ARITA welcomes new Legal Director and lead for ARITA’s Advanced Certification
17/01/2023
The Australian Restructuring, Insolvency and Turnaround Association has welcomed the arrival of Dr Lézelle Jacobs to the joint roles of ARITA Legal Director and Associate Professor of Corporate and Insolvency Law at the University of Technology, Sydney.
In her role at UTS, Dr Jacobs will take the leadership of ARITA’s Advanced Certification course – the only course enabling participants to become a registered liquidator or trustee, and to become an ARITA Professional Member.
Dr Jacobs was most recently Senior Lecturer and Co-head of the Law Research Centre at the University of Wolverhampton in the UK, and Editor in Chief of the Wolverhampton Law Journal.
She is an academic member of INSOL International, a member of the Law Society of South Africa and a senior fellow of the Higher Education Academy (UK).
ARITA CEO John Winter said he was pleased to welcome someone of such high international standing to this vital role.
“We’ve worked extensively with Lézelle in the past and knew her to be an exceptional choice for this role, so we are delighted that she was prepared to relocate to Australia.
“Lézelle brings a wealth of global knowledge and experience to the position. She will be a real asset to ARITA members and UTS and we look forward to her work making a significant contribution to the insolvency profession,” Winter said.
Dr Jacobs said taking up the roles at ARITA and UTS was a “unique opportunity” that enabled her to maintain and develop her academic and research goals “while having the chance to work with a world-leading insolvency professional body and members of the profession in a practical and meaningful way”.
“I believe that a good insolvency regime hinges on the work of ethical and competent Insolvency Practitioners,” Dr Jacobs said. “Being able to contribute in part to their development and education is a real honour!
“IPs have long been the subject of my research as an academic and I am looking forward to having insightful and engaging interactions with these key professionals about their practical experiences,” she added.
Dr Jacobs’ research focus has been geared towards Insolvency Practitioners, specifically their fiduciary and ethical obligations.
Her research has contributed to the ethical codes and principles of professional bodies like INSOL International and TMA South Africa.
ARITA also acknowledges the significant contribution of Mark Wellard as the former lead of ARITA’s course at UTS and a former ARITA Legal Director as well. Mark has relocated interstate and will soon take a up a new academic role.
“Mark has made an invaluable contribution to ARITA and the insolvency profession. The Advanced Certificate course is in impeccable shape due to Mark’s extraordinary diligence and insolvency law expertise. He will remain a close friend of ARITA’s and we look forward to continuing to work with him in his next role,” said Winter.