Under the leadership of the 'technically gifted, strategic and tenacious' Julian Cahn (who also handles personal insolvency matters), Stephenson Harwood has gained most of its acclaim for work on behalf of IPs dealing with complex contentious insolvency mandates, often involving allegations of fraud. The 'technically robust' Tal Goldsmith is regularly involved in cross-border insolvency cases involving both inbound and outbound recognition and concurrent proceedings in multiple jurisdictions. For non-contentious restructuring and insolvency matters, Ian Benjamin provides 'very commercial and user-friendly advice' to a variety of stakeholders including funds, officeholders and lenders.
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- 'The team has intimate knowledge of complex restructuring legislation both in the UK and further afield.'
- 'Julian Cahn is a super experienced insolvency litigator for both high-profile personal and corporate insolvency matters.'
- 'Julian Cahn is technically gifted, strategic and tenacious. He has fantastic experience in the contentious insolvency space.'
- 'Ian Benjamin provides very commercial and user-friendly advice.'
- 'Tal Goldsmith is technically robust and experienced in dealing with contentious insolvency disputes.'
Key clients
- BDO LLP
- Blandford Capital LLP
- Interpath Ltd
- Teneo Financial Advisory Ltd
- FRP Advisory Trading Ltd
- PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
- KPMG Ireland
- Wells Fargo Bank, London Branch
- Equitix Proton Cancer Care LLP
- Evelyn Partners
Work highlights
- Continues to act for Shane Crooks and Malcolm Cohen of BDO LLP, the receivers of Sebastian Holdings Inc (SHI), which was the personal investment vehicle of the Norwegian billionaire Alexander Vik. Mr Vik, aware of SHI's significant liabilities to Deutsche Bank and so as to avoid them, dissipated c.$1bn of assets. The case has attracted significant media attention.
- Advised long-standing client, private investment fund Blandford Capital LLP, on multiple aspects of its acquisition of UK adult educational and residential homes provider Hesley Group from Antin Infrastructure Partners.
- Acting for John Milsom and David Standish of Interpath Ltd as court-appointed enforcement receivers, involving complex cross-border litigation, asset tracing and realisation to gather in and realise the property of twice convicted fraudster Dr Gerald Smith, who is subject to one of the largest ever UK confiscation orders made by the Serious Fraud Office but claims he has no assets.
Lawyers
Practice head
The lawyer(s) leading their teams.
Julian Cahn