Corporate Restructuring Lawyers Worldwide.

Corporate Restructuring is a broad strategy to save a struggling company outside of court, usually by renegotiating contracts, cutting costs, or selling assets to improve cash flow. Bankruptcy (or Insolvency) is a formal legal process where a court steps in because the company can no longer pay its debts. Restructuring is the surgery you choose to get healthy; bankruptcy is the emergency room you are rushed to when the surgery fails, often resulting in the loss of control to a court-appointed trustee.

A lawyer acts as a “buffer,” stopping creditors from harassing you while proposing a structured “Standstill Agreement.” This legal contract pauses all debt payments and lawsuits for a short period (e.g., 30–60 days), giving the company breathing room to form a survival plan. Lawyers then draft “haircut” proposals, legally arguing to creditors that accepting 70 cents on the dollar now is better than forcing the company into bankruptcy where they might get zero.

This is a deal where creditors agree to cancel your debt in exchange for receiving shares (ownership) in your company. It is an excellent idea if your business is operationally sound but crushed by loan payments, as it instantly cleans up your balance sheet. However, the downside is massive dilution; the original owners often lose control of the company because the lenders (banks or hedge funds) become the new majority shareholders.

Yes, severe risks. If a company is insolvent (can’t pay bills), the directors’ legal duty shifts from serving the shareholders to protecting the creditors. If you continue to trade and spend money knowing the company has no hope of survival, you can be sued personally for “Wrongful Trading” (UK) or “Deepening Insolvency” (US). A lawyer guides every board decision during this “twilight zone” to ensure you don’t accidentally become personally liable for the company’s new debts.

Yes, this is called a “Carve-Out” or distressed M&A deal. A lawyer structures the sale to transfer the “good” assets (like valuable IP or profitable contracts) to a buyer while leaving the “toxic” liabilities (like bad debts) behind, often using specific insolvency procedures (like a “Pre-Pack Administration” in the UK). This generates immediate cash to save the core business, but it must be done carefully to avoid accusations of “Asset Stripping,” which is illegal.

In a “Pre-Pack,” the sale of the business is negotiated and signed before the company officially enters insolvency. A lawyer is critical here to line up the buyer, draft the sale agreement, and appoint the administrator all in secret. On the day the administrator is appointed, they immediately sell the business to the pre-arranged buyer. This preserves the value of the brand and saves jobs, as the business doesn’t suffer the reputational damage of a long, public bankruptcy process.

Restructuring often triggers strict labor laws like TUPE (in the UK/EU), which legally protects employees when a business is sold. A lawyer ensures that if you sell a division, the new owner automatically inherits the employees on their existing terms; you can’t just fire them to make the company look cheaper. For pensions, lawyers negotiate with regulators (like the Pension Protection Fund) because abandoning a defined-benefit pension scheme is a criminal offense in some jurisdictions without a proper settlement.

A “cramdown” is a powerful legal tool used in court (like US Chapter 11 or UK Part 26A Plans) to force a restructuring plan on stubborn creditors. If a majority of your lenders agree to a deal but a minority refuses, the court can “cram down” the deal on the dissenters, forcing them to accept the lower payout against their will. A lawyer proves to the judge that the dissenters are still getting more than they would in a total liquidation, making the forced deal legally fair.