Dr Jennifer Gant

About

I am a legal academic and researcher who earned my PhD (2016) at Nottingham Law School in a comparative law thesis based on the intersection between insolvency and employment protection entitled: Rescue before a Fall: an Anglo-French Analysis of the Balance between Corporate Rescue and Employment Protection.

I completed my postdoc (2021) at University College Cork on an EU Justice Programme-funded project entitled Judicial Cooperation Supporting Economic Recovery in Europe, which led to the publication of a monograph based on the project (Corporate Recovery in an Integrated Europe). My current research is focused on the social issues of insolvency law and how the application of vulnerability theory may redefine fairness in this complex legal area.

I am the coordinator for the Centre for Justice Law and Society, Third Year Tutor for the LLB, and a supervising solicitor within the Business Law Clinic of the Student Legal Advice Centre.

I'm also the deputy chair of INSOL Europe Academic Forum and a delegate of CERIL, where I currently contribute significantly to Working Party 18 on judicial education and training.

Teaching responsibilities

I have taught the Law and Business in Context module for second-year LLB students and have developed this module to focus on helping students gain high-level skills in critical thinking, strategic analysis, and commercial awareness as well as a myriad of other professional skills that are sought after in the legal profession.

I also teach Employment Law as a third-year optional module along with the Independent Studies module.

I'm also the module leader and sole supervisor for Independent Studies portion for the LLM LPC, a master's level dissertation.

My teaching revolves around skills, in particular research and writing.

Professional interests

I am highly involved in the INSOL organisation, in particular, INSOL Europe and I'm currently the Deputy Chair of the INSOL Europe Academic Forum since 2022. During my time as Deputy Chair, I have organised and launched conferences in Amsterdam and look forward to the Sorrento conference in October 2024.

I am also a delegate of the Conference on European Restructuring and Insolvency Law (CERIL), a think-take focused on resolving critical legal issues in European insolvency and restructuring law. I'm currently a member of Working Party 18, which is focused on judicial training in insolvency and restructuring.

I am also a member of the Research Network of Public Authorities in Financial Distress, also a think tank.

Research interests

My research interests are focused on legal and social issues associated with insolvency and restructuring and have historically been focused on employee protection in these circumstances. My current research has evolved to question the fundamental theoretical paradigms that frame current legislative approaches to corporate insolvency and restructuring and other methods of resolving financial distress. My main question is whether or not the current frameworks adequately protect non-adjusting, involuntary, and undiversified stakeholders affected by a company's financial distress.

I have also written and researched harmonisation and convergence of law (European and global), cross-border coordination of insolvency and restructuring procedures, and judicial cooperation.

Membership of professional bodies

Higher Education Academy
INSOL Europe
INSOL International
Industrial Law Society
Employment Law Association
Society of Legal Scholars
Socio-Legal Studies Association
Law Society
Conference on European Restructuring and Insolvency Law
Research Network of Public Authorities in Financial Distress

Qualifications

Doctorate in Comparative Insolvency and Employment Law
Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
Joint LLM in Employment and Insolvency Law
LLB (hons) / GDL / LPC
MBA Global Management
Diplome des Etudes Francais
TEFL
BA in Italian Medieval and Renaissance Literature

Recent conferences

(24.05.2024) INSOL International Academic Colloquium, San Diego, California, USA: ‘Rethinking Fairness in Insolvency and Restructuring Law from a Human Perspective: Measuring Vulnerability and Resilience’
(25.04.2024) 5^th International & Comparative Insolvency Law Symposium, Royal Holloway University, Egham, UK: ‘Using Vulnerability and Relative Resilience to Optimise Fairness in Insolvency and Restructuring: A Human Perspective’
(11.10.2023) INSOL Europe Academic Forum – Amsterdam: Closing Speech as Deputy Chair of the Academic Forum
(20.04.2023) CERIL Conference on Harmonisation of EU Insolvency Law, Leiden, The Netherlands: Invited as expert on a panel session discussing ‘A European Regime for Pre-packs and MSMEs in which I shared my views of what the current proposal overlooks in terms of employee rights and protections
(14.04.2023) Derby Law School Annual Conference: ‘EU Insolvency Law Harmonisation: Pre-Packs, Employees and the Spirit of the Law’
(3.03.2022) INSOL Europe Academic Forum Conference in Dublin, Ireland: ‘Reconsidering Fairness for Vulnerable and Involuntary Stakeholders in Insolvency and Restructuring’
(17.09.2021) INSOL ERA Coffee Chat - Book Launch with Paul Omar for our edited collection by Edward Elgar Publishing: Research Handbook on Corporate Restructuring
(29.10.2020) Webinar hosted by the University of Sydney Ross Parsons Centre for Commercial, Corporate and Taxation Law, Australia - “So It’s Just Random Then? Harmonisation of Business Rescue and Judicial Cooperation in the European Union” with three individual presentations by each research member of the UCC Project Team
(29.09.2020) INSOL Europe Judicial Wing Meeting (Virtual): Update on the JCOERE Project presented by the UCC Team including Irene Lynch Fannon and Aoife Finnerty
(01.09.2020) Society of Legal Scholars Conference (Virtual) - Bespoke “Judicial Cooperation Panel” where each UCC research team member gave a presentation on a specific aspect of the project - “Legal Culture Influencing Mutual Trust and Cooperation between EU Member States and Courts”
(12.06.2020) YANIL Coffee Chat (Virtual) - “The Lived Experience of Collaboration on a Project”

