Corporate Insolvency Practitioners and the Vexed Issues of Competence and Fees

Abstract The issues of competence and fees of insolvency practitioners ( ip s) as well as their impact on insolvent estates have been recurrent themes of debates in both legal and financial circles. Insolvency practitioners in the UK and other common law jurisdictions play a crucial role in managing and distributing corporate assets during insolvency proceedings. However, their fees can indeed consume a significant portion of the available estate, potentially diminishing returns for (unsecured) creditors and stakeholders. A review of relevant case law highlights how the courts in some common law jurisdictions have scrutinized ip fees and set benchmarks to protect the interests of creditors and the integrity of insolvency proceedings. Insolvency regulators, such as the courts (and professional bodies) continuously assess practices in the field, offering guidelines on fair remuneration. This article argues that corporate business rescue should be regarded as a public service and this perspective should also reflect on ip remuneration. Although courts remain willing to intervene on a case by case basis, we argue that the relevant court cases reveal the need for ex ante remedies, such as legislative, clearer, enforceable standards in ip remuneration to protect insolvent estates from being unduly depleted against the collective interests of creditors and stakeholders.