Nordics - Denmark

Plesner

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The ‘highly experienced’ team fielded by Plesner leverages its specific know-how to advise on the entire spectrum of restructuring and insolvency mandates, including large corporate insolvencies on behalf of major banks, investors and creditors. Lars Skanvig heads up the practice and is permanent trustee at the Maritime and Commercial High Court in Copenhagen. Skanvig's experience extends to domestic and cross-border bankruptcies, restructurings and liquidations. Michala Roepstorff has over 25 years' experience and comes recommended as an ’excellent attorney and adviser’.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • ‘Michala Roepstorff is on of the most skilled insolvency lawyers in Denmark. Pleasant to work with and always delivers on time and great results.’

  • ‘Plesner has a very strong insolvency team, which enables Plesner to handle even the biggest and most complicated insolvency cases.’

  • ‘Michala Roepstorff is one of the leading insolvency lawyers in Copenhagen. She is very skilled and has an excellent commercial knowledge.’

  • ‘Plesner is commercial but practical in its approach, their technical expertise in insolvency matters has been instrumental in the efficient and effective handling of cases and they are not afraid to take a more robust approach where considered necessary.’

  • ‘Michala Roepstorff stands out as an expert in the field of insolvency, a pleasure to work with, very approachable and knowledgeable. Michala’s experience in cross-border insolvency matters has been invaluable, helping her to identify areas of concern/weaknesses and take effective decisions quickly.’

  • ‘Michala Roepstorff is an excellent lawyer and has very good commercial skills and very dedicated expert.’

  • ‘Highly experienced team, taking in the right specialists when needed. They have the eyes on the ball and their experience ensures a timely and professional handling of estates and likes.’

  • ‘Michala Roepstorff is an excellent attorney and adviser.’

Key clients

  • Danske Bank A/S
  • Nykredit Group
  • Nordea Danmark, filial af Nordea Abp, Finland
  • Jyske Bank A/S
  • Realkredit Danmark A/S
  • The Danish Tax Authorities
  • The Swedish Tax Authorities

Work highlights

  • Appointed as one of the two trustees of the formerly listed O.W. Bunker A/S as well as its Danish subsidiaries, which went bankrupt just six months after having accomplished a highly successful IPO on NASDAQ OMX Copenhagen A/S in a catastrophic and dramatic downturn.
  • Appointed as one of the two trustees in the bankruptcy proceedings of Dansk Kraftvarme Kapacitet a.m.b.a.
  • Appointed as the trustee of World Marine Offshore A/S ('WMO') in response to the creditors' request.

Lawyers

Leading individuals

Michala Roepstorff

Michala Roepstorff

Plesner

Michala Roepstorff is a partner in Plesner's Insolvency Law and Restructuring team and has many years of experience administering bankruptcy estates and providing advice on financial restructuring. Michala has for many years been involved in some of the largest and most complex bankruptcies and restructurings in Denmark and is currently appointed as the trustee of one of the most significant bankruptcies in Denmark in recent years - the estate of OW Bunker. As a result she has gained additional experience in, among other things, conducting various complicated insolvency-related litigation. Michala is highly specialised in the administration of estates in bankruptcy, including uncovering of voidable transactions, continuation of operations as well as complete or partial transfers of bankrupt businesses. She is also experienced in advising on the restructuring of distressed enterprises, including arrangements with creditors, and advises banks and other financial institutions on insolvency matters. Based on her long-standing experience from proving advice on employment and labour law, Michala has special expertise in terms of how to act with respect to employees in estates in bankruptcy, including temporary retention of key employees. In 2023, Michala was appointed as a member of the Danish Bankruptcy Council (Konkursrådet). In February 2023, the Maritime and Commercial High Court of Denmark appointed Michala as a permanent trustee with effect from 1 January 2024. Michala is certified by and a member of the board of the Association of Danish Insolvency Lawyers (Foreningen af Danske Insolvensadvokater). Michala is also the chairman of SWIC, the Scandinavian network of International Women's Insolvency & Restructuring Confederation (IWIRC). In 2022, she was re-elected "Councillor of Denmark" in INSOL Europe, and she was co-chair at the INSOL Europe Conference in Copenhagen in 2019. In addition, Michala Roepstorff is a member of the panel of lawyers appointed by the Danish Debt Collection Agency, and she teaches insolvency law on supplementary courses under the auspices of Danish Law Firms (Danske Advokater). As a partner, Michala has been a key figure in the continued development of our market-leading insolvency team which in recent years has focused on optimising processes by introducing new digital solutions and additionally strengthening the close cross-disciplinary collaboration with Plesner's other specialist teams on specific cases in order to create as much value as possible for clients.

Practice head

The lawyer(s) leading their teams.

Lars Skanvig

Other key lawyers

Michala Roepstorff