Corporate Restructuring & Insolvency
Burke Legal advises companies, creditors, investors and office-holders on Irish restructuring and insolvency processes, particularly where Irish proceedings are used as part of a broader international strategy. The practice is focused on technically complex mandates requiring careful coordination between jurisdictions, stakeholders and procedural tools.
Irish restructuring and insolvency processes
Schemes of Arrangement (Companies Act 2014, Part 9)
Irish schemes of arrangement are a flexible court-supervised mechanism allowing companies to compromise or reorganise liabilities through a binding arrangement with creditors or members (or classes of them). They are frequently used to implement balance-sheet restructurings, liability management transactions and group-wide releases.
Irish schemes are closely aligned with English scheme jurisprudence and are particularly well suited to parallel or complementary use alongside UK restructuring plans or US Chapter 11 proceedings.
- Structuring Irish schemes as primary or parallel recognition proceedings
- Class composition, creditor engagement and voting strategy
- Implementation mechanics, releases and contribution arrangements
- Coordination with parallel UK or US processes and enforcement strategy
Examinership (Companies Act 2014, Part 10)
Examinership is Ireland’s principal corporate rescue procedure, providing court protection while a company restructures its debts and operations. It combines a moratorium on creditor enforcement with the ability to implement a court-approved proposal, including cross-class cram-down at a comparatively low consent threshold.
- Jurisdictional access: COMI and sufficient-connection analysis
- Examiner appointment strategy, stakeholder positioning and court protection
- Proposal formulation, confirmation hearings and valuation disputes
- Recognition and enforcement strategy outside Ireland
SCARP (Small Company Administrative Rescue Process)
SCARP is a streamlined rescue process designed for eligible small and micro companies. It is intended to deliver a workable restructuring outcome with reduced cost and procedural burden, while retaining court oversight where required.
- Eligibility assessment, creditor strategy and process design
- Plan structuring, creditor engagement and implementation steps
- Interaction with enforcement, security and director duties
Liquidations, receiverships and enforcement
Burke Legal advises on formal insolvency and enforcement processes, including court and voluntary liquidations, creditor-driven winding-up proceedings, receiverships and security enforcement, and insolvency-related litigation and priority disputes.
- Enforcement strategy, insolvency thresholds and defensive planning
- Security, set-off, priority and distribution disputes
- Irish process interaction with foreign proceedings and judgments
Cross-border recognition and coordination
A core focus of the practice is the use of Irish proceedings within international restructurings. Burke Legal advises on recognition strategy, sequencing of proceedings and jurisdictional design, including the coordination of Irish court processes with foreign courts, office-holders and advisers.
Typical mandates
Burke Legal acts for:
- multinational groups using Irish processes as part of global restructurings
- creditors and investors assessing Irish enforcement or restructuring options
- office-holders and insolvency practitioners
- boards and management navigating financial distress
- international law firms requiring specialist Irish restructuring advice
Approach
The practice is deliberately senior-led and selective. Matters are handled with a focus on technical precision, procedural strategy and commercial outcomes. Burke Legal works closely with foreign counsel, financial advisers and insolvency practitioners to deliver integrated cross-border solutions.