Bochon & Partners

Our services

Comprehensive support at every stage of handling business difficulties.

From the first warning sign to the closure of a bankruptcy or liquidation, every stage of business difficulty calls for a different legal response — and so does every position: director, creditor, shareholder or buyer. Our services follow the four mechanisms of Belgian insolvency law: prevention, judicial reorganisation (PRJ), bankruptcy, judicial dissolution and liquidation. One constant: a confidential analysis, then precise execution before the enterprise court.

Our firm acts at every stage of handling business difficulties, whether you are a director, creditor, investor or shareholder. Our services are organised around the four main types of mechanism.

1. Prevention mechanisms

  • Legal analysis of the company’s situation ahead of any insolvency proceedings
  • Support in dealings with the Chambers for Enterprises in Difficulty (CED)
  • Drafting applications for examination at the debtor’s request before the CED
  • Preparing documents to convene creditors to an amicable agreement
  • Strategic advice on appointing a restructuring practitioner on a preventive basis
  • Representation at hearings before the chambers or reporting judges
  • Negotiation of confidential agreements with the main creditors
  • Putting in place measures to protect the company’s assets or organise its restructuring outside court proceedings
  • Legal audit in the context of confidential business mediation
  • Access to, analysis and rectification of data in the central register of economic warning signals
  • Assistance in dealings with the NSSO (ONSS), FPS Finance or the NBB regarding alerts

2. Judicial reorganisation proceedings (PRJ)

  • Determining the appropriate type of PRJ (collective agreement, transfer under court supervision, private or public PRJ)
  • Full preparation of the petition and the required appendices
  • Drawing up the reorganisation plan and follow-up until its adoption
  • Negotiation with creditors to obtain the required proxies and majorities
  • Support at hearings, dealings with the delegated judge and the court
  • Post-adoption follow-up: implementation, compliance with the timetable and creditor relations
  • Advising creditors in a PRJ initiated by a debtor
  • Drafting and handling objections to, or challenges of, the plan
  • Implementing measures specific to business continuity

3. Bankruptcy

  • Preliminary analysis of the conditions for bankruptcy and the procedural options
  • Preparation of and support with the bankruptcy filing (classic or “silent”)
  • Relations with the trustee (curateur) and the supervisory judge (juge-commissaire)
  • Follow-up until the bankruptcy is closed: verification of liabilities, discharge of guarantors, etc.
  • Assistance to creditors: filing of claims, recovery of assets, enforcement of security
  • Defence of shareholders, directors or managers sued for liability after bankruptcy
  • Involvement in cross-border bankruptcies or those involving several jurisdictions
  • Challenging bankruptcy judgments delivered at a creditor’s request
  • Actions to set aside or challenge certain acts carried out before the bankruptcy

4. Judicial dissolution

  • Strategic advice ahead of a possible judicial dissolution
  • Defence of a company summoned for dissolution
  • Drafting summonses or written submissions in the proceedings
  • Representation before the enterprise court
  • Negotiation with the court-appointed liquidator
  • Applications for withdrawal (rétractation) of a judicial dissolution
  • Challenging measures proposed by the liquidator
  • Analysis of the rights of shareholders, creditors and directors
  • Liability claims against court-appointed liquidators

Tailored support

Every situation is unique. Describe yours and we will show you the way forward.

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