About Tania Cini
Tania is a leading corporate insolvency and restructuring specialist with over 25 years' experience in the area. She also practices in the area of dispute resolution and regulatory investigations, having represented major clients of the firm in complex and reputationally significant litigation and regulatory matters.
Restructuring and insolvency
Tania has acted for insolvency administrators, local and international financiers, hedge funds, directors and other key clients of the firm in some of Australia's major corporate collapses and restructurings. These assignments have spanned a wide range of industries and settings and have included:
- retail (Venture Stores, McEwens, Sportsgirl, Colorado Group, FitnessFirst);
- transport and government services (National Safety Council, Ansett, National Express Group);
- manufacturing (Linter Textiles, ION Limited Group, CMI Industrial, Autodom Group, Australian auto manufacturing industry wind down);
- mining and resources (Pasminco, Coalpac, Emeco Group); and
- property and managed investment schemes (Centro Property Group, Letten Property Group, Banksia Securities).
Tania has been consistently ranked as a leading practitioner in this area by Chambers Asia-Pacific. Clients are quoted as 'appreciating her years of experience'.
The economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have seen Tania take a leading role advising on a series of highly confidential and complex matters for leading retailers, government departments and banking syndicates.
Disputes and investigations
Tania has represented some of the firm's key clients in major disputes and regulatory investigations involving significant financial sums and operational and regulatory risk. She has extensive experience conducting litigation, formal mediations and negotiated outcomes.
Tania has a broad practice encompassing contractual disputes, financial services litigation, trade practices claims, directors duties, construction and infrastructure disputes, and mass shareholder claims arising from ASX disclosures. Major matters include:
- Acting regularly for a major Australian bank, including most recently in relation to a various ASIC investigations and related actions.
- Since 2016, advising CITIC Limited in relation to a series of ongoing Supreme Court disputes against Mineralogy, a company associated with Clive Palmer, concerning its Sino Iron Magnetite Project in the Pilbara and involving hundreds of millions of dollars and issues threatening the ongoing viability of the Project.
- Advising BHP Billiton in multi-party Supreme Court litigation regarding the design and construction of its Minerva gas plant and pipeline project in Victoria's Otways involving claims in excess of $80 million.
- Acting for McGrathNicol as deed administrators of ION Limited (a listed auto parts manufacturer and energy services business), including in connection with mass shareholder claims totaling more $150 million.
- Acting as a strategic advisor to Ford Motor Company of Australia in connection with the stability of Ford's supplier base and the management of distressed component manufacturers in the lead up to cessation of auto manufacturing in Australia, including Court action, through injunction proceedings, to ensure continuity of supply.
From July 2015 to June 2021 Tania was a member of the Allens board. She also holds memberships with the Turnaround Management Association of Australia, the Australian Restructuring Insolvency & Turnaround Association and the Australian Institute of Company Directors.