Profile
Year of Call:
1990Year of Silk:
2014Overview
Paul practices in the area of commercial litigation, with particular emphasis on banking and finance, competition and consumer law, corporate law, contract law, corporate and personal insolvency, equity, partnerships, property, securities and trusts.
The matters in which Paul is involved are factually and legally complex, and utilise the specialist knowledge that Paul has developed in the areas of corporate and personal insolvency and corporate law, and also the skills and experience he gained as a Chartered Accountant.
Chambers & Partners Asia Pacific 2017-2024 rank Paul in Band 1 for Restructuring & Insolvency. He is also listed as a ‘leading’ Australian KC and a ‘preeminent’ Queensland KC for Insolvency and a ‘recommended’ Queensland KC for Commercial Litigation & Disputes by Doyle’s Guide 2015-2020. Paul is also listed in the Australian Financial Review’s Best Lawyers® 2017-2024 for Insolvency and Reorganisation and 2024 for Alternative Dispute Resolution.
Paul is instructed to act as mediator in matters across a broad range of commercial disputes.
Recommendations
Chambers & Partners Asia Pacific – Ranked in Band 1 for Insolvency & Restructuring (The Bar: Australia)
- 2024 – “Paul McQuade is the pre-eminent insolvency lawyer. His knowledge in insolvency law is outstanding.“
- 2023 – “He’s outstanding, with an encyclopedic knowledge of insolvency. He is a very methodical and detailed barrister“.
- 2022 – “the person who you go to if you need someone to dig into accounting issues“.
- 2021 – “widely considered to be the leading QC in insolvency matters” and “able to deal with liquidators and receivers and give them confidence because he speaks the same language“.
- 2020 – “his technical brilliance is complemented by how easy he is to work with“.
- 2019 – “the leader in Queensland on insolvency matters” and “he has an encyclopaedic knowledge of insolvency law” and “he is not only technically brilliant, he is also easy to work with” – listed as one of only ten Restructuring/Insolvency leading counsel in Australia in 2019.
- 2018 – “reputed for his expertise in insolvency and the Personal Property Securities Act“, “one of the leaders in the insolvency area” and “his knowledge of insolvency is really second to none” – listed as one of only nine Restructuring/Insolvency leading counsel in Australia in 2018.
- 2017 – “admired by sources…a very well respected senior insolvency barrister“- listed as one of only eight Restructuring/Insolvency leading counsel in Australia in 2017.
Chambers & Partners Global – Ranked in Band 1 for Insolvency & Restructuring (The Bar: Australia)
- 2024
- 2022 “probably the leading insolvency expert in the country”.
- 2021 – “the person who you go to if you need someone to dig into accounting issues“.
Australian Financial Review’s Best Lawyers
2025 – Recognised in Alternative Dispute Resolution and Insolvency and Reorganisation
2024 – Recognised in Alternative Dispute Resolution
2022-24 – Recognised in Alternative Dispute Resolution and Insolvency and Reorganisation
2021 – Recognised in Alternative Dispute Resolution
2017-2021 – Recognised in Insolvency and Reorganisation
Doyle’s Guide to the Australian Legal Profession 2016-2024 – ‘Preeminent’ QC for Insolvency (Queensland)
Doyle’s Guide to the Australian Legal Profession 2015-2022 – ‘Recommended’ or ‘Leading’ QC for Insolvency & Reconstruction (Australia)
Doyle’s Guide to the Australian Legal Profession 2019 – ‘Recommended’ for Commercial Litigation & Dispute Resolution (Queensland), ‘Preeminent’ for Insolvency & Restructuring (Queensland), ‘Recommended’ for Insolvency & Restructuring (Australia).
Doyle’s Guide to the Australian Legal Profession 2015 & 2017 – ‘Recommended QC’ for Commercial Litigation & Disputes (Queensland)
Member
Member, Bar Association of Queensland
Member, Business Law Section of Law Council of Australia
Member, Institute of Chartered Accountants (Australia and New Zealand)
2013-2017 - Member, Supreme Court Library Committee
Member, Australian Restructuring Insolvency and Turnaround Association (ARITA)
Career
2014 Queen's Counsel
1990 Barrister at Law, admitted
1988–1990 Morris Fletcher & Cross (now Minter Ellison)
1980–1985 Chartered Accountant
Education
Bachelor of Laws (Hons), University of Queensland
Bachelor of Economics, University of Adelaide
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