (2017, 2018 and 2019)
- Doyle's Guide, recommended as a Leading Insolvency and Restructuring Lawyer in New South Wales (2016-2019)
- Australasian Lawyer's, recognised in the Hot List (2016)
- Australasian Lawyer, recognised for his work on the Atlas Iron Restructure, awarded "Restructuring and Insolvency Deal of the Year" in (2016)
- Australian Restructuring Insolvency and Turnaround Association (ARITA) member
- International Association of Restructuring, Insolvency & Bankruptcy Professionals (INSOL) member
- Banking and Financial Services Law Association (BFSLA) member
- Law Society of New South Wales member
- Turnaround Management Association (TMA) member
Jason routinely publishes and speaks on significant insolvency and restructuring topics and is a Fellow of INSOL International.
- Quoted, "Decibels and drinking: why this global law firm loves Aussies", Australian Financial Review, July 2023
- Quoted, "What now for the collapsed SVB? The future for Silicon Valley Bank could one of two scenarios: a merger and recapitalisation or the start of a series of bank runs.", Australian Financial Review, March 2023
- Quoted, “Trans-Tasman courts deliver judgement in first-ever joint sitting”, LawyersWeekly.com.au, May 2021
