Wrongful and Misfeasant Trading - An Online Masterclass

Wrongful and Misfeasant Trading - An Online Masterclass: Thursday Jul 2, 2026
A Live Online Course with Rachel McCahill

Wrongful trading claims are perceived to be difficult to bring, is this right and does a claim for misfeasant trading provide a credible alternative?

This Masterclass is designed for everyone involved in insolvency litigation, and will be of particular interest to insolvency and company/commercial solicitors and insolvency practitioners and their teams and other professionals advising on insolvency advisors,

This course focuses on wrongful trading and misfeasant trading claims. It will examine the criteria that needs to be proved in order to bring such claims, the calculation of the net deficiency, what defences can be raised and the position in relation to costs.

Delegates will come away better equipped to:

• Advise clients strategically at the outset of a claim
• Understand the importance of the net deficiency calculation and who should prepare the calculation
• Consider possible defences
• Add tangible value in such cases

The Masterclass is delivered by Rachel McCahill, a highly experienced presenter and a solicitor who has worked within the insolvency profession for 26 years.

Prices: £199 + VAT for the first delegate. This is a per organisation price, so up to 10 of your colleagues from the same organisation can participate at absolutely no extra charge, even if they are viewing it from a different location or at a different time. So for example, if there are 11 of you the cost per delegate would be just £18 each.

For smaller firms with 4 or less partners, the price is £99, which is for a single place with no additional free places

The course can be streamed live to your desktop, laptop or phone or you can watch the recording whenever you want. In either case you will receive a recording of the complete course.

Topics to be Covered

Legal framework and current case law

-Wrongful trading under sections 214 and 246ZB IA 1986: the “knowledge” condition, the notional director test, and how recent decisions such as BHS have applied these concepts in practice.

-Misfeasance and “misfeasant trading” under section 212 IA 1986, including the link to breaches of statutory and fiduciary duties under section 172 CA 2006 and the emerging “insolvency deepening” concept.

-How the courts are now distinguishing between wrongful trading, misfeasance, and fraudulent trading, and why misfeasance may sometimes be the more attractive route.

Directors’ duties in the context of insolvency 

-When and how directors’ duties shift from shareholders to creditors, and what “giving primacy to creditor interests” means in practice.

-Red flags for general company/commercial advisers: cash‑flow pressure, covenant breaches, refinancing proposals, and board conduct that later features in wrongful/misfeasance pleadings.

-Practical steps when advising boards (frequency of board meetings, minute‑taking, seeking IP advice, and when to stop trading) to reduce litigation risk.

Running and defending claims

-Framing the claim: choosing between wrongful trading, misfeasance, and other director claims (preferences, transactions at an undervalue, overdrawn loan accounts, disqualification).

-Pleading strategy, evidential themes (management accounts, cash‑flow forecasts, email trails, advice from professionals), and how those played out in the BHS line of authorities.

-Defending directors: deploying the “every step” defence, reliance on professional advice, and arguments that insolvency was not inevitable or that creditor losses were not increased.

Net deficiency and quantum 

-Understanding the increase in net deficiency (IND) approach adopted in BHS and similar cases.

-How timing findings (e.g. earlier breach date for misfeasance than wrongful trading) can materially alter quantum, and how to build or attack those arguments.

Tactics, funding and costs

-Strategic considerations when deciding whether and when to pursue directors, including assignment of claims, funding and ATE, and settlement dynamics.

-Key cost‑risk issues for both office‑holders and directors, and how recent big‑ticket cases are influencing court attitudes.

What You Will Learn

The Masterclass will cover the areas set out below and will also provide practical and up to date tips and tactics throughout. A comprehensive set of notes will also be provided after the session to support it. Delegates will leave the session better informed and equipped to deal with this important area of practice.

Aims

- To equip participants with an overview of the key provisions and requirements of both wrongful trading and misfeasant trading, to include applicable case law

- To engage participants in considering commonly encountered problems relating to this area of law.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this session participants will be able to:

- Understand wrongful and misfeasant trading claims

- Understand what to look out for when considering such claims

Important Notes about Booking

1. Payment can be made by credit or debit card or alternatively by invoice. The option to pay by invoice is below the pay by card option in the booking form

2. If you don't have the complete list of who will be attending you can book for those that you know will be attending and add the others at a later date

3. Please ensure that, when booking, you get colleagues' email addresses entirely correct as failure to do so will probably mean that they will not receive joining instructions

The Legal Training Consultancy

The Legal Training Consultancy is a full-service training consultancy with a large portfolio of conferences, courses and trainers. Over the years we have been responsible for putting together a vast number of law and tax related conferences, webinars, seminars, videos and e-learning modules. Altogether well over 2000.