Our contentious insolvency practice integrates the expertise of both our Dispute Resolution and Restructuring and Insolvency practices. This gives us the flexibility to tailor the team to the job, drawing on a group of lawyers who regularly collaborate on high stakes, fast-moving instructions and are leaders in their fields of expertise.
Our Dispute Resolution team has a wealth of broad commercial litigation experience, with particular expertise in contentious banking and insolvency matters. We are one of the few City litigation practices which is able to act both for and against banks, and we have a proven track-record of acting for claimants and defendants in disputes involving banks, brokers, fund managers and other financial services entities. We were named Commercial Litigation Team of the Year at both the Legal Business Awards and the British Legal Awards 2022.
Our Restructuring and Insolvency practice focuses on complex insolvencies and restructurings. We advise parties throughout the capital structure, including corporates and their boards, private equity sponsors and insolvency practitioners. We have advised on the restructurings of a range of well-known retail brands and on a number of Company Voluntary Arrangements (CVAs), Restructuring Plans and administrations.
Together, we offer the complete package of technical, legal and market knowledge combined with significant experience and a considered, strategic approach, allowing us to advise on the full range of contentious insolvency risks and issues, and to deliver the best results for our clients.
The work we do
We advise our creditor clients on:
- debt recovery litigation, including the commencement of appropriate insolvency procedures to recover unpaid debts;
- the enforcement of security and guarantees;
- the submission of claims in insolvency proceedings,
For our clients who are exposed to financial distress we represent investors, corporates and boards of directors in defending claims, including:
- winding-up petitions and administration applications;
- claims brought by insolvency officeholders or insolvent entities, including wrongful trading and breach of duty claims, as well as director disqualification proceedings,
- the defence of claims relating to historic or antecedent transactions, such as preferences or transactions at an undervalue.
We also advise insolvency officeholders in relation to claims against third parties, using specific insolvency powers, and where valuable claims exist within the insolvent estate. With our expertise in high-profile commercial litigation, we can advise on injunctions, asset-tracing and fraud matters, which often have a cross-border element.
Our team has significant experience in representing insolvency officeholders in the context of disputed restructurings, for example challenges to CVAs and restructuring plans.
