The Legal 500 > Europe, Middle East & Africa > Norway > Insolvency and corporate recovery

Under the leadership of ‘one of the leading lawyers in the field’ Richard Sjøqvist, BAHR fields ‘a team of very skilled younger lawyers and provides top-class services’. The practice is a go-to name for bondholders and investment banks and counts DNB Bank, Nordic Trustee and Pareto Securities as clients; other key areas of expertise include handling international transactions and major insolvencies and restructurings, and acting for other financial institutions and private equity companies. Sjøqvist is singled out for his international finance and restructuring expertise, while Karstein Espelid and Atle Skaldebø-Rød focus on contentious work, Rolf Johan Ringdal handles debt restricting and refinancing work, and Audun Nedrelid is a financing expert. Magnus Tønseth was promoted to the partnership in 2019.

Kvale Advokatfirma DA’s ‘strong, hardworking team’ is a key name in the market for Nordic financial institutions and regularly handles bankruptcies, insolvencies, restructuring mandates and contentious work. The practice counts Danske Bank, Sparebank and DNB Bank as clients, and recently handled the bankruptcy estate of five companies in the Norske Skog group of companies; the group has also recently been involved in the bankruptcy proceedings of Top-Toy Norge, which owned and operated the Norwegian Toys 'R' Us stores. Department head Thomas Piro focuses on bankruptcy and insolvency work, Tom Hugo Ottesen and Stine Snertingdalen are noted for their insolvency expertise, and Espen Hamar handles restructuring issues. in 2020, the practice gained Jon Skjørshammer and Robert Jensen from SANDS.

Ro Sommernes Advokatfirma DA is praised by clients for ‘having what few other firms have – a pragmatic view’ and has ‘an excellent combination of experience, legal skills, network and business understanding’. The group is notably active in the shipping and offshore sectors and advises a client roster which includes EMAS-AMC, Dolphin Group and Thule Drilling. Håvard Wiker leads the team and is experienced in restructuring issues, debt negotiations and bankruptcies. Other noteworthy individuals include the highly regarded Knut Ro, managing partner Erik Sandtrø and Nils Holger Koefoed, who ‘sees the opportunities when the client is losing sight’. Thomas Monsen and Linn Drejer-Dølvik were promoted to the partnership in 2019.

Advokatfirmaet Thommessen AS excels at a domestic and international level and handles the full breadth of work including financial restructurings, insolvencies, debt negotiations and foreign procedures including Chapter 11 issues and Scheme of Arrangements. The team is particularly recognised for its sector expertise in the oil and gas, offshore and shipping industries; it has been notably active assisting banks and loan syndicates with multiple restructuring projects in the oil services sector. Kristoffer Hegdahl heads up the practice and specialises in financial restructurings; Einar Grette focuses on the bank and bond markets, Halvor Mansåker handles financial restructurings in the bond market, and Ellen Teresa Heyerdahl is an expert in debt financing work.

Leif Petter Madsen leads the practice at Wikborg Rein, which is recommended for cross-border restructurings thanks to its wider global network of offices; the team is also praised for its knowledge of the shipping and offshore markets and insolvency experience. In a recent highlight, the group advised Solstad Offshore and its subsidiaries on its financial restructuring and refinancing; other clients include DNB Bank, Nordic Trustee and Danske Bank. Kaare Christian Tapper and Stian Tande Mortensen are also key names to note for restructuring work, and Lars-Erik Østerbø is the main contact in Bergen.

Advokatfirmaet Schjødt is recommended for restructuring and insolvency mandates, where it is particularly active in the offshore and energy sectors, and is also highly regarded for its cross-border experience. Managing partner Erling Ueland leads the practice and divides his time between Oslo and Stavanger; Johan Henrik Nossum and Siv Sandvik are also key names to note and are highly regarded for international mandates. The team’s client roster encompasses banks, financial institutions, corporates and bondholders; notable examples include Nordea Bank Norge, Aker Biomarine and SEB. Peter Bugge Hjorth is also singled out for his financing and restructuring expertise.

The ‘experienced team’ at Advokatfirmaet Haavind AS is ‘always searching for the best solutions’ and ‘has the right mind-set in terms of getting on top of arising issues quickly’. Ellen Schult Ulriksen is ‘experienced, skilled, commercial and solution-oriented’ and leads the department, which handles corporate and financial restructurings, bankruptcies, insolvencies and liability issues; the practice also has notable experience as trustee. Clients include Santander Consumer Bank, Sparebank 1 SMN, EMAS-AMC and the Norwegian Public Road Authority. Hans-Christian Donjem is also a key name to note for restructuring work.

