The Legal 500

Bech-Bruun has Denmark’s largest insolvency practice, which acts across a range of matters including acting as trustee in bankruptcies, supervisor in suspensions of payments cases, and advises creditors’ committees and handles out-of-court arrangements. Clients appreciate the lawyers’ ‘reasonable response times and clever solutions’. Michael Serring, Karl Stephensen and the ‘effective, open-minded and friendly’ Ole Borch are appointed receivers at Copenhagen Bankruptcy Court. Practice head Troels Tuxen is one of three trustees of the Landic Group. The team is advising Essex Group, JMI Invest and Flexa Holding on restructuring. Erik Malberg and Henning Hansen were quality additions from joined from Philip Law Firm.

At Gorrissen Federspiel, group head Lars Grøngaard and Anne Birgitte Gammeljord acted on high-profile bankruptcies including Globe Malerfirma and Stolelyngen Invest. John Sommer Schmidt is administrator for Green Wind Energy and Scan Energy.

Søren Aamann Jensen and Lisa Bo Larsen head Kromann Reumert’s Copenhagen group while Christian Jul Madsen leads the Aarhus team. Commended for their ‘in-depth knowledge’, these lawyers are appointed trustees in high-profile bankruptcies – such as those of Ørbekker Group, Hans-Henrik Palm Group and Olicom Group – and assist in major restructurings, notably that of Essex Group. The team advises Danske Bank, Nordea Bank and Jyske Bank on risk management. Teis Gullitz-Wormslev and Louise Krarup Simonsen were promoted to partner.

Plesner’s 22-lawyer team is led by Michael Zeigler and Pernille Bigaard, who are permanent trustees at the Maritime and Commercial Court. The group successfully restructured Oskar Jensen Group and Biva Furniture, and large-scale insolvency instructions include Sterling Airlines, Landic, Atlas Shipping and Griffin Group. Certified arbitrator Peter Bang assisted Italy-based Maflow Group with the reconstruction/sale of its international subsidiaries.

Jesper Trommer Volf and his team at Accura Advokatpartnerselskab are representing FS Finans regarding Estatum Group and Landic, and Volf and Karsten Kielland are representing Nykredit Bank regarding major claims against Aktiv Wind in liquidation and are increasingly acting for Nordea Bank and Jyske Bank. The team is working with a German law firm on an increasing number of Danish-German insolvency issues.

Horten’s ‘sensible, focused’ practice head Piya Mukherjee is a permanent trustee at the Maritime and Commercial Court. Claus Bennetsen was appointed co-trustee of Rømø Golf & Wellness in bankruptcy. Clients also value the ‘committed, diligent, knowlegeable’ Nicolai Dyhr. Steen Klein has retired.

Jan Bech and his team at Lett Law Firm assist government adviser Poul Schmith Law Firm and Danish tax authorities with insolvency and bankruptcy cases outside Copenhagen, and advise the Danish Tax Authorities (SKAT), financial institutions and leasing companies. The team has expanded to 34 lawyers, including the high-profile lateral hires of Henrik Sjørslev, Per Astrup Madsen and Torben Mauritzen from Nordia Advokatfirma in Copenhagen and Kolding-based Jan Bruun Jørgensen from DAHL Advokatfirma. The group has been appointed receiver in high-profile bankruptcies, such as Amagerbanken.

At Poul Schmith Law Firm, insolvency group head Boris Frederiksen represents the Danish state in bankruptcy and restructuring matters, particularly in the financial sector. The group advises private-sector clients in insolvency matters.

Abel & Skovgård Larsen Advokatfirma’s Finn Jepsen was appointed by the Danish Association of Shareholders to represent shareholders in the bankruptcy estate of Roskilde Bank. Jepson is liquidator in the high-profile Griffin Group real estate bankruptcy.

Bang + Regnarsen’s Klaus Fiala and Nete Weber, who advises SKAT, are authorised liquidators with the Maritime and Commercial Court. Ulrik Asbjørn, Jan Wittenborn and Kasper Langgaard Jensen handle corporate reconstructions and windings up.

Brandt & Lauritzen’s Per Hald is trustee of The Friis Group and assists companies with reconstruction and turnaround. Clients appreciate his ‘strategic business advice’.

Bruun & Hjejle’s group head Claus Høeg Madsen is a permanent trustee at the Maritime and Commercial Court. He successfully represented Roskilde Bank in a DKK60m case before the High Court of Western Denmark, and assisted DnB NOR Bank with buying a DKK2bn property portfolio from the bankrupt Bovista Group. Torben Byskov Petersen is co-trustee of EBH-Fonden. The team recruited Lars Skanvig from Lind Cadovius, who is appointed administrator at the Bankruptcy Division of the Maritime and Commercial Court. Søren Lundsgaard left to establish Lundsgaard & Partnere.

At DAHL Advokatfirma, Henrik Ottosen in Viborg and Jens Paulsen in Herning and their team advise banks and financial institutions.

Michael Gregersen in Aarhus and Kaj Andreassen in Copenhagen co-head Delacour Dania Law Firm’s ‘responsive, business-oriented team’. Clients include Roskilde Bank, Nordea Bank and Danske Bank. Bo Vadt Christensen is a permanent trustee at the Maritime and Commercial Court.

Elvang & Partnere’s Kurt Skovlund advises on bankruptcy and restructuring.

LOGOS’ Carsten Møllekilde, whose advice ‘covers every possible situation’, is the appointed administrator of bankrupt estates of Ilva, Capacent and Merlin.

Christian Elmer heads Lund Elmer Sandager’s team, which handles high-profile bankruptcies including Menzies Aviation. Jørgen Elmer was appointed co-administrator of Scan Energy.

At MAQS Law Firm, Jørgen Frandsen’s ten-lawyer team handles restructuring, bankruptcy, suspension of payments and creditor’s arrangements. Recent instructions include closing down the former Roskilde Bank and advising Nykredit Bank, Sydbank and LM Group. Jørn Kuhlen Gullach joined from Nordia Advokatfirma.

J Kørso Jensen and Henrik Sanders of Mazanti-Andersen, Korsø Jensen & Partnere are court-appointed trustees. Peter Krarup administers bankrupt estates. Bjarke Sanbeck and Thomas Fredslund joined following the firm’s merger with SES Legal, and the group also recruited Claus Høxbro from Rønne & Lundgren.

The ‘available, competent’ Thomas Weitemeyer at Moalem Weitemeyer Bendtsen advises banks and creditors, and is appointed liquidator of several bankrupt estates. On the creditor side, he represented M. Goldchmidt Holding as leading creditor of Sprunk Jansen, and is representing Max Bank regarding the Synerco estate.

Jesper Lundgren heads Rønne & Lundgren’s team, which advised on the Høpfner Group restructuring. Niels Kjærgaard, who is ‘reliable and pragmatic with a deep understanding of the property sector’, is a bankruptcy trustee of OMX-listed real estate company Walls. He advised Codan as creditor regarding the Essex Group restructuring.