A company enters insolvency proceedings and its controlling shareholder seeks to protect their position, their assets and, where possible, the company itself. A major creditor needs to enforce security but finds that priority is disputed. An office-holder faces personal proceedings brought by a receiver alleging dissipation of assets or breach of fiduciary duty. A shareholder discovers that insolvency proceedings are being used in a way that may alter the balance of power within the company. A trustee or receiver may also require representation in litigation arising from the appointment.
In each of these situations, insolvency proceedings may give rise to complex commercial litigation, whether involving corporate control, the personal liability of office-holders, competing creditor claims or the future of the business itself. The outcome may depend on the speed of the response, early identification of what is truly at stake and the ability to take control of the litigation rather than merely react to it.
Ilan Bombach & Co. acts in insolvency proceedings, receiverships and the litigation that develops around them. We represent companies, controlling shareholders, shareholders, secured and unsecured creditors, officers, receivers and trustees, in situations where the proceeding carries commercial, financial and sometimes public significance.
Three decades of commercial litigation at the highest level
The firm is led by Ilan Bombach, one of Israel's leading litigators, with more than 30 years of experience and many hundreds of appearances before the Supreme Court. He has represented clients in some of Israel's most sensitive and complex civil, commercial and public proceedings, including matters involving debt, security, enforcement against assets, corporate control and the protection of creditors' and debtors' rights.
The firm approaches insolvency principally from the standpoint of complex commercial litigation. In most of our matters a wider dispute is under way: a battle for control of the company, a disagreement between shareholders, allegations of personal liability against officers, or litigation between creditors over priority and the scope of a charge. In such cases, the firm's experience in corporate law, civil and commercial litigation and administrative law enables it to address the wider dispute as a whole.
Personal involvement of the head of the firm
In insolvency proceedings, timing is critical. A single application, appointment or order can change the entire balance of power at a stroke. The decision to respond immediately with an application for interim relief, to raise an objection to jurisdiction, to seek the replacement of an office-holder, or to challenge a debt arrangement about to be approved — each is a turning point.
Ilan Bombach personally leads matters of principle and sensitivity, from the initial assessment of the position, through forming the strategy and appearances in the District Court, to appeals in the Supreme Court. In a field where the combination of speed, judgment and quality of advocacy determines the outcome, the personal involvement of a senior and experienced lawyer matters particularly.
Principal areas of practice
- Representation of secured and unsecured creditors: enforcement of security, objections to proofs of debt, disputes over priority, and litigation involving office-holders and debtors.
- Representation of controlling shareholders, shareholders and companies: where an insolvency proceeding threatens control, property or the ability to continue operating — including protecting assets, reaching a debt arrangement, or challenging the decisions of office-holders.
- Representation of officers in situations of collapse: defending directors, chief executives and office-holders against allegations of personal liability, dissipation of assets, preference of creditors, or breach of fiduciary duty in the period preceding collapse.
- Shareholder disputes in the shadow of insolvency: matters in which insolvency proceedings form part of a wider dispute over corporate control and the future ownership or management of the company.
- Debt arrangements and restructuring: litigation concerning creditor arrangements, objections to proposed schemes, and representation throughout the formulation of debt arrangements for companies in financial distress or insolvency.
- Litigation arising from insolvency proceedings: claims concerning dissipation of assets, pre-insolvency transactions, the liability of office-holders and shareholders, and disputes arising following the appointment of a receiver, trustee or other office-holder.
- Representation of office-holders: supporting receivers, trustees and liquidators in litigation arising in the course of their duties, and in proceedings against debtors, creditors and third parties.
- Urgent proceedings and interim relief: applications to stay proceedings, to prevent realisation, for attachments, to freeze dealings in assets, and for injunctions.
