Restructuring and Special Situations

Our leading international restructuring, insolvency and special situations practice consists of experienced, specialist lawyers, who are able to provide practical and commercial advice on all issues affecting companies in financial distress.

Our practice comprises an extensive team of lawyers, including 25 partners, based in our offices in Brussels, Dubai, Dublin, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Paris and Singapore.

Our international network provides a strong platform for advice within many jurisdictions, as well as the ability to provide seamless cross-border advice in relation to multi-jurisdictional restructurings & insolvencies.

We advise a broad range of stakeholders on restructuring and special situations transactions including:

• original lenders;
• secondary investors, including distressed debt and turnaround funds;
• boards and shareholders of corporate debtors experiencing financial difficulties;
• insolvency officeholders;
• formal and informal creditors’ committees;
• agents and trustees; and
• financial advisors.

We regularly advise on:

• rescues and reconstructions outside formal insolvency proceedings, including areas such as work-outs, standstill arrangements, debt for equity swaps, schemes of arrangement, company voluntary arrangements and equivalent mechanisms to bind dissenting creditors;
• planning and implementing of ‘loan-to-own’ strategies, including credit and security reviews and due diligence on the underlying debtor and assets;
• the sale and purchase of distressed companies and assets, including ‘pre-pack’ sales following the enforcement of security;
• directors’ duties and liabilities across the full range of distressed and insolvency situations;
• the sale and purchase of debt, equity or insolvency claims against stressed and distressed assets and the sale, purchase and work-out of portfolios of non-performing loans;
• trading and non-trading administrations and receiverships and the rights, duties and obligations of insolvency officeholders;
• insolvent liquidations, including the protection of assets, the validity of creditors’ claims, the avoidance of antecedent transactions, wrongful and fraudulent trading and set off;
• solvent liquidations and schemes of arrangement as a means of efficiently restructuring corporate groups;
• insolvency litigation, including investigations of allegations of wrongdoing, asset recovery, criminal law advice and all forms of insolvency related applications and enforcement procedures; and
• the rights, duties and obligations of facility & security agents and bond trustees in distressed situations.