Simone Schönen
Rechtsanwältin (Lawyer), Partner
Simone Schönen is a partner practising in the area of restructuring and insolvency law. She advises corporations, lenders and investors in the context of restructurings and refinancings in court and out-of court. Her special focus is advising on complex financial restructurings with multilayer financing structures and a multitude of stakeholders as well as cross-border situations. Simone Schönen also is co-head of the Distressed Disputes team and advises on complex disputes arising in the context of restructurings and insolvency.
Projects
- STEAG GmbH
Advising the Steering Committee of the guarantor lenders on the financial restructuring and transformation of the energy group, including the sale of the group (since 2021)
- German automotive supplier
Advising the financing banks on the financial restructuring of an automotive supplier and the sale of the loans and shares to an investor (2020-2023)
- German automobile manufacturer
Advising a German electric vehicle manufacturer on the acquisition of a distressed automobile manufacturer and remedying its insolvency (2022)
- Tourism Industry
Advising a company in the tourism industry on directors' duties and government assistance programs related to Corona (2020/2021).
- Nursing Care Real Estate Sector
Advising a company in the nursing care real estate sector on redevelopment (2020/2021)
- Phase-out of lignite-fired power generation
Advising the German government on the phase-out of lignite-fired power generation (2020)
- Adler Modemärkte AG
Advising a bank consortium on state-guaranteed syndicated financing in favor of Adler Modemärkte AG (2020)
- Euromicron AG
Advising the financing banks of insolvent Euromicron AG on the successful sale of the company‘s subsidiaries (2019/2020)
- Eckerle
Advising the financing banks on a loan sale with a view to a restructuring of the borrower belonging to the automotive sector (2019/2020)
- Condor Flugdienst GmbH
Advising on protective shield proceedings (2019/2020)
- Bank consortium
Advising a consortium of banks on the restructuring financing of a company in the textile industry (2019)
- M.M.Warburg & CO (AG & Co.) KGaA
Advising the bank as the sole underwriter in a cash capital increase with subscription rights by stock corporation co.don Aktiengesellschaft (2019)
- Fund
Advising a fund on the proposed acquisition of debt securities issued by project companies with a view to acquiring the business (2018)
- Credit institution
Advising a credit institution in its defence against a specialised and extensive lawsuit brought by a bankruptcy trustee for payment due to various contested transactions (2018)*
- Marenave Schiffahrts AG
Advising the shipping group on the financial restructuring of its listed holding company by means of consensual complete deleveraging and sale of the entire fleet (2016/2017)*
- Singulus Technologies AG
Advising on financial restructuring through debt restructuring with debt/equity and debt/debt swaps (2015/2016)*
- IVG Immobilien AG
Advising on complex restructuring as part of insolvency plan proceedings, including a debt/equity swap (2013/2014)*
• * = These clients were advised ahead of time at Noerr
Career
- Studied law at Bucerius Law School, Hamburg, and at Victoria University of Wellington (New Zealand)
- Experience abroad: Stage at a leading international law firm in London during legal traineeship
- Experience as lawyer with a focus on restructuring and insolvency law at a leading international law firm in Hamburg
- At Noerr since 2019
- Admitted to the Hamburg Chamber of Lawyers
Publications
- Commenting on sections 17 to 23 of the German Corporate Stabilisation and Restructuring Act (StaRUG), in: Uhlenbruck, Insolvency Code, 16th edition 2023
- Commenting on sections 49 to 59 of the German Corporate Stabilisation and Restructuring Act (StaRUG), in: Seibt/Westpfahl, StaRUG, 1st edition 2023 (together with Stephanie Bender)
- The amendment of individual clauses in financing contracts based on the German Corporate Stabilisation and Restructuring Act, ZRI 2021, 437 (co-author Andreas Naujoks)
- Expedited Corporate Debt Restructuring Procedures in Germany (co-author Dr Lars Westpfahl), Rodrigo Olivares-Caminal (ed.), Expedited Corporate Debt Restructuring in the EU, published by Oxford University Press, 2015, chapter 13, p. 329-357
- The Amendment of Individual Clauses in Finance Contracts in accordance with the German Act on Stabilization and Restructuring Act (with Andreas Naujoks), ZRI 2021, 437
- The New Special Regulation regarding the Restructuring and Winding-up of (Major) Banks: A Path to more Sustainability in the Banking Sector (?) (convenience translation of German headline) (co-author Dr Patrick Cichy), Denise Bauer/Gunnar Schuster (eds), Nachhaltigkeit im Bankensektor (Sustainability in the Banking Sector), published by Dr Otto Schmidt, 2016, chapter 9, p. 197-227
- Creditors' Rights and Issuer's Duties in Case of a Vote without Meeting pursuant to the German Bond Act (convenience translation of German headline) (co-author Dr Heiko Bertelmann), ZIP 2014, p. 353-365
- Comment on the judgment of Mannheim Regional Court dated 18 February 2011 (case no. 7 O 100/10) – The Fate of the License in Case of an Insolvency of the Licensor (convenience translation of German headline) (co-author Dr Lars Westpfahl), EWiR 2011, p. 645-646
- Consumer Insolvency Law in International Comparison Taking into Account the Provisions on Discharge of Residual Debt (Part I) (convenience translation of German headline), ZVI 2009, p. 229-240
- Consumer Insolvency Law in International Comparison Taking into Account the Provisions on Discharge of Residual Debt (Part II) (convenience translation of German headline), ZVI 2010, p. 81-95