The JCOERE Project (Judicial Co-Operation supporting Economic Recovery in Europe) led by Professor Irene Lynch Fannon at UCC School of Law is delighted to announce this free webinar event.

The webinar will take place on Friday, November 27th from 3:30pm - 5:00pm.

The event, convened by the JCOERE Project team and the UCC School of Law, will consist of three short panel sessions on preventive restructuring processes in Ireland including corporate rescue (recent developments in Examinerships and Schemes of Arrangement), recent European developments, particularly the UK and the Netherlands, in addition to legal supports for businesses post COVID-19 including prospects for a new rescue process for small companies.

The event will feature a broad range of speakers discussing these themes, and will include contributions from:

Opening remarks delivered by Professor Mark Poustie, Dean of UCC School of Law

The Hon. Mr Justice Michael Quinn, High Court of Ireland and

The Hon. Mr Justice David Barniville, High Court of Ireland, discussing:

Recent Developments in Examinerships and Schemes of Arrangement

Moderator- Professor Irene Lynch Fannon, School of Law, UCC

Professor Gerard McCormack, University of Leeds and INSOL International Scholar and

Professor Reinout Vriesendorp, Partner, De Brauw, Blackstone, Westbroek, Amsterdam and Professor of Insolvency Law, Leiden University, discussing:

New Rescue Processes in the UK and the Netherlands

Moderator - Dr. Jennifer Gant, JCOERE and School of Law

Neil McDonnell, Chief Executive of the Irish SME Association and

Barry Lyons, Solicitor for ISME, discussing:

Supports for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises Post COVID-19 including Prospects for Business Rescue

Moderator - Aoife Finnerty, JCOERE and School of Law

There are 3 CPD points available for this event.

About the speakers

Mr Justice Michael Quinn

Mr Justice Michael Quinn was appointed a judge of the High Court in 2018. He is assigned to the Commercial Division and to hear examinership and insolvency matters under the Companies Act 2014. He is a Bencher of the Kings Inns in Dublin. Prior to his appointment he practised as a solicitor specialising in corporate restructuring and insolvency and was a CEDR accredited mediator. He is a Past President of INSOL Europe (the European Association of Insolvency Practitioners) and is Co-Chair of the Judicial Wing of INSOL Europe. He is a member of the Advisory Board of the EU Project on Judicial Co-Operation for Economic Recovery in Europe. He was a founder member and Chair of the Irish Society of Insolvency Practitioners.

Mr Justice David Barniville

Mr Justice David Barniville was appointed a judge of the High Court of Ireland in December 2017. He is currently the judge in charge of the Commercial Division of that Court. Prior to taking up that position he was the judge in charge of the Strategic Infrastructure Development list in the High court. He is also designated as the Arbitration Judge to hear all arbitration related matters in the High Court. In July 2018 he was appointed as a member of Ireland’s National Group on the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague. In December 2019, he was appointed as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Academy of European Law (ERA). He is a Bencher of King’s Inns in Dublin and of Middle Temple in London and is a Governor and member of the Board of the National Maternity Hospital. Prior to his appointment to the High Court, David was in practice at the Irish Bar and was Chairman of the General Council of the Bar of Ireland (2014-2016).

Professor Gerard McCormack

Gerard McCormack is a Professor of International Business Law at the University of Leeds in the UK and a Visiting Professor at the University of Vaasa, Finland.

He is a UCD graduate (1982) and of the Kings Inns (1985).

In recent years he has specialised in corporate insolvency and secured credit law with particular reference to its international and comparative dimensions.

He has a number of publications in this area including Corporate Resce Law - an Anglo-American Perspective (2008) and European Insolvency Law (2017).

He has also worked with others and led on a number of funded projects including for the European Commission in a process that led to the European Restructuring Directive - Directive 2019/1023.

Neil McDonnell

Neil joined ISME Association as Chief Executive in 2016. He previously served as an infantry officer in the Irish Defence Forces, as a staff officer in Defence Forces HQ, and in operational roles in Lebanon and Cyprus.

Neil managed petroleum distribution operations for 12 years in Ireland for ExxonMobil, Topaz and smaller domestic customers.

He joined FTA Ireland as country general manager in 2013, and was instrumental in the forcing the (then) Department of Jobs and Enterprise, against trade union opposition, to introduce S.I. 342 of 2015. This enforced the application of EU rules on working time for mobile workers. He also managed the co-funding of the DPP-v-Perennial Freight appeal to the Court of Appeal in 2015. This overturned the State’s interpretation of the Finance (Excise Duties) (Vehicles) Act 1952, resulting in a reduction in road tax for articulated vehicles from an average of €3,500 per annum to €500.

Since joining ISME, Neil has been especially active on the issues of insurance costs for small business, the introduction of a perjury act to tackle white collar crime, and the need for a comprehensive reform of Irish indigenous industrial policy.

Barry Lyons

Barry Lyons is a solicitor practicing in the area of corporate recovery for over twenty years. He has acted in a number of significant cases, including Re Thomas Gray Limited, Re Sharmaine Limited, Re Gallium Limited. He acted for the examiner in the first Circuit Court examinership introduced in the 2013 Companies Act (Celbridge Playzone Limited) and has since acted on many occasions. In 2014 he drafted a private members Bill that was designed to reduce the steps in, and consequent costs of examinership for Stephen Donnelly TD. Anticipating the need for it in the post COVID-19 economy, he advised ISME on ways to make the Irish corporate recovery mechanism less process committed, and as a result less costly. This has in part resulted in recommendations to amend the process made by the Company Law Review Group to the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise Trade and Employment.

About the JCOERE Project

The JCOERE Project (Judicial Co-Operation for Economic Recovery in Europe) is a research project funded by the EU Commission based at UCC School of Law. The objective of the JCOERE project is to ‘Enhance Judicial Co-operation under the Recast Insolvency Regulation (EU 2015/848) supporting preventive restructuring (rescue) processes for European businesses.’ The emphasis is on the obligations imposed on European Judiciary by the Recast Regulation to co-operate in the context of cross border insolvency with particular emphasis on preventive restructuring. The project is coordinated by University College Cork (Ireland) with partners from the Università degli Studi di Firenze (Italy), University Titu Maiorescu (Romania) and the International Network of Insolvency.

The JCOERE Project (no. 800807) and this webinar is funded by the European Union’s Justice Programme (2014-2020)

Further details on this webinar (including the platform used) will be issued to attendees after registration.

For enquiries about this event, please contact i.lynchfannon@ucc.ie or molly.oconnor@ucc.ie.