Matt Lee
Matt helps clients successfully resolve their most complex and important cross-border business and investment disputes. Prior to joining Lindsay Francis & Mangan, Matt ran the Australian operations and investments for the world’s largest legal finance company, Burford Capital, which involved working with top in-house counsel, law firms, and barristers, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region, on litigation, commercial arbitration, investor-state arbitration, and award/judgment enforcement campaigns. That experience sharpened Matt’s abilities to efficiently manage legal teams on large cases, identify and price legal risks and claims for clients, assess potential damages in commercial cases, and represent clients in a tenacious, commercial and results-focused manner. In addition to advising clients on legal disputes, Matt brings his clients deep strategic expertise in the financing, purchase and assignment of legal claims, awards/judgments, and security interests and the impacts those factors can have on resolving disputes.
Matt’s experience also includes having worked in the New York office of Quinn Emanuel for over eight years where he advised clients, managed large teams of attorneys, provided first chair advocacy, took and defended depositions, worked on complex damages and statistical sampling analyses, helped build a leading international arbitration practice, assisted clients in mediations, and successfully recovered over US 1.5 billion for clients through litigation, commercial arbitration, and investor-state arbitration. Matt has worked with businesses and individuals from across the globe (particularly the Asia-Pacific, US, UK and EMEA) on “bet-the-company” arbitrations and jury trials, involving complex financial products; mergers and acquisition-related disputes; structured finance litigation; creditor, loan and financing-related disputes; foreign investment disputes; legal disputes concerning mining, resources, energy, commodities, renewables, infrastructure and construction projects; shareholder disputes; insurance; data privacy; real estate; technology and intellectual property; business torts and directors’ duties; and insolvency-related disputes. Matt also has experience advising government clients on regulatory matters, major litigation, and appellate work, including before the High Court of Australia.
Matt is recognized and ranked for his expertise in legal finance, transnational dispute resolution, and constitutional law and his clients have noted in Chambers and Partners: “Matt is extremely responsive, has excellent commercial awareness and is technically astute” and “Matt is a sophisticated operator who has the experience and insight required by clients to navigate complex litigation to reduce their risk and maximize upside.” In addition to being a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, a Fulbright W.G. Walker Scholar at Harvard Law School, a Fellow at the Law Foundation of South Australia, and teaching courses at New York University and Adelaide Law School, Matt’s thought leadership has been published in many books, articles, and speaking engagements.
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Matt has been recognised for the past four years as a top-ranked individual in Australia for his expertise in litigation funding by Chambers & Partners as well as one of the top 100 global leaders in litigation finance by Lawdragon. Prior to his time working in legal finance, Matt was recognised as a Rising Star in New York by Super Lawyers.
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Lindsay Francis & Mangan (Sydney), 2024-date
Burford Capital (Sydney/New York), Principal, 2019-2024
Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan (New York), Counsel, 2011-2019
South Australian Crown Solicitor’s Office, 2007-2010
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US Federal Court (Southern District of New York) (2012)
Supreme Court of New York (2012)
High Court and Federal Court of Australia (2009)
Supreme Court of South Australia (2008)