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