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  • Home
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  • Stephen O'Grady
Stephen O'Grady
Stephen O'Grady

Stephen O'Grady

Partner

  • London UK
Contact Me Today
+44 20 7300 4668
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Featured award

Legal 500 2025

"Stephen O'Grady leverages the firm's broader venture capital credentials to good effect on tech-related mandates, including in the crypto space."

Scroll to featured award

Stephen is a partner in the Restructuring & Insolvency team. He advises lenders, corporates, boards, turnaround directors, investors, insolvency practitioners and other key stakeholders in a range of domestic and cross-border restructuring and insolvency circumstances. He has a mixed contentious and non-contentious practice, specialising in the technology, financial services and real estate sectors. 

He is regularly called upon by boards to provide advice in their most sensitive of financial circumstances, developing novel work-out strategies as well as contingency planning to maximise value in distressed circumstances. He also serves on the board of the Turnaround Management Association (UK), for which he is a regular contributor to turnaround industry events. 

A significant part of Stephen's practice is advising both lenders and investors in distressed real estate transactions: both on complex enforcement and realisation strategies, as well as consensual work-outs and distressed investment opportunities. 

Stephen is also a leader of the firm's initiatives that support clients with interests in blockchain and crypto assets, with specialist expertise of many of the challenges facing business operating in this space. He is a regular speaker at conferences on blockchain and crypto-related topics, and advises clients on both front-end structuring issues related to crypto-assets, as well as distressed investments and crypto-insolvencies. 

Expertise

Services and Groups

Restructuring & insolvency
Disputes & investigations
Corporate insolvency
Pensions insolvency
Advising management
Personal insolvency
Creditors' rights
Distressed debt
Fraud & asset recovery
Real estate restructuring

Sectors

Financial institutions & insurance
Technology, media & communications
Real estate
Cryptoassets, blockchain and distributed ledger technology
European Restructuring & Insolvency tool

European Restructuring & Insolvency tool

Updated for 2023, our unique online tool compares and contrasts regimes across 23 European jurisdictions, providing clear and practical information that's been refreshed by our own experts and partner firms.

Find out more

CV

Since 2022 Partner, Taylor Wessing
2021 - 2022 Senior Counsel, Taylor Wessing
2018 - 2021 Senior Associate, Taylor Wessing
2016 - 2018 Associate, Pinsent Masons
2015 - 2016 Senior Associate, Berwin Leighton Paisner
2012 - 2014 Senior Associate, Minter Ellison, Australia
2008 - 2011 Associate, James Conomos Lawyers, Australia
2008 Legal Counsel, ABC Learning Centres, Australia
2007 Associate to Senior Member (now Judge) McCabe, Administrative Appeals Tribunal, Australia
2017 Solicitor of the Senior Courts, England & Wales
2012 Insolvency Education Program, Insolvency Practitioners Association and Queensland University of Technology
2008 Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Queensland and High Court of Australia
2008 Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice, The College of Law
2007 Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Laws, The University of Queensland

Career

Since 2022 Partner, Taylor Wessing
2021 - 2022 Senior Counsel, Taylor Wessing
2018 - 2021 Senior Associate, Taylor Wessing
2016 - 2018 Associate, Pinsent Masons
2015 - 2016 Senior Associate, Berwin Leighton Paisner
2012 - 2014 Senior Associate, Minter Ellison, Australia
2008 - 2011 Associate, James Conomos Lawyers, Australia
2008 Legal Counsel, ABC Learning Centres, Australia
2007 Associate to Senior Member (now Judge) McCabe, Administrative Appeals Tribunal, Australia

Education

2017 Solicitor of the Senior Courts, England & Wales
2012 Insolvency Education Program, Insolvency Practitioners Association and Queensland University of Technology
2008 Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Queensland and High Court of Australia
2008 Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice, The College of Law
2007 Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Laws, The University of Queensland

Publications

  • The Investment Bank Special Administration Regime, Corporate Rescue and Insolvency Journal, 2017, Issue 5
  • New housing administration regime for social housing, Corporate Rescue and Insolvency Journal, 2016, Issue 6
  • The future of remuneration: prospective changes to office holder remuneration, Corporate Rescue and Insolvency Journal, 2015, Issue 4
  • Inspecting the committee: is your committee of inspection validly formed?, Insolvency Law Bulletin, Australia, August 2014, Vol. 15 No. 5/6
  • When a proof of debt isn't, Insolvency Law Bulletin Australia, March 2014, Vol. 15 No. 1

Memberships & Associations

Turnaround Management Association

INSOL International

INSOL Europe 

Insolvency Lawyers' Association

Awards

Legal 500 2025

Featured

"Stephen O'Grady leverages the firm's broader venture capital credentials to good effect on tech-related mandates, including in the crypto space."

Legal 500 UK 2024

"The firm's overarching technology sector strength and IP expertise also informs a considerable amount of work within the insolvency space. In this context, Stephen O'Grady is particularly adept at advising crypto/blockchain participants on risk management and distressed opportunities".

Legal 500 UK 2023

Corporate restructuring & insolvency - Ranked: Stephen O’Grady is one to watch – he is calm and astute.’

Legal 500 UK 2023

Corporate restructuring & insolvency - Ranked: The team is also well regarded for its insolvency-related work for tech and IP rich businesses, an area in which 'calm and astute' senior counsel Stephen O’Grady has a particular strength, including for crypto market participants on risk management to ensure client assets are protected in the event of an insolvent event.

Experience

Restructuring of Global Cleantech 100 business

Acted on the novel restructuring of a Global Cleantech 100 business (and formerly one of the FT's fasting growing companies in Europe) operating through off-grid areas of West Africa in its complex financial restructuring across multiple lender channels, to provide a stable financial platform for the business to pivot its model.

Stephen O'Grady

Administrators of a portfolio of Four Seasons care homes

Acted for the administrators of a portfolio of Four Seasons care homes across the UK and Northern Ireland, including continued operations and ultimate sale of the various care homes in multiple tranches.

Stephen O'Grady

David's Bridal

Acted for the administrators of the UK operations of the largest bridalwear retailer in the US following its Chapter 11 filing.

Stephen O'Grady

Crypto miner

Acted for the majority creditors in the pre-packaged sale out of administration by way of part-credit bid of a multinational crypto mining business.

Stephen O'Grady

Arcadia

Acting on the restructuring and CVA of the Arcadia group (including Top Shop, Top Man and Miss Selfridge).

Press release
Nick Moser
Stephen O'Grady
Kate Bowden
Mark Smith
Alexander Erskine
James Goold
Jonny Bethell
Mark Bennett

Beaufort Securities

Acting for Beaufort Securities as creditors' committee member for the special administration of this financial services business.

Nick Moser
Stephen O'Grady

Stephen's news & insights

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Madagascar Oil: different treatment of equal creditors deemed fair in English restructuring plan

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7 May 2025
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