Jamie Thomas is an English-qualified partner in the Singapore office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP and Co-Chair of the firm’s Global Finance Practice Group.  He is also a member of the firm’s Business Restructuring and Reorganization, Capital Markets, Private Equity, Energy, and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Practice Groups.  He is head of finance and restructuring in the Singapore office.

Mr. Thomas’ experience spans a range of markets including South and Southeast Asia.  In his practice, he regularly represents sponsors, borrowers and lenders on complex cross-border leveraged and acquisition finance transactions as well as project finance, sustainable finance, debt buy-backs, asset-backed lending, receivables financing, and pre-IPO financings.

Recently, Mr. Thomas has been assisting a number of corporates, private equity funds and other alternative capital providers with alternative capital solutions such as Term Loan B, Unitranche and subscription line financings.

In addition, he has extensive expertise in reserves-based and other types of financing for the energy and commodity sectors and the telecoms industry in Asia.

Mr. Thomas also specializes in restructurings, reorganizations and insolvencies.  He co-led the team which won “Finance Deal of the Year: Insolvency and Restructuring” for one of its deals at The Asian Lawyer’s Asia Legal Awards and was a finalist for “Restructuring Team of the Year” at the IFLR Asia-Pacific Awards in 2021.  Gibson Dunn’s Singapore restructuring and insolvency team is ranked Band 1 and Tier 1 respectively in Chambers Asia-Pacific 2022 and The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2022.

Mr. Thomas sits on various finance and restructuring committees in Asia.  He is Chair of the Indonesian Steering Committee of the Asia Pacific Loan Market Association (APLMA) and sits on the Singapore Documentation Committee and India Committee of the APLMA.  Mr. Thomas is a member of the Turnaround Management Association (TMA) and the Law Society of England and Wales.

Recent Recognition

Mr. Thomas is consistently recognized by leading independent legal directories:

• Ranked by Chambers Asia-Pacific and Chambers Global as a leading lawyer in Banking and Finance for Singapore and Indonesia.  He is praised for being “able to find a win-win solution on complex deals and is available 24/7”, a “strategic, commercial thinker” and “an excellent lawyer who can bridge every gap and find solutions”, as well as having “a better understanding of local and regional banking regulatory issues than the vast majority of finance lawyers in South-East Asia” by Chambers Asia-Pacific based on client feedback and peer review.
• Recognized by The Legal 500 Asia Pacific as a Leading Individual in Banking and Finance and Restructuring & Insolvency for Singapore.  Mr. Thomas is also recommended for his work in Indonesia and in Energy for Singapore.  He is praised for his “excellent tactical mind, high level of client commitment and an impressive ability to grasp complicated, nuanced matters very quickly” and is considered “a veteran with vast knowledge, experience, and a passion for finance, restructuring, and energy-related matters that really is second to none. He is one of the few veterans left in the market in this region who can come up with extremely unique and complex structures and is a master at catering the law to the client’s needs” by The Legal 500 Asia Pacific based on client feedback and peer review.
• Recognized by IFLR1000 as a highly regarded individual in Banking and Capital Markets (Debt) for Singapore.
• Recognized by Best Lawyers for his expertise in Banking and Finance and Insolvency and Reorganization Law for Singapore.
• Recognized as a leading lawyer in Expert Guides’ Banking, Finance and Transactional guide.
• Named in the list of Singapore Names to Know by Global Restructuring Review.

Recent Awards

• 2022: “Indonesian Transition Energy Deal of the Year” by The Asset at its Triple A Sustainable Infrastructure Awards.
• 2022: “APAC Deal of the Year” by the Energy Council at its Asia Pacific Awards.
• 2021: “Debt Market Deal of the Year (Premium)” by Asian Legal Business at its Indonesia Law Awards.
• 2021: “Finance Deal of the Year: Insolvency and Restructuring”  by The Asian Lawyer at its Asia Legal Awards.
• 2021: Finalist for “Restructuring Team of the Year” and “Restructuring Deal of the Year” by IFLR at its Asia-Pacific Awards.
• 2021: Finalist for “Debt Market Deal of the Year (Premium)” by Asian Legal Business at its SE Asia Law Awards.
• 2020: “Restructuring Deal of the Year” by IFLR at its Asia-Pacific Awards.
• 2020: Finalist for “Restructuring Team of the Year” by IFLR at its Asia-Pacific Awards.
• 2019: “Debt Market Deal of the Year” by Asian Legal Business at its SE Asia Law Awards; “Asia Pacific Upstream Oil & Gas Deal of the Year” by IJGlobal at its Asia Pacific Awards; “Indonesian Oil and Gas Deal of the Year” by The Asset at its Triple A Asia Infrastructure Awards.
• 2018: “Asia Pacific Oil & Gas Deal of the Year” by IJGlobal at its Asia Pacific Awards.
• 2017: “APAC Deal of the Year” by the Oil & Gas Council at its Asia Pacific Oil & Gas Awards.
• 2016: “Indonesian Project Finance Deal of the Year” by The Asset at its Asia Infrastructure Awards.

Recent Speaking Engagements and Publications

• Co-author, “The End is Near: LIBOR Cessation Dates Formally Announced,” March 2021.
• Co-author, “Practical Advice for Company Directors facing a Liquidity Crunch,” International Financial Law Review, June 2020.
• Co-author, “Debt Buybacks: Opportunities and Considerations for Private Equity Investors in Asia Pacific,” May 2020.
• Co-author, “COVID-19: Key Issues for Private Credit and Special Situation Investors in Asia-Pacific,” April 2020.
• Co-author, “Coronavirus: Time for Companies to have a Financing Check-up whilst the Black Swan is Circling,” Asian Legal Business, March 2020.
• Co-author, “Coronavirus: Time for Private Equity to have a Financing Check-up,” March 2020.
• Co-presenter, “Alternative capital, Term Loan B and Unitranche financings,” client seminars 2017 and 2018.
• Co-presenting to over 50 companies, financial institutions and alternative capital providers in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Indonesia and Singapore on alternative capital and debt reprofiling, 2016 – 2017.
• Co-presenting on Iran Sanctions to various financial institutions and oil and gas companies in Indonesia and Singapore, November 2015 and September 2016.

Prior to him and his team joining Gibson Dunn in January 2015, Mr. Thomas was a partner at White & Case, and before that, he spent seven years at Clifford Chance.

Mr. Thomas gained his degree specializing in oil and petrochemical science at Manchester University in 1994 and he gained his law qualifications (CPE in 1995 and LPC in 1996) from the College of Law with commendation.