The In-House Lawyer

The ‘failing firm’ defence in difficult times Given the current economic climate, competition authorities are expecting a possible increase in the use of the ‘failing firm’ defence. The doctrine provides potential opportunities for businesses to acquire competitors, which in normal circumstances would ... Read more	Administrators, landlords and tenants: three key cases Since the introduction of the Insolvency Act 1986 (the 1986 Act), there has been a standard way of dealing with the leasehold premises of a company in administration as part of the sale of the ... Read more
European cross-border insolvency: an overview and update The EC Regulation on Insolvency proceedings does not make particularly easy reading.1 It is a Brussels-made law in the form of a Directive, which took effect in all EU member states (except Denmark, which opted ... Read more	Will company voluntary arrangements become the UK’s most popular rescue procedure? A Financial Times journalist reporting on the successful approval of a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) by the creditors of JJB Sports plc (JJB) in May 2009 referred to CVAs as:‘The previously obscure legal process… tipped ... Read more
The effective use of liens to protect against the collapse of corporate customers Logistics service providers need to have an effective contingency plan to deal with the prospect of their retailer customers experiencing severe financial distress, defaulting on payments, or going into administration or liquidation. Although good credit ... Read more	The twilight zone: legal issues for directors there is no legal definition of the term ‘twilight zone’ (perhaps derived from the cult TV series, the writer would like to think), which is now widely used to describe a period of trading when ... Read more
Samsun Logix and developing cross-border insolvency issues With the ever-increasing trend towards globalisation, it is often observed that there are few businesses of reasonable size that do not trade across borders. At this difficult economic time, many are likely to have overseas ... Read more	Pre-packs:a coming of age? The pre-pack administration, after some difficult formative years, appears to have emerged as a legitimate restructuring tool. Criticisms levelled by creditors, certain that they are getting a bad deal, have been numerous and, as a ... Read more
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