Insolvency and Corporate Disputes

When your company is in financial distress or involved in a legal dispute, it's crucial to work with lawyers who are hands-on, cost-effective and flexible enough to respond quickly and intuitively to your unique situation.

Collas Crill’s global Insolvency and Corporate Disputes team works to achieve the most beneficial outcome for businesses in challenging circumstances.

Led by Stephen Leontsinis, the multi-jurisdictional team brings a wealth of experience from a range of diverse backgrounds to give quick, accurate, commercial advice. Comprising eight partners and 25 lawyers, the team works across dispute resolution, restructuring, recovery and insolvency matters to ensure that clients get the full benefit of our know-how and experience across the world.

Our expertise and reputation makes us first choice for a range of clients, including banks and financial services institutions, international businesses and onshore law firms. We frequently advise top law firms from the UK, the US, China and other jurisdictions, and are working on some of the largest and most complex cross-border insolvencies in progress today. We are regularly briefed by Sovereign Wealth Funds and Fortune 500 Companies to advise on particular restructurings, as well as investment managers from Europe and the US.

We know that there are many ways in which a dispute can be resolved. We work closely with our clients to understand every aspect of their business, priorities and goals. This allows us to find the best way forward for our clients and to advise on the commercial implications of a dispute, ensuring the process remains as stress-free as possible. Our approach is practical, responsive and tailored to the client's interests. 

At whatever stage we are engaged, our involvement will assist in identifying the ongoing risks facing a client and to enable that client to continue to identify and effectively manage deteriorating relationships with creditors, financiers, investors and other interested parties.

 

Services
Corporate disputes
+
-

Our dispute resolution specialists collaborate seamlessly with our corporate advisory and banking teams across jurisdictions to advise multinational corporations, trust companies, banks, funds, insurers, governments and directors. We provide a global perspective, working closely with our clients to ensure that they are best placed to respond to customer issues, fraud risks, rapidly changing market conditions and regulatory demands.

Corporate restorations
+
-

We can assess the viability of administrative or company restoration based on the specific circumstances and offer insights into other potential courses of action, including the possibility of initiating a new company.

Corporate governance and shareholder relations
+
-

Good corporate governance and a sound understanding of directors duties is critical. Regardless of size, establishing a best practice approach should be fundamental to all boards. The board of directors are responsible for ensuring the company achieves its objectives and the corporate governance framework they adhere to should underpin their accountability to the company and its members.

We advise company boards in relation to both the non-contentious and contentious aspects of shareholder relations with a focus on corporate governance to prevent contentious issues arising. We have also advised both boards and activist shareholders in relation to highly contentious general meetings and associated issues arising out of investor actions.

Thanks to the depth of our experience and the resources of our team, we've acted on some of the largest pieces of litigation brought against directors offshore. We are well placed to deal with the 'bet the farm' proceedings that can occur in these type of disputes and have represented parties involved in intra-company disputes, including executive, non-executive and independent directors, majority and minority shareholders, companies and liquidators. We understand that shareholder disputes are often not black and white and our team finds innovative and commercial alternatives to those which the Court may offer – taking a collaborative approach with our clients to ensure that the right result is achieved.

Debt collection
+
-

Knowing what to do and when to act when things go wrong is a key part of our service to our clients on both lender and borrower side. Our clients include banks, funds, directors, shareholders and insolvency practitioners. We undertake security reviews and advise on pre-emptive measures. We appreciate the need to act promptly and decisively, and at the same time are sensitive to potential negative publicity for our clients.

Distressed investment vehicles
+
-

Our investment funds practice is enhanced by our litigation and restructuring team that has played a pivotal role in numerous prominent fund-related cases. The team has demonstrated expertise in handling issues stemming from fund restructuring, as well as contentious processes associated with winding down and winding up funds.

Fraud, asset tracing, freezing, recovery and enforcement
+
-

We're used to working as part of a multi-jurisdictional team, capable of reacting and responding quickly to urgent requests for assistance with locating and freezing assets. As sophisticated defendants become more adept at dissipating assets, we've been involved in cases that created new law in relation to a party's ability to trace assets and recover their losses. With their ability to deal with complex issues the team deliver clear, commercial advice on the availability and likely success of recovery methods.

Insolvency
+
-

For financially distressed companies in need of restructuring and reorganisation, or for those where the opportunity to do so has passed or failed, we work to achieve the most beneficial outcome in these difficult situations. 

Currently working on some of the largest and most complex cross-border insolvencies in the jurisdiction, we frequently advise top law firms from the People’s Republic of China, the US, the UK and other jurisdictions. We are regularly briefed by Sovereign Wealth Funds and Fortune 500 Companies to advise on particular restructurings, as well as investment managers from Europe and the US.

At whatever stage we are engaged, our involvement will assist in identifying the ongoing risks facing a client and to enable that client to continue to identify and effectively manage deteriorating relationships with creditors, financiers, investors or other interested parties.

International arbitration and mediation
+
-

With offices in the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Guernsey, Jersey and London, we can advise you on every aspect of international arbitration. Our dedicated arbitration specialists will work alongside you to quickly determine the best approach for a successful conclusion.

Read more
Merger appraisal disputes
+
-

Collas Crill’s Cayman Islands appraisal practice is headed by Partner Rocco Cecere, who is recognised as a leading practitioner in the field. Rocco’s team has significant experience in appraisal litigation.

Rocco is a member of the Grand Court’s users committee which drafted the procedural rules governing appraisals matters. The Cayman Islands merger regime is a relatively new and evolving law. Our cross-border team acts on dissenter and company side, from pre-merger stage all the way through to trial and any appeals.

Restructuring
+
-

Restructuring takes many forms, and we have broad experience in reshaping businesses to the changing needs and demands of the market. The team possesses a hands-on and comprehensive grasp of the intricate challenges that may emerge in restructuring scenarios, whether involving mergers, acquisitions, reorganisations or recapitalisation activities.

9 Dec 2024

A Guernsey landlord’s guide: What happens when a tenant of commercial premises becomes insolvent?

Here we explore the insolvency processes in Guernsey from a landlord’s perspective, highlighting how landlords can protect themselves in challenging situations. Preparation is key The best way to protect yourself as a landlord is to prepare at the negoti...

6 Dec 2024

Channel Islands contract law

Welcome to Collas Crill's first Channel Islands contract law update. Why do we need a Channel Islands specific contract law update? Well, let's start with a history lesson. Both Guernsey and Jersey have historically sent aspiring lawyers to the universit...

19 Nov 2024

Ritchie, Lancelot and the limitation game

The moratorium on legal proceedings, commenced or continued, against a company in liquidation, is a tenet of an equitable and orderly winding up process, intended to distribute a company's assets equally and rateably between its stakeholders. The morator...

15 Nov 2024

Legal 500 Caribbean 2025

Collas Crill's teams in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) and Cayman Islands have received another strong set of rankings in this year's Legal 500 Caribbean directory. The firm is consistently ranked across all of its key practice areas, having moved from...

18 Oct 2024

Collas Crill builds on strong rankings in 2025 Chambers UK Guide

Collas Crill's Guernsey and Jersey teams have upheld the firm's rankings across all practice areas in the 2025 Chambers UK Guide, with a notable promotion to Band 3 for Jersey's corporate and finance team. There were some firsts for individuals with Davi...

14 Oct 2024

Welcome to Jonathan Barham

Jonathan Barham has joined Collas Crill as a Partner in the Global Insolvency and Corporate Disputes team. With more than 20 years’ experience of dealing with all aspects of commercial litigation, encompassing a broad range of business, corporate, insolv...

Showing 6 of 192 Results

Load more