England - East Anglia • Finance

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Insolvency and corporate recovery

Howes Percival LLP

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Howes Percival LLP‘s insolvency practice is noted as having ’superb expertise in this field’. The group is led by head of insolvency and corporate recovery Michael Green from Cambridge and Morris Peacock from Norwich, who oversees the firm’s work for the Insolvency Service. He notably acted for the Insolvency Service in the investigation into the alleged failure of BHS Limited and connected companies and the subsequent conduct of directors’ disqualification proceedings. The team is noted as having ‘a wealth of experience in running all aspects of heavy litigation’. In Norwich, ’excellent solicitor’ William Shirley, ‘who is very experienced in litigation and advisory work’, and senior associates Leon Head and Patrick Manning are all central to the practice.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • ‘The team has superb expertise in this field, including in the context of high-profile government instructions in directors' disqualifications and public interest winding-ups. The team has a wealth of experience in running all aspects of heavy litigation and the complex disclosure that involves. It is able to give effective strategic advice to clients and has excellent foresight to anticipate issues in litigation and deal with them effectively.’

  • ‘Morris Peacock is a very experienced and excellent solicitor. He is very adept at covering the granular detail of cases in order to advice effectively on merits.'

  • 'William Shirley is an excellent solicitor who is very experienced in litigation and advisory work. He dispenses advice authoritatively and is good at making commercial decisions in litigation that has clearly in mind the best interests of his client.'
  • 'Patrick Manning is a very effective litigator. He is particularly adept at settling difficult issues in correspondence and making tactical decisions during trial. He works very well as part of a team and has a calm manner with clients that inspires confidence during litigation.’

  • ‘The Norwich team are very capable; they have a rare depth of expertise in specific areas of insolvency and their advice is well-considered and priced fairly.’

  • ‘I work with William Shirley and Leon Head. They are fantastic advocates for their firm and are passionate about their local area and the clients within. I have valued both their technical support as well as their drive to progress our ongoing business relationship.’

  • ‘The insolvency team is excellent. They are proactive, engaging and move matters forward, providing solid advice in any type of insolvency appointment.’

  • ‘Michael Green is a great lawyer, knowledgeable and easy to deal with.’

Key clients

  • The Insolvency Service
  • Mazars LLP
  • Antony Batty & Co
  • Peter Elsworthy & Moore Limited
  • BDO UK LLP

Lawyers

Rising Stars

Patrick Manning

Patrick Manning

Howes Percival LLP

A former City solicitor, Patrick is a member of Howes Percival's Insolvency Service team. Having joined the firm in 2005, he advises on and is responsible for the conduct of directors disqualification proceedings on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS). He has trial experience both in the High Court and county courts as well as wide experience of negotiated settlements in defended claims. Patrick also undertakes investigations on behalf of BIS in relation to directors misconduct. Patrick trained and qualified with City of London firms, working for a number of years post-qualification in litigated insurance claims for UK and international insurers and reinsurers.

Leading individuals

Michael Green

Howes Percival LLP

Michael specialises in large complex commercial disputes with a particular emphasis on company/shareholder disputes, partnership advice, restraint of trade, technology disputes, professional negligence claims, contract disputes, agency disputes, contentious trusts & probate and insolvency. His clients include BDO, Mazars, RSM, Bens Cookies, many in the automotive industry and Cambridge tech companies. Michael is a Member of the Association for British Recovery Professionals (R3) and the Association of Contentious Probate Specialists (ACTAPS). He has extensive experience of litigating in the higher courts and is ranked Tier One in legal directories (Chambers & Partners and Legal 500) being described as “commercially minded, astute and a leading individual in litigation and insolvency”. Michael is a Solicitor-Advocate and is dual qualified as a barrister.

Morris Peacock

Howes Percival LLP

Morris Peacock is a partner and is an experienced litigation solicitor with expertise in insolvency and directors disqualification. Morris joined Howes Percival in 1999 after having previously acted for directors in respect of directors disqualification matters and for insolvency practitioners on recovery actions. He has acted for the Insolvency Service for over 12 years, has been the partner responsible for investigation matters since 2004 and the client partner for all Insolvency Service matters since 2008, which also includes public interest winding up work and costs recovery work and conducts advocacy in the County Courts. He is an advisory editor to ‘Mithani on Disqualification’ and a member of the R3 Eastern Region Committee. He has dealt with a number of high profile and reported cases including Crystal Palace FC (1986) Limited, SOSTI v Aaron & others, Wrapit and UKLI.

Practice head

The lawyer(s) leading their teams.

Michael Green, Morris Peacock  

Other key lawyers

William Shirley, Leon Head, Patrick Manning, Phillippa Summerlee, Victoria Sandell, Eleanor Waters

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