With financial pressure mounting and insolvencies on the rise, can you afford to be caught off guard? Whether you are recovering a debt, enforcing security, advising a business under strain or protecting a director, the decisions made early can determine whether your client recovers, restructures or loses out.

In one practical afternoon, leading New Zealand experts will take you through the full financial-distress lifecycle. Strengthen your debt recovery skills before and after insolvency, identify the most effective recovery options against individuals and companies, and navigate secured and unsecured enforcement. Gain the confidence to recognise distress early, manage stakeholders, assess formal and informal restructuring pathways, and advise directors on their duties and potential personal liability.

Walk away with practical strategies to protect creditor positions, manage enforcement complications and provide clear, commercially focused advice when your clients need it most.

Presenters

Michael Harper, Partner, Harper & Co
Michael is one of New Zealand’s experienced restructuring and insolvency advisors and co-leads our Restructuring & Insolvency team. Focusing solely on restructuring and insolvency, he brings an unrivalled depth of knowledge and expertise to any distressed situation. For more than 15 years Michael has acted for all of the major New Zealand banks, significant insolvency practitioners, distressed companies, distressed debt and special situations participants, and acquirers of distressed assets and directors. An acknowledged market leading advisor to distressed boards of directors, Michael regularly advises companies facing complex legal, regulatory and reputation challenges of insolvency. His experience includes advising boards of NZX-listed companies, high profile private enterprises, as well as a number of venture capital and private equity companies. Michael is recognised as a Band 1 lawyer in Chambers Asia Pacific 2020, a leading individual in Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2020 and as highly regarded by IFLR 1000 2020.

Ben Upton, Partner, Simpson Grierson
Ben is a partner and specialist litigator in the banking and finance department at Simpson Grierson. He has extensive experience in complex commercial, banking, and insolvency disputes. Ben advises on all aspects of banking, finance, and insolvency law. He regularly appears as counsel in the New Zealand courts at all levels. He has acted as counsel in numerous mediations, arbitrations, and adjudications. Ben has a particular interest in credit law and lender conduct and has acted for a number of financial institutions in important cases in this area, to include GE Capital in GE Custodians v Bartle (NZSC), Westpac Bank in Westpac v Gardiner (NZCA) and more recently for ASB in Mills v ASB (NZHC). He presented on the same topic last year and will aim to provide comment on what has happened since then and insight into what 2021 and beyond may bring.


Philip Shackleton, Partner, Meredith Connell
Phil is a lead partner in MC’s Insolvency, Recoveries and Enforcement Group and one of New Zealand’s most experienced banking, finance and insolvency litigators. He and his team act for creditors, private insolvency practitioners and the public sector, including the Official Assignee. For 21 years, Phil has had lead roles in some of New Zealand’s most important insolvency cases, including the precedent-setting Debut Homes litigation, the first time the Supreme Court considered the issue of director’s duties. Phil's particular expertise includes receiverships, liquidations, security enforcement, priority disputes, shareholder disputes, banking litigation and debt recovery.


Paul Dalkie, Barrister
Paul Dalkie holds a LLM from the University of Queensland. He is admitted to practice as a barrister in NZ, Victoria and Queensland, and has done so for more than 30 years. Prior to that he was a solicitor at two international law firms, which are now known as Ashurst Perkins Coie and Norton Rose Fulbright. He appears, and has appeared, in a very wide range of commercial disputes in trials, arbitrations, and appeals, including the Privy Council. He has appeared for many prominent companies domestic, and foreign. He has written and presented papers over a range of different topics, and has had articles published in academic journals. He is a visiting lecturer in international arbitration, company law and contract law at the Beijing Jiaotong University

Janko Marcetic, Partner, Chapman Tripp
Janko is a commercial litigator specialising in restructuring and insolvency, and banking and financial services disputes. He leads our Restructuring & Insolvency team. He advises clients on a variety of commercial disputes, with a particular focus on restructuring and insolvency and banking and financial services. That has included advising a wide range of clients in dealing with insolvent counterparties and on debt recovery matters. Janko also acts for insolvency practitioners on complex issues arising in the course of receivership, liquidation and administration, including claims against directors and third parties by insolvency practitioners. Janko has also acted for directors of companies facing both civil claims and regulatory charges. He has appeared as counsel at all levels of the New Zealand court system, including as lead counsel in the Court of Appeal, High Court and District Court. He is recognised as a Leading Associate by Legal 500 Asia Pacific and an Associate to Watch by Chambers Asia Pacific. He was a finalist for Young Private Practice Lawyer of the Year at the 2022 NZ Law Awards, and was named a Rising Star by NZ Lawyer in 2023.

Nathan Whittle, Senior Solicitor, Chapman Tripp
Nathan specialises in civil litigation and dispute resolution, with a particular interest in contract, company, and insolvency disputes. He acts for parties on a wide range of general commercial issues and advises insolvency practitioners, creditors, and debtors on matters arising in insolvency contexts. Nathan is an experienced litigator who frequently appears as counsel in the High Court and has acted on appeals in both the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court. He also regularly assists clients with alternative dispute resolution processes.