Insolvency Litigation

Signature Litigation’s insolvency litigation practice is based on the team’s extensive experience representing a broad spectrum of clients including creditors, investors, debtors and officeholders across a wide range of complex insolvency disputes.

We regularly act for officeholders – typically administrators, liquidators, court appointed receivers, and trustees in bankruptcy, and other stakeholders, such as directors and shareholders of distressed or insolvent companies, lenders, and investors.

We have a strong track record of working with the business recovery teams at major accounting practices, including commencing insolvency proceedings, advising on the appointment of liquidators, receivers, and other officeholders, and acting in both the investigative phase and in litigation proceedings to recover assets and enforce judgments.

We also have significant experience in relation to restructurings and corporate re-organisations in a distressed context, as well as formal winding-up and insolvency proceedings.

Our insolvency work often forms part of a wider cross-border commercial disputes, particularly joint venture and financial services disputes. A large proportion of insolvency cases we handle involve a fraud element and require asset tracing & recovery work. We also regularly consider whether there have been breaches of statutory or fiduciary duties or regulatory breaches by third parties, which can form the basis of damages claims by officeholders to maximise recovery for creditors.

Given our significant experience in commercial litigation and financial services disputes, as well as in civil fraud, asset tracing & recovery, regulatory investigations and white collar crime, we are able to provide a comprehensive service to our clients competently dealing with every aspect of the case. Specifically, we have substantial experience in Quincecare duty claims against banks in an insolvency context.

We are particularly well placed to advise on the exercise of statutory powers by liquidators to obtain evidence from or bring claims against third parties such as banks, financial institutions, and former professional advisors. Our senior practitioners have significant experience in these matters developed from their time at international law firms acting for such institutions and are familiar with the strategic and tactical initiatives typically deployed by them in defending claims of this nature.

As a conflict-free litigation practice, we are uniquely positioned to work with officeholders on discrete disputes where the incumbent law firm is conflicted, as is often the case in claims against third parties such as banks or professional advisors and in the financial services sector.