Nicolas Morelli

I am co-head of the firm's Restructuring practice internationally and head of the Litigation practice in France.

For nearly twenty years I have been involved in restructuring companies in difficulty, both as counsel and in litigation relating to these operations. My practice covers industrial and financial restructuring as well as complex commercial litigation.

With a doctorate in private law, I began my career in 2002 with a law firm, where I developed an expertise in litigation before the supreme, administrative and judicial courts over several years.

Former first secretary of the Conférence du Stage des avocats au Conseil d'Etat et à la Cour de cassation (2006), I teach the insolvency law course in the Master II Business Law at the University of Paris V and write numerous articles on this subject. I am a member of the ARE (Association pour le Retournement des Entreprises).

• Advising a car manufacturer in setting up management trusts (EUR 63m)
• Advising the French State in connection with the restructuring of the CNIM group (EUR 110 million)
• Advising a French bank and an ISP in the simultaneous setting up of five trusts to secure the restructuring of a financial and social debt (EUR 70m)
• Advising a trustee in connection with the unwinding of a property trust agreement with a view to discharging a financial debt (EUR 160m).
• Co-counsel with Freshfields London to the Bulb Group, the 7th largest electricity distributor in the UK, in connection with its restructuring in France (2022).
• Advising a pool of 5 banks in connection with the restructuring of Latécoère's debt.
• Advising the banks in connection with the complete financial restructuring of the Buffalo Grill group and the implementation of a large-scale corporate EMP.
• Counsel to a pool of 12 lenders in connection with a €725 million secured revolving credit facility for the financial restructuring of Rallye (Casino group).

• Advising a multinational pharmaceutical company against claims made in court by the court-appointed liquidator of a former manufacturing unit seeking (i) the extension of the liquidation proceedings to the company and (ii) €11 million in damages on the ground of excessive credit support extended to this former operational unit. The claims relate to the financial consequences of a failed carve-out of a distressed business unit.
• Advising a multinational oil and gas company and its subsidiary in relation to a post-safeguard litigation. The litigation was initiated by a French group specialised in the solar power in relation to the failure of a partnership project. The purpose of the action is to have the company and its subsidiary held liable for the alleged loss of financing and investment projects resulting from the failure of the negotiations, estimated by the claimant at €250 million.
• Advising a real estate SPV held by French public institutions against claims made in court by the court-appointed liquidator of its former tenant seeking (i) the extension of the liquidation proceedings of the latter to the SPV and (ii) €11 million damages on the ground of excessive credit support extended to its former tenant. The main issue was to obtain the overruling of the decision of a Commercial Court which extended the liquidation proceedings of the SPV's former tenant to the SPV and preventing the judicial sale by the liquidator of the SPV's real estate valued at €25 million. This was obtained in appeal. The other action brought by the Liquidator, on the ground of excessive credit support, is still pending.
• Advising a multinational logistics company in relation to legal actions initiated by the court-appointed liquidator as well as dismissed employees of a French company. The purpose of these actions is to make the multinational corporation liable for the consequences of the liquidation proceedings of this French company, which was sold in the context of a spin-off of one of the former's non-core businesses.