Our team of experienced advocates and advisors at Zeiler Floyd Zadkovich provides critical guidance anrepresentation when instances of insolvency or restructuring arise.   

When counterparties enter insolvency protection regimes, anywhere around the globe, we take a highly proactive approach to protecting creditor rights.  This practice is complemented by our experience investigating asset profiles and pursuing innovative, effective recovery strategies.  

The firm’s international composition allows us to foresee how the likely insolvency or bankruptcy action for a multinational company may play out world-wide.  Our understanding is essential in taking pre-emptive action, where possible and appropriate. 

Restructuring and insolvency runs across various areas of the firm and through different jurisdictions. 

 

Restructuring

Our Employment and Industrial Relations team advises and represents companies throughout all phases of a restructuring, beginning from the initial planning process through negotiations with works councils, trade unions, other stakeholders, and to implementation.  

In our restructuring project advice, the types of business alterations can bwide-ranging, including limitation of operations, shutdown or relocation of the company, corporate reorganisations, redundancies, merger or change of business purpose or organisation.   

Restructuring legal advice should also consider the commercial context, strategy and objectives of the changes – whether voluntary or forced.  We are keenly focused on the commercial side of such rearrangements. 

Post-merger, we often assist clients in their efforts to harmonize the employment provisions, including contracts, collective bargaining agreements and shop agreements, applicable to their workforce. 

When a company intends to make major changes, it is important to have responsive, experienced legal advisors to provide practical advice through the whole process.  

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Insolvency

We advise and represent creditors when their commercial or financial counterparties enter insolvency protection regimes.   

Our creditor rights advocates are firm believers that diligent investigation coupled with innovative legal strategy can yield meaningful recoveries rather than just ‘pennies on the dollar’ To help implement such strategies, we maintain deep understanding of fraudulent transfer laws, different types of liens, civil devices for pursuing criminal-type charges, and asset seizure procedures    

Additionally, when a more amicable approach to debtors is prudent, we are experienced throughout reorganization proceedings and guide clients through that process.   This may include that creditors are placed into secured essential status for ongoing obligations, contracting with supervising administrator or liquidator. 

We also have experience guiding debtors through difficult periods and assisting with corporate protections. 

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Cross-Border Insolvency

We are highly experienced with the UNCITRAL Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency and its statutory adoption in the United States, Chapter 15”.   

We have advised clients in connection with numerous US proceedings pertaining to foreign proceedings in countries, including India, Russia, Germany, Singapore and more.   

Our international firm has bankruptcy, insolvency and restructuring experience across multiple offices.  This allows us to anticipate and understand how an international bankruptcy may unfold.  There are steps that might be taken in one jurisdiction which could later impact on the position in a related process in another jurisdiction – positively or negatively. 

We guide our clients through these processes and protect their positions as much as possible.  We also highly recommend that clients maintain up to date analysis on counterparties for financial risk.  There is no substitute for moving swiftly and early if a counterparty is facing potential liquidity problems.  The longer you wait, in our experience, the harder it becomes to make a full recovery.

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Timothy S. McGovern
Partner - Chicago
Lisa Beisteiner
Partner - Vienna
Calum Cheyne
Partner - London
Hans Georg Laimer
Partner - Vienna
Gerold Zeiler
Partner - New York, Vienna
Lukas Wieser
Counsel - Vienna
Zach Barger
Senior Associate - Chicago
Ondrej Cech
Senior Associate - Vienna
Eva-Maria Mayer
Senior Associate - New York
Melina Peer
Senior Associate - Vienna
Philip Vagin
Senior Associate - London
Leo Rees-Murphy
Associate - London
  • Assisting a German energy company regarding the employment law aspects of the closure of its Austrian branch.

  • Assisting a Japanese multination electrical engineering and software company with regard to employment law related questions of a restructuring process, including a social plan.

  • Advising an Austrian Gambling Corporation in a personnel restructering process including the negotiations of a social plan and drawing up of a new minimum salary scheme.

  • Assisting an Austrian lottery company in a restructering process including the drafting and negotiation of a social plan.

  • Supporting a German manufacturer of heating, industrial and refrigeration systems with regard to the employment law aspects of the restructuring of its Austrian subsidiaries.

  • Advising a leading Austrian insurance group in employment law and industrial relations matters in connection with the restructuring of its group companies.

  • Representation of a member of the board in the insolvency procedure of the stock company.

  • Assisting a leading Spanish producer of sanitary ceramics with a strong position in Switzerland and Austria in restructuring their Austrian entity. Advising the company on all employment matters, conducting negotiations with the trade unions and the works council on a social plan, preparation of notices of termination and planning of overall reduction in force.

  • Supporting a multinational Italian/American car manufacturer and seller (one of our long-standing clients) in all operative day-to-day employment law, industrial relations and pension issues. Providing support, from Austrian employment law perspective, in possible restructuring measures, including potential reduction in force, mergers and shut-downs of certain operations in Austria. Representing the client against employee’s alleged sexual harassment claims.

  • Assisting a Japanese sewing machine producer in a restructuring process.

  • Supporting a U.S. thermal management company with regard to all employment law matters, such as the application of the transfer of undertaking (TUPE) regime, of the restructuring of its Austrian subsidiaries.