William Willson
William Willson was called to the Bar in 2006 after a career as a journalist/documentary producer. His core areas of practice include insolvency/restructuring, company law and commercial litigation/arbitration. His recent cases include the Lehman Brothers 'RASCALS' litigation ([2011] EWCA Civ 1544, [2010] EWHC 2914 (Ch)) and the Northern Rock shareholder compensation litigation ([2011] UKUT 408 (TCC)).
Practice Area
Panel
- Contributing Author
Qualified Year
- 2006
Membership
- Commercial Bar Association, Chancery Bar Association (member of Gulf Committee)
Qualification
- Classics MA (Oxon), Postgraduate Diploma in Law (Distinction) (City)
Education
- Inns of Court School of Law, University of Oxford, City University
3 Contributions by William Willson
PRACTICE NOTES
CVA proposals: creditor claims, notice and decision procedures, voting and valuation, secured/contingent debts, majorities, and challenge/appeal (England and Wales)
The Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016 (IR 2016), SI 2016/1024 set out the overarching framework for decision-making across all formal insolvency processes. Although decision procedures specifically appear in IR 2016, SI 2016/1024, Pt 15, company voluntary arrangements (CVAs) are instead covered in IR 2016, SI 2016/1024, Pt 2. For a further general guide to decision-making, see Practice Note: Voting and creditors' decision procedures.
Creditor claims
There is no express statutory definition of ‘creditor’ in the Insolvency Act 1986 (IA 1986) or IR 2016, SI 2016/1024 for the purposes of a CVA. For individual voluntary arrangements (IVAs), the expressions ‘debt’ and ‘liability’ are each defined to embrace ‘debts or liabilities which are present or future, certain or contingent or in respect of an amount which is fixed or liquidated or is capable of being ascertained by fixed rules or as a matter of opinion’, and the term ‘creditor’ is defined by reference to ‘bankruptcy debt’. In the sphere of CVAs, the word ‘creditor’ should not be construed narrowly or restrictively. As indicated below, a contingent creditor is also a creditor for these purposes. In short, the scope and nature of creditors’ claims in relation to CVAs in this practice area...
Restructuring & Insolvency
PRACTICE NOTES
Income Payments Agreements (England and Wales): Insolvency Act 1986 s 310A—relationship with IPOs, making, duration, variation, enforcement, nil tax code arrangements and calculation examples
An income payments agreement (IPA) is a counterpart to an income payments order (IPO), used where a bankrupt person consents to pay their spare income into the bankruptcy estate. Such contributions are made voluntarily rather than by a court order. To explore IPAs more fully, it helps to revisit the concept of an IPO.
What is an IPO and when is it used?
Once a bankruptcy order is made against an individual, the bankrupt no longer has to make further direct payments to creditors. Frequently, this means their income exceeds what is required for ordinary household outgoings. While the bankrupt remains undischarged, the court may, under section 310 of the Insolvency Act 1986 (IA 1986), impose an IPO, specifying the amount of the bankrupt’s income that is to be claimed for the benefit of the estate during the time the order is in force, as specified in the order. Notwithstanding that an IPO cannot be made after discharge, one that already exists can still have effect after the bankrupt has been discharged. However, an IPO must never reduce the bankrupt’s means below what is necessary to cover the reasonable domestic needs of the bankrupt and their family...
Restructuring & Insolvency
PRACTICE NOTES
Insolvency expenses in liquidation, bankruptcy and administration: classification, prioritisation and key authorities (England and Wales)
What are expenses?
All fees, costs, charges and any other outgoings arising during a winding up (Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016 (IR 2016), SI 2016/1024, rr 6.42 and 7.108), administration (IR 2016, SI 2016/1024, r 3.50) or bankruptcy (IR 2016, SI 2016/1024, r 10.148) are treated as expenses of the relevant winding up, administration or, as applicable, the bankruptcy...
For liquidation and bankruptcy, the applicable provisions are IR 2016, SI 2016/1024, r 6.42 (creditors’ voluntary winding up), IR 2016, SI 2016/1024, r 7.108 (winding up by the court) and IR 2016, SI 2016/1024, r 10.149 (bankruptcy). As many of these provisions are framed in almost identical terms, the following observations apply across all three rules. Whether spending by a liquidator or a trustee in bankruptcy (trustee) qualifies as an expense of the liquidation or the bankruptcy is not a matter over which the court has any discretion. The position depends solely on whether the particular expenditure falls within one of the specified categories...
Restructuring & Insolvency
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