Experience in industry

I completed my training contract with Shoosmiths in Nottingham in 2010, qualifying as a solicitor in England and Wales. Post-qualification, I worked on an ad hoc basis for a short period of time as an employment solicitor for Attenborough Law before choosing to go into academia.

I have provided expert written evidence for a cross-border insolvency case.

As supervising solicitor in the Student Legal Advice Centre Business Law Clinic, I continue to exercise my professional skills as I guide students through client interviews, research and advice.

In the media

I was interviewed as a part of the INSOL Talks podcasts. The podcasts offer a unique opportunity to listen to and learn from leading insolvency and restructuring law scholars and practitioners from around the world. I was interviewed along with two others in Episode 40 - Human Rights in Insolvency.

I have also interviewed a number of academic luminaries in the insolvency field during my time on the board of the INSOL International Early Researcher Academics (ERA):

Quoted in BBC Worklife Article 'Are Transparency Laws Working?'

Recent publications

2024

‘Vulnerability, Resilience, and Employees: Can a Higher Degree of Fairness be Achieved by Looking Beyond Traditional Insolvency Norms?’ in Jason Harris (ed), Insolvency: A Research Agenda (Elgar 2024) (forthcoming)
‘United Kingdom’ co-authored with Eugenio Vaccari, in Gert Jan Boon, Harold Koster, and Reinout Vriesendorp (eds), Implementation of the EU Preventive Restructuring Directive Part I (Den Haag Boom Juridisch 2024) (forthcoming)
‘Resisting Global Convergence’ in Emilie Ghio and Ricardo Perlingeiro (eds), National Legal Systems: Convergence or Divergence? Lessons from Contemporary Crises (Springer 2024)

2023

Rethinking Insolvency Law Theories in a Changing World: Perspectives for the 21^st Century (Elgar 2023) (edited with Emilie Ghio & John Wood)
‘Vulnerability and Resilience: Paradigms Ensuring Internal Fairness in Corporate Insolvency and Rescue’ in Emilie Ghio, John Wood, and Jennifer L L Gant (eds), Rethinking Insolvency Law Theories in a Changing World: Perspectives for the 21^st Century (Elgar 2023)
‘Pre-Packs, Employees and the Spirit of EU Law’ (INSOL Europe Inside Story 2023) <https://www.insol-europe.org/news/inside-stories>

2022

‘Reconsidering Fairness for Vulnerable and Involuntary Stakeholders in Insolvency and Restructuring’ in Emilie Ghio and Eugenio Vaccari (eds), The Emerging New Landscape of European Restructuring and Insolvency (INSOL Europe 2022)
‘In the Garden of Corporate Rescue: Cross-Fertilisation of European Legislative Ideas in a Post-Brexit Britain’ (with Eugenio Vaccari) (2022) (W-002) Herstructurering & Recovery Online <https://www.online-hero.nl/art/4344/special-issue-preventive-restructuring-2-the-uk-preventive-restructuring-framework-after-brexit-acknowledging-eu-s-supremacy#_edn1>
“Floating Charges and Moral Hazard: Searching for Fairness for Involuntary and Vulnerable Stakeholders” in Jonathan Hardman and Alistair MacPherson (eds), The Floating Charge in Scotland: New Perspectives and Current Issues (Edinburgh University Press 2022)
Corporate Recovery in an Integrated Europe: Harmonisation, Coordination and Judicial Cooperation (Edward Elgar Publishing 2022) (with Irene Lynch Fannon, Aoife Finnerty and as supported by the JCOERE Consortium)
“Optimising Fairness in Insolvency and Restructuring: A Spotlight on Vulnerable Stakeholders” (2022) 31(1) International Insolvency Review 1
Book Review: American Business Bankruptcy: A Primer by Stephen Lubben (2022) 30(1) International Insolvency Review