Advokatfirmaet Selmer AS’ practice leverages the firm’s wider shipping and offshore strength to handle oil, shipping and offshore financial restructurings; it recently advised Kleven Maritime Invest on two rounds of financial restructurings and also counts SpareBank 1 SMN, Nordic Trustee and Eidesvik Offshore as clients. Tor Herdlevær heads up the group, which also fields restructuring, insolvency and investigation expert Thomas Steen Brandi and Per Morten Christiansen, who has notable experience in the refinancing and restructuring of loan facilities.

At Advokatfirmaet Simonsen Vogt Wiig, Peter Aall Simonsen, who primarily acts for banks, bondholders and other creditors, heads up the group in Oslo; Bjørn Åge Hamre leads the Bergen team and handles restructuring proceedings, and Nils Håkon Risberg is the leader in Trondheim. Other key practitioners include Bergen-based Egil Horstad, who is a bankruptcy expert, Oslo-based shipping specialist Erlend Lous and Per Christian Eriksen in Bergen, who is regularly appointed as estate trustee and administrator. The practice is a key name in the shipping, oil and offshore industries and handles the full range of restructuring and bankruptcy issues.

Wiersholm is noted for its restructuring strength and handles financial restructurings, distressed asset issues and cross-border work. The practice is also active in the shipping and offshore sectors and counts Olympic Subsea, Polarcus and The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries as clients; it also recently assisted DNB Bank and Nordea Bank with the merger of AGR and First Geo and the related financial restructuring. Ståle Gjengset heads up the team, which also counts Kaare P Sverdrup, Kristine Hasle Øverby and Atle Gabrielsen, who joined from Arntzen de Besche in 2019, as key practitioners.

Trondheim-based Joar Grimsbu leads the department at Arntzen de Besche, which focuses on restructuring and insolvency mandates with notable expertise in the oil and gas, offshore, banking, real estate, construction and media industries. Clients include Swedbank, EY and Norfund. Grimsbu handles debt settlements, restructurings and bankruptcy issues; Trond Kildal assists with restructurings and refinancings; and Trondheim-based Stein Knut Tonning focuses on corporate restructuring work and bankruptcy proceedings. Banking and debt capital markets specialist Vidar Løhre joined from Wikborg Rein in 2019, and Atle Gabrielsen departed to Wiersholm.

DLA Piper is a key name in the market for cross-border mandates thanks to the firm’s global network of offices and is notably active in the Nordic region; clients include H&M, Subsea 7 and Marsoft International. The team regularly handles insolvency and restructuring proceedings and also assists with bankruptcy work. Egil Hatling leads the practice, which also fields Frode Finnøy, litigator and regulatory expert Johan Ratvik, who handles insolvencies; and restructuring specialist Erik Ramm.

Kluge Advokatfirma AS is increasingly involved in large restructuring mandates and the related contentious issues with expertise across the banking, oil and gas, energy, real estate and construction sectors. While active for companies experiencing financial distress, the team is also recommended for bondholder and creditor clients; it recently acted for Nordic Trustee as bond trustee for a bond loan to Solstad Offshore, which is in distress. Hans Ingvald Stensholdt leads the Oslo-based practice and Per Kristian Ramsland heads up the Stavanger team.

The department at SANDS handles bankruptcy, insolvency and restructuring issues in the financial services, energy and natural resources, shipping and real estate sectors. In a recent highlight, the group assisted Terra Securities with its bankruptcy proceedings; other clients include Storebrand Asset Management, Prima Invest and Extra Leker. Key contacts include Andreas Fuglesang and Stein Hegdal in Oslo, and Terje Bjørndahl in Trondheim. Jon Skjørshammer and Robert Jensen departed to Kvale Advokatfirma DA in 2020.

Advokatfirmaet Grette AS assists borrowers in financial distress and lenders with restructuring and insolvency mandates and is notably active in contentious work including liability claims; it recently acted for If Skadeforsikring NUF as D&O insurer in a series of D&O proceedings relating to the bankruptcy of Reinertsen. Group head Thomas J. Fjell and managing partner Jacob S. Bjønness-Jacobsen focus on financial work-outs and restructuring issues. Associate partner Erik Alsvik Skogsbakken also contributes to the practice. Børge A Grøttjord joined DLA Piper in 2020.