ASB Law ousts Wragge & Co from DTI insolvency contract in London

ASB will share the London work with regional firm Howes Percival, which had its contracts for both London and Anglia renewed.

Wragges has lost the London work, but continues to carry out half of the Midland's work. The ASB insolvency team, led by Andy Taylor, already represented the government department in the South East.

Under the Company Directors' Disqualification Act, the Insolvency Service of the DTI is required to investigate all company directors of businesses that have gone into insolvency, where the responsible insolvency practitioner has identified misconduct. ASB's team will advise the DTI on the strength of particular cases and conduct the case through the courts. The DTI has attained a success rate of more than 95 per cent in its disqualification applications.

Mark Bruce, chief examiner at the DTI, said: "ASB has represented us in the South East for a number of years and we are happy with the quality of its work. The insolvency team at ASB was able to show us during the tender process that it had the experience, resource and capacity to handle our work."

		"The insolvency team at ASB was able to show us that it had the experience, resource and capacity to handle our work" Mark Bruce, DTI

Each contract is re-tendered every three to five years.
ASB's win coincides with its appointment as the first regional partner of after-the-event legal expenses provider Greystoke Legal Services, for a new policy called Insolvency Assist.

The service, which ASB helped to develop, combines a funding facility for the usual ongoing costs of litigation with an insurance policy to cover the potential costs of losing the case. It aims to help insolvency practitioners overcome financial hurdles in the pursuit of claims.

Under the new scheme, ASB will prepare cases for insurance assessment by Greystoke. Once the insurance premium has been decided, the case will be conducted through the courts by ASB on behalf of the insolvency practitioner.

In certain cases, the policy provided by Greystoke may be backdated to up to six months to cover any early investigative costs.