Corporate recovery and insolvency disputes

We advise on all aspects of corporate insolvency, including administrations, liquidations, CVAs, Schemes of Arrangement, Restructuring Plans, the CIGA Moratorium, and LPA and other fixed charge receiverships. We deliver solutions at local, regional and national levels, with many of our cases also involving an international element.

Our depth of practice and expertise, coupled with our competitive pricing structure and alternative funding arrangements, means we can deliver high quality, commercial advice, at cost-effective rates to a breadth of clients.

Russell-Cooke also has a number of specialist departments, such as Corporate & Commercial, Real Estate, and Charities, with whom we often work closely in dealing with corporate restructuring and insolvency. We therefore have a deep understanding of the worlds in which our clients operate, which gives us an advantage as we truly appreciate and anticipate their objectives when seeking advice in an insolvency context.

We act for insolvency office-holders and can advise on all aspects of their appointment, including:

• Pre- and post-appointment formalities, including security reviews
• Investigating and pursuing claims for the benefit of the insolvent estate, from straight forward debt and asset recovery actions, to more complex statutory, common law, and fiduciary claims against directors and third parties
• Extensive experience of dealing with urgent remedies, such as freezing orders, to protect the assets of the insolvency estate
• Defending challenges to office-holder conduct and remuneration
• Conducting formal interviews and examinations of directors and third parties

We act for a wide variety of companies, directors, charities and trustees, both pre- and post-insolvency, including:

• Advising boards and trustees on their fiduciary and statutory duties in the pre-insolvency ‘twilight zone’
• Acting for directors and trustees on the receiving end of office-holder claims
• Advising boards and trustees on transactional risk (even when insolvency is not in prospect)
• Providing advice to directors on disqualification proceedings, as well as the ‘phoenix company’ rules under s.216 Insolvency Act 1986

We advise creditors, including financial institutions, lenders, and landlords when default occurs and enforcement becomes necessary.

We also act for debtors, such as borrowers and tenants, in resisting debt and insolvency proceedings. Our specialist insolvency expertise allows us to:

• Advise on strategies for debt recovery and mitigation of risk
• Providing advice on retention of title claims
• Act for parties involved in the CVA / Scheme of Arrangement/Restructuring Plans process, either for the debtor in seeking to garner creditor approval, or for creditors in challenging the same