![Colin Cameron](https://www.cpaaustralia.com.au/-/jssmedia/project/cpa/intheblack/images/magazine-2017/04-april/feature-colincameron-feature.jpg?mw=384&rev=9a2af35d3831489ca6bb3a4ce6c2797b 384w, https://www.cpaaustralia.com.au/-/jssmedia/project/cpa/intheblack/images/magazine-2017/04-april/feature-colincameron-feature.jpg?mw=640&rev=9a2af35d3831489ca6bb3a4ce6c2797b 640w, https://www.cpaaustralia.com.au/-/jssmedia/project/cpa/intheblack/images/magazine-2017/04-april/feature-colincameron-feature.jpg?mw=768&rev=9a2af35d3831489ca6bb3a4ce6c2797b 768w, https://www.cpaaustralia.com.au/-/jssmedia/project/cpa/intheblack/images/magazine-2017/04-april/feature-colincameron-feature.jpg?mw=1024&rev=9a2af35d3831489ca6bb3a4ce6c2797b 1024w)
3. Taking on Wall Street
It’s not every day someone takes on a Wall Street giant and wins. Colin Cameron FCPA proved it could be done.
Cameron joined City of Swan in Western Australia as head of corporate services in July 2007, at a time when the Perth council was in financial disrepair.
Rummaging through the council’s investment portfolio, Cameron discovered a flip clause in the small print of Lehman Brothers-issued collateralised debt obligations (CDOs). It turned out to be the basis for a long-running class action.
With support from other councils, a legal team and class action funder IMF, Cameron took on Lehman Brothers in New York, London and in Australia.
At the end of a 10-year battle, Lehman Brothers and rating agency Standard & Poor’s paid back A$500 million to 92 investors in the company’s AAA-rated CDOs.