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  • Martin James

    Partner
    Sydney
    T: +61 2 9296 2198
    M: +61 428 441 248
 

 Professional Biography

 

  • Martin James is the Practice Team Leader of the firm's global Banking & Finance Group. He practices in our Sydney office where he specialises in project finance in the resources, power, energy and infrastructure sectors, and structured finance and structured derivative transactions.

    Martin also advises on derivatives, commodity financing, financial engineering and risk management products (including the OTC markets for electricity, weather, REC and emissions derivatives in Australia), and in relation to margin lending and securities lending products. Martin prepared the National form of ISDA based electricity and REC derivatives documentation and advises the market in relation to trading and documentation matters. Martin is at the leading edge on derivatives market developments, particularly in energy, emissions and equity based products.

    Martin brings to his practice extensive legal and commercial experience. This includes a senior banking role with BZW Mining Finance in London.

    He counts among his clients some of the world's leading project finance debt arrangers and providers.

    Martin is one of the Australian lawyers ranked in successive Euromoney publications Guide to the World's Leading Project Finance Lawyers and Guide to the World's Leading Energy and Resources Lawyers. Martin has also been ranked by Asia Law Profiles as one of few Australian lawyers recognised as leading practitioners in the project finance area, was highly rated in a number of practice areas in Legal Profiles and has been recommended as a leading lawyer in Chambers Global - The World's Leading Lawyers and in PLC Which Lawyer?
 

 Experience

 
  • 1979: Bachelors of Laws (Hons) and Jurisprudence (Hons), University of Western Australia
  • 1980 - 1984: Solicitor, Freehill, Hollingdale & Page - including secondments to the Business Affairs Division of the Attorney Generals Department and to West Australian Petroleum
  • 1984 - 1990: Partner, Freehill Hollingdale & Page
  • 1990 - 1994: Partner, Mallesons Stephen Jaques, Sydney
  • 1994 - 1995: BZW Mining Finance, London
  • 1995 - present: Partner, Mallesons Stephen Jaques, Sydney.
  • Martin has presented a range of papers on project development, project financing and derivatives topics at industry conferences and seminars.
  • Martin has acted extensively for the Australian Financial Markets Association and market participants in preparing industry wide documentation for the electricity derivatives market including preparing the relevant part of the AFMA Australian Guide to OTC Documents.
 

 Recent Matters

 
  • Acting for the Joint Lead Arrangers on all aspects of the A$1,003 million financing of the Stanwell Magnesium Project being developed by Australian Magnesium Corporation
  • Acting for Barclays Capital in relation to the A$265 million financing of the acquisition by Preston Resources of the Bulong Nickel Project, the subsequent US$185 million Rule 144A issue of project bonds to refinance that debt and the 2002 restructuring of the debt
  • Acting for ABN AMRO and the other senior banks in relation to the financing of the construction and development of the Coppabella Coal Project and Moorvale Coal Project in Queensland, and related hedging arrangements
  • Acting for Rothschild, CBA, SocGen and Vereinsbank on the financing of Sino Mining Alumina Limited
  • Acting for National Australia Bank and SocGen in respect of the Qantas Centre structured finance transaction, and
  • Acting for National Australia Bank on research and development structured finance transactions.
 

 Professional Memberships

 
  • AFMA OTC Electricity/Energy working groups