WEALTH May 26, 2026 0 Comments

How Ogier’s Radical Outcome-First Strategy Is Quietly Disrupting the Legal World and Leaving Competitors in the Dust

Ever wondered what it really takes to steer a company through the storm of financial distress? Well, Ogier’s partners Stephen O’Connor and Elaine White have been on the front lines of this battleground, navigating the tricky intersection of insolvency, disputes, and enforcement. Over the past year, their restructuring and insolvency wing in Ireland has seen a noticeable uptick in cases involving operational businesses under creditor pressure—a situation demanding not just legal savvy, but a sharply tuned sense of timing and strategy. What’s striking here is their insistence on early involvement, mapping risks from the outset, and managing stakeholders with precision to preserve value and control litigation risks. This isn’t just about crisis management; it’s about crafting practical, commercial solutions that respond to a volatile market where energy costs soar and refinancing grows tougher by the day. If you think legal advisories around distressed businesses are dry and predictable, think again—Ogier’s approach is dynamic, hands-on, and deeply intertwined with the evolving realities of industries like real estate, hospitality, and finance. Curious about how they balance these high-stakes puzzles and keep clients afloat? Dive into the insights offered by O’Connor and White as they unpack their firm’s philosophy and foresight in the realm of corporate rescue. LEARN MORE

Ogier partners Stephen O’Connor and Elaine White discuss with Sorcha Corcoran the firm’s approach to dealing with distressed businesses

Over the past 12 months, commercial law and professional services firm Ogier’s restructuring and insolvency practice in Ireland has seen an increase in work arising from corporate distress that is led by disputes and focused on enforcement.

“We have been instructed on an increasing volume of High Court and insolvency adjacent mandates involving distressed trading and operational businesses, where preserving value, managing creditor enforcement and controlling litigation risk have been central to the strategy,” says Stephen O’Connor, partner in the dispute resolution team.

“A lot of this work sits at the intersection of insolvency, disputes and asset protection. It includes advising creditors and asset managers in connection with insolvencies, engaging with insolvency officeholders and navigating enforcement and recovery options.”

The practice has also acted on complex debt-enforcement matters and the resolution of legacy commercial and construction disputes involving parties that are now insolvent, he adds.

“Across these matters, we try to focus on getting involved early, managing stakeholders carefully and mapping the case from the outset, so that clients understand the real risks, the key decision points and the likely outcomes.”

Ogier advises extensively in real estate and construction, financial services, funds, technology, sport and hospitality in Ireland.

A significant proportion of its work involves asset-heavy businesses with complex operations that are dealing with creditor pressure and, in many cases, regulatory issues.

“That means our restructuring and insolvency advice has to be practical, commercial and focused on outcomes,” O’Connor notes.

As the legal support in an insolvency scenario, the firm works very closely with partners and specifically insolvency practitioners, he explains: “This may be either where we’re advising our client and bring in the right partner at an early stage to add their experience. In other situations, we’re instructed by the insolvency practitioners to provide legal support to the process. It’s important to have the right team in place at the outset.”

Elaine White, another partner in the dispute resolution team, says Ogier’s review of current trends shows a relatively stable but evolving landscape. The firm doesn’t perceive a spike (in insolvencies), but rather a slightly higher baseline than years before.

“There has been a shift in the type, from company-led to creditor-led insolvencies, as a result of creditor enforcement. Revenue represents a significant portion of this activity.

“Irish pillar banks seem to represent a very low portion of receiverships; alternative and international lenders are now driving many such actions,” she says.

“Certain industries also make up a significant portion of insolvency activity, namely hospitality, retail and construction. Cross-jurisdictional mandates are also increasing.

“This may be due to enforcement against assets in Ireland by international officeholders or where there is an Irish subsidiary company of a parent company in an insolvency process in another jurisdiction.”

Over the past year, Ogier’s team in Ireland has been involved in complex cross-border matters dealing with sanctions, cryptocurrency, pension funds and other novel issues.

When it comes to early warnings of insolvency, Ogier’s approach is informed by hands-on experience of disputes and restructurings where financial stress was visible well before any formal insolvency process commenced.

“In a number of matters we’ve advised on — particularly in the real estate, construction and travel sectors — issues first arose through delayed projects, challenged cashflow, disputed debts or pressure from secured creditors, rather than a sudden collapse,” White explains.

“Because we also regularly act in related litigation, enforcement and insolvency proceedings — including claims brought by liquidators, lenders and counterparties — we’re well placed to anticipate how these issues tend to play out if left unchecked.

“Director duties and personal exposure is another relevant factor. Directors must act in the best interests of creditors once insolvency is likely. There’s also greater scrutiny of transactions before insolvency and there has been increased activity by the Corporate Enforcement Authority in recent years.”

White believes the Small Companies Administrative Rescue Process (SCARP) has become a useful addition to the Irish restructuring toolkit as an alternative examinership for SMEs, but that its impact is constrained by limits on scale and complexity.

Further extensions to capture companies just outside the current thresholds, or simple single entity structures, would enhance the current regime without undermining its original purpose, in her view.

In any restructuring, she adds, a key concern is limiting the knock-on effects for staff, suppliers, customers and creditors.

That usually comes down to keeping people informed, getting the sequencing right and dealing early with the parties who matter most.

“Where trading can be stabilised and key relationships and confidence in the business maintained, it has a far better chance of coming through the process successfully,” she says.

O’Connor foresees that a lot of businesses will still be under pressure over the next year. This is because costs, especially energy, remain high and are continuing to increase, refinancing is harder than it used to be and credit is less forgiving.

“Global uncertainty is also a factor — it’s keeping prices volatile and making it harder to plan ahead. On top of that, lenders are quicker to push their position. For management teams, a priority will be to maintain stability and liquidity in an environment where there is little room for manoeuvre,” he advises.

Looking ahead, for Ogier the emphasis is on people working together across teams, especially where issues span different jurisdictions or cut across banking, finance, regulatory and disputes work.

“In those cases, having the right mix of experience around the table early on can really change how things unfold. It also means getting involved sooner, before a formal process is unavoidable, and staying with clients as they work their way back to stability, not just when matters reach a crisis point,” O’Connor says.