Law & Arbitration · High-Stakes Disputes
Crisis & Corporate Restructuring Litigation
When the balance sheet fractures, litigation becomes part of the restructuring.
Handle leads Crisis & Corporate Restructuring Litigation for boards, shareholders and lenders when financial stress turns legal — using court action, protective relief and creditor strategy to stabilise control and preserve enterprise value.
When this is needed
Crisis and corporate restructuring litigation: where the mandate begins.
- Creditors are enforcing, accelerating facilities or calling security, and the business needs time to restructure.
- Shareholders, directors or lenders are contesting control of a company in financial distress.
- Assets are at risk of being moved or sold before a restructuring plan can be agreed.
- Directors face potential liability for decisions taken while the company was under stress.
Matters Handle leads
Litigation deployed as a restructuring instrument.
Four mandate types. One recovery strategy across court and capital.
Restructuring & Insolvency Litigation
Court proceedings under the UAE financial reorganisation regime.
Creditor & Shareholder Disputes
Control conflicts resolved while value is still intact.
Emergency Injunctions
Protective measures to secure assets and the status quo.
Lender & Finance Disputes
Facility, security and surety disputes managed together.
The scope
Crisis & Corporate Restructuring Litigation — scope, made explicit.
A focused, premium mandate — with control of the company at the center.
Distress Position Review
Facilities, security and exposure mapped quickly.
Court Strategy
Proceedings aligned with the restructuring timetable.
Protective Relief
Asset preservation and standstill measures pursued.
Director Exposure Management
Governance and liability risk contained.
Turnaround Alignment
Legal action coordinated with operational recovery.
The mandate
In a crisis, delay compounds loss.
Financial distress moves faster than ordinary litigation. Creditors act, counterparties terminate and control is contested within weeks. Handle treats court action as one instrument within the restructuring, timed to protect assets, hold the governance line and buy the business the time it needs.
Because Handle also operates strategy and capital practices, litigation is aligned with the turnaround plan, lender negotiations and any recapitalisation or distressed sale. One senior team holds the legal, governance and capital decisions together.
What the mandate delivers
- Emergency litigation and protective relief
- Creditor and shareholder dispute management
- Governance and control stabilisation
- Asset protection during financial distress
- Litigation aligned with the restructuring plan
- Director and board exposure containment
How the work runs
Four disciplines. One stabilisation plan.
Every distress mandate is run with crisis-grade leadership, litigation as an instrument, control preservation and recovery focus.
01
Crisis-Grade Leadership
Senior partners embedded through compressed timelines.
02
Litigation as Instrument
Court action synchronised with restructuring objectives.
03
Control Preservation
Governance and asset control secured during distress.
04
Recovery Focus
Every step measured against preserved enterprise value.
The Handle model
Practice-led. Never fragmented.
The matter may begin here — it stays connected to strategy, capital and law.
Strategy & Operations
The work stays connected to market position, operating model, performance and execution governance.
M&A & Capital
The work stays aware of capital readiness, investor review, transaction logic and deployment discipline where relevant.
Legal & Regulatory
The work stays protected through structure, rights, governance, enforceability and regulatory or dispute readiness.
Why Handle
Control held. Value preserved.
A restructuring fails when legal action and capital strategy pull in different directions. Handle runs both under one mandate, so the courtroom serves the recovery rather than competing with it.
- Immediate mobilisation once scope is set
- Creditor dynamics mapped before action
- Litigation timed to the restructuring
- Board and director protection built in
- Coordination with financial advisers
- Strategy, capital and law in one team
Good litigation is disciplined project management. Clear filings, clean evidence, and a hearing plan that your board understands. That is how outcomes travel from courtroom to cash.
Hamda Al FalasiPartner, Law & Arbitration
Engagement paths
Where this work typically begins.
Growth & Expansion
When the asset must scale capacity, geography, capital, partnerships or market share.
Turnaround
When the asset must reset structure, capital, law, governance and operations under pressure.
Coverage
Connected across Handle’s dispute and enforcement practice.
Handle acts from Dubai for boards, shareholders, lenders and special-situation investors — before UAE onshore courts, the DIFC and ADGM Courts and arbitral tribunals — and coordinates with restructuring advisers and, where assets sit abroad, local counsel.
High-Stakes Disputes · Related mandates
Emergency Injunctions & Global Asset FreezesHigh-Value Shareholder Disputes ($100M+)Founder Removal & Board Control DisputesSovereign & State-Linked DisputesEmergency Capital & Control SituationsLitigation Involving Family OfficesInstitutional & Private Capital ConflictsGovernment & Sovereign DisputesTechnology, Media & IP DisputesEnvironment, Health & Safety (EHS) & Compliance LitigationInsurance & Reinsurance LitigationMediation & Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Frameworks
Practice areas · Law & Arbitration
Forums · Courts & arbitration
Questions, answered
Crisis Corporate Restructuring Litigation — questions, answered.
How Handle approaches crisis and corporate restructuring litigation.
When does litigation become part of a restructuring?
When creditor pressure, control disputes or asset risk can only be contained through court intervention.
Can court action pause creditor enforcement?
Protective measures and the procedures available under the UAE financial reorganisation and bankruptcy framework may provide breathing room, depending on the facts.
Who instructs Handle in crisis litigation?
Boards, shareholders, lenders and special-situation investors facing a company in distress.
How quickly can Handle act?
Work begins as soon as the mandate scope is defined, with urgent applications prioritised.
How are directors protected during a crisis?
Decisions are documented, governance processes are followed and liability exposure is assessed as part of the strategy.
Does Handle work with financial restructuring advisers?
Yes. Legal action is aligned with the financial plan, and Handle’s strategy and capital practices can lead parts of that plan directly.
Can shareholder and creditor disputes be managed together?
Yes. They are handled under one strategy so that settling one does not worsen the other.
What is the objective of crisis litigation?
Stabilisation, preservation of control and an outcome from which value can be recovered.
Insights
Perspectives from live mandates.
Partner-led analysis on law, capital and strategy, shaped by boardroom realities across the UAE and the GCC.
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Work with Handle
Begin with Crisis & Corporate Restructuring Litigation — kept connected to the whole Handle model.
When financial stress has turned into a legal fight for control.
Request an initial review
When the company must be stabilised before value is lost.
Set out the matter. A partner reviews it and responds with a defined route, strategy and accountable lead.
- Partner-level review of every request
- Strict confidentiality and privilege from first contact
- One accountable partner from review to execution
