Online Event Series: ‘Supporting Distressed Businesses in the COVID-19 Crisis’—The View from the UK

This year policymakers around the globe have scrambled to intervene in response to an anticipated wave of business bankruptcies flowing from COVID-19 trading disruption. A range of policies have been experimented with, including the modification of pre-pandemic enforcement rights, the extension of bail-outs, and the introduction of new bankruptcy processes. Have these policies achieved their stated goals? In what ways might these policy interventions permanently modify pre-pandemic commercial law, and are these changes for the better?

In this online event, three speakers will reflect on these questions in the UK context, offering their observations on the policy response to COVID-19 related business distress in the UK, with particular reference to English law. The speakers are: 

• Philip Hertz, Clifford Chance
• Professor Sarah Paterson, London School of Economics
• Felicity Toube QC, South Square

The event will be chaired by Kristin van Zwieten (University of Oxford).

The event is the second in a series considering the policy response to COVID-19 business distress in a number of jurisdictions. The series is part of a wider project (led by Kristin van Zwieten, Horst Eidenmüller and Oren Sussman), COVID-19, public policy and commercial law, that is funded by Oxford University’s COVID-19 Research Response Fund.

The event will take place on Monday, 25 January 2021 (6pm - 7.30pm London time). The event is open to the public and there is no registration fee, but places are limited. Register here.

The recording of the first event, on the German policy response, is available here.