Insolvency

Maitland's expertise is in all aspects of corporate and personal insolvency, including liquidations, bankruptcies, directors’ disqualifications, administrations, administrative and other receiverships, individual and company voluntary arrangements, partnership insolvencies, international and cross-border insolvency, insolvency issues concerning pension schemes, transactions at an undervalue and actions for relief from frauds on creditors and corporate reconstructions.

We act for creditors, secured and unsecured, insolvency practitioners, and the insolvent company or individual. Several barristers are on the Attorney General’s panels and act in many high profile insolvency related cases in that capacity.

Many of the most prominent cases arising out of corporate collapses in the last two decades have involved barristers at Maitland, including BCCI, Maxwell, Polly Peck, Barlow Clowes, Blackspur Group and Enron. Our recent experience includes litigation arising out of the failures of Lehman Brothers, Northern Rock, the Icelandic banking collapse, Farepack, the MG Rover inquiry and the leading House of Lords decision in Natwest v Spectrum Plus.

Maitland Chambers won the 'Insolvency Set of the Year' award at Credit Today's inaugural Insolvency and Rescue Awards 2008.

Recent experience:

Re Lehman Brothers International Europe - several multi-jurisdictional cases resulting from the collapse of the US investment bank
Ebbvale Ltd v Hosking - a Privy Council case on the question of whether a winding up petition constituted an abuse of process
In the matter of Virtualpurple Professional Services – directors did not have to give the company notice of intention to appoint an administrator when the appointment would have immediate effect
Westwood Shipping Lines v Universal - enforcement applications in relation to an arbitration award worth over US$11 million were subject to the direct effect of preliminary insolvency proceedings opened by the German Court under the EC Regulation on Insolvency Proceedings
BCCI - represented the Luxembourg Liquidators and the English Creditors' Committee in the BCCI liquidation (including before the Luxembourg Supervising Judge in the Tribunal de Commerce in Luxembourg)
Re Nadir: instructed by Mr Nadir on the application before the Chief Registrar to secure his discharge from bankruptcy after 17 years
Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe v Frohlich – case concerning the formal requirements for a statutory demand, including questions of its validity if served at a time when no liquidated debt was payable by the debtor
Re: Samsun Logix Corporation - worldwide application of UNCITRAL cross-border insolvency regulations in relation to the South Korean shipping company
Kong Wah Holdings Ltd v HSBC - advised and appeared in Hong Kong for HSBC in the Akai insolvency
Kaupthing Singer and Friedlander - advised and represented depositor clients of the failed Icelandic bank in Court in the Isle of Man
Zenga Holdings - cross border insolvency of a BVI company with issues of "COMI" (centre of main interest)
Icesave - advising the Icelandic Government and parliament in connection with claims by international investors of "Icesave" following the collapse of the local banking system

Maitland is ranked in Insolvency in Chambers UK, Chambers Global and the Legal 500.