Ashfords LLP

Restructuring and Insolvency

Legal Director 

Crispin is a Legal Director in the Restructuring and Insolvency Team. 

He advises law firms, accountants, insolvency practitioners, institutional and trade creditors on regulatory facets and their exposure to financially distressed entities and professional practices. Crispin also provides specific contentious and non-contentious advice on formal insolvency regimes, including administration, liquidation, voluntary arrangements, bankruptcy and schemes of arrangement.

Prior to becoming a Solicitor, Crispin was an insolvency accountant in a national firm of insolvency practitioners.

Crispin has obtained an LLM in international business law from the University of Manchester and his Certificate of Proficiency in Insolvency from the Insolvency Practitioners Association.

RELEVANT EXPERIENCE

Professional Practices Experience:

Administrators: On behalf of the Administrators of a part intervened North West regional law firm, Crispin recently successfully made a highly disputed appointment application to facilitate the sale of the underlying business to a recently regulated entity all to be conducted within a twenty four hour period. Administrators:Joint Solicitor Manager for the Joint Administrators of King & Wood Mallesons LLP (in administration), which was the largest ever collapse of legal practice in the UK.

South East Solicitors Partnership: Recently advised a partnership of a South East Solicitors on the regulatory facets of a debt restructuring and sale through an insolvency process.

Restructuring and Insolvency Experience:

Liquidators: On behalf of the Liquidators of a leading UK bed manufacturer, which entered into liquidation in 2012, commencing a £20 million "follow on" claim against a global manufacturer of polyurethane foam, which arose from their engagement in an anti-competitive price fixing cartel. Liquidators: On behalf of the Liquidators of a textiles entity, commencing a £5 million misfeasance claim against its former directors, who transferred the entities principal asset to themselves in breach of their duties as directors.

Administrators: Advising Administrators, from a "big 4" practice who were appointed over a well-known retail chain. The advice provided concerned the distribution of the relevant entities surplus assets within the Group structure, to take account of rights of subrogation and contribution and to account for each corporate entities repayment of secured liabilities.