Claire Graham

Claire advises Insolvency Practitioners on contentious insolvency matters (including breaches of fiduciary duties and civil recovery actions). Claire has acted for the Insolvency Service for 20 years advising them in respect of company law and insolvency issues including investigations, director duties and public interest winding up.

Claire heads a team of investigators carrying out investigations into trading limited companies on behalf of the Department for Business, Enterprise and Industrial Strategy, insolvent companies on behalf of insolvency practitioners and directors on behalf of the Insolvency Service.

Claire also has extensive expertise in commercial litigation and acts in respect of data privacy cases, procurement disputes and general contractual claims for bodies such as the Department of Health.

Claire is a Certified Investigator, is recognised as an expert in the field of Dispute Resolution by Legal 500 and is Chair of the North West Fraud Forum.

Jurisdiction: England and Wales

• Successfully acting for the Official Receiver in opposition of a high profile football agent’s application to vary his Bankruptcy Restriction Undertaking.
• Successfully acting for the Insolvency Service in respect of an appeal of a judgement made in respect of a director disqualification application brought against corporate directors involving fraudulent foreign investments of several million pounds, connected party transfers at undervalue and divergence of company funds to the directors’ accounts.
• Advising and acting for the Insolvency Service in respect of the high profile winding up of an insolvency practitioners’ practice, Vanguard Insolvency Practitioners Limited, together with its corporate group. This was a high importance decision which provided much needed guidance regarding the regulations of insolvency practitioners and the level of transparency required for those who operate Company Voluntary Arrangements which will have far reaching repercussions for the insolvency industry.
• Acting for the Official Receiver on the special manager appointment over Redcar Steel Works (SSI), a matter of significant national interest involving diverse and complex legal issues.
• Conducting multiple insolvency investigations into director conduct and directors disqualification applications on behalf of the Secretary of State for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.