2021

Book Review: European Law Institute (Part I); Bob Wessels, Stephan Madaus, Gert-Jan Boon (Part II) ELI Reporters and Editors, Rescue of Business in Europe: A European Law Institute Instrument (Oxford University Press 2020) 2021 30(2) Banking and Finance Law Review (forthcoming)
“The EU Preventive Restructuring Framework: in Extra Time?” (2022) 2021/2-3 Fizetésképtelenségi Jog
“Harmonising Insolvency Law in the EU: New Thoughts on Old Ideas in the Wake of the COVID-19 Pandemic” (2021) 30(3) International Insolvency Review 427 (with Emilie Ghio, Gert-Jan Boon, David Ehmke, Line Lanjkaer, and Eugenio Vaccari)
Book Review: COVID-19: Exploring the new normal in insolvency by Dr Sameer Sharma and Dr Neeti Shikha (eds) (2021) 30(3) IIR 478
(Edited Book) Research Handbook on Corporate Restructuring (Edward Elgar Publishing 2021) (with Paul J. Omar)
“Employees as Stakeholders in Restructuring and Insolvency: Acquired Rights and Business Transfers” in Jennifer L L Gant and Paul Omar (eds), Research Handbook on Corporate Restructuring (Edward Elgar Publishing 2021)
“The Role of Social Policy in Corporate Rescue and Restructuring: a Messy Business” in Jennifer L L Gant and Paul J Omar (eds), Research Handbook on Corporate Restructuring 476-499 (Edward Elgar Publishing 2021)
Book Review: Horst Eidenmüller, Luca Enriques, Geneviève Helleringer, and Kristin van Zwieten (eds), Covid-19 and Business Law (Beck-Hart-Nomos 2020) (2021) 30(1) IIR 153

2020

“JCOERE’s Perspective on European Integration and the Scope of Mutual Trust and Cooperation between Courts: Testing Fairness” (British Association of Comparative Law Blog 2020) <https://british-association-comparative-law.org/blog/> (with Irene Lynch Fannon)
“Britain and Brexit: A Forecast of the Future of Employment Protection during Corporate Insolvency” (2020) 29(1) International Insolvency Review 61
“Judicial Co-Operation in the European Union: Insolvency and Rescue” (2020) 2 International and Commercial and Company Law Review 65 (with Irene Lynch Fannon and Aoife Finnerty)
“The Logic and Limits of the EU Harmonisation Process in the Wake of COVID-19” (2020) Summer Eurofenix 22 (with Emilie Ghio, David Ehmke, Line Lanjkaer, Eugenio Vaccari, and Gert-Jan Boon
“JCOERE - Judicial Co-Operation in the European Union: Insolvency and Rescue” Chapter 9 in Jennifer L. L. Gant (ed), Harmonisation of Insolvency and Restructuring Laws in the EU (INSOL Europe 2020) 107-119 (with Irene Lynch Fannon)
“JCOERE Judicial Co-operation Supporting Economic Recovery in Europe: Report 1” available from https://www.ucc.ie/en/jcoere/research/report1/ with the JCOERE Consortium comprised of researchers from the University College Cork, Università degli Studi di Firenze in Italy, the Universitea Titu Maiorescu in Romania, and INSOL Europe
“JCOERE Judicial Co-operation Supporting Economic Recovery in Europe: Report 2” available from < JCOERE Judicial Co-operation Supporting Economic Recovery in Europe> with the JCOERE Consortium comprised of researchers from the University College Cork, Università degli Studi di Firenze in Italy, the Universitea Titu Maiorescu in Romania, and INSOL Europe
Book Review: Jason Chuah and Eugenio Vaccari (eds), Executory Contracts in Insolvency Law: A Global Guide (Edward Elgar 2019) (2020) 29(1) International Insolvency Review 138
(Edited Book) Harmonisation of Insolvency and Restructuring Laws in the EU (INSOL Europe 2020)

2019

“Moral Hazard, Path Dependency, and Failing Franchisors: Mitigating Franchisee Risk through Participation” (2019) 47(2) Federal Law Review 261 (with Professor Jenny Buchan)
“Restructuring Europe - The EU Preventive Restructuring Framework: a Hole in One?” (2019) 28(2) International Insolvency Review 184 (with David Ehmke, Gert-Jan Boon, Line Langjkaer, and Emilie Ghio (the YANIL Board)
“Judicial Co-Operation in Economic Recovery (JCOERE)” (2019) Winter Eurofenix 28 (with Irene Lynch Fannon)
Book Review: Pre-Insolvency Proceedings: A Normative Framework, Nicolaes Tollenaar (2019) 28(2) IIR 287
(Edited Book) Party Autonomy and Third-Party Protection in Insolvency Law (INSOL Europe 2019)

2018

“Prophesying Britain’s Future in the Balance of Social Policy and the Rescue Culture – Challenges to Post-Brexit Harmonisation” in Jennifer L L Gant (ed), The Rise of Preventive Restructuring Schemes: Challenges and Opportunities (INSOL Europe 2018) 17-40
(Edited Book) The Rise of Preventive Restructuring Schemes: Challenges and Opportunities (INSOL Europe 2018)

2017

(Monograph) Balancing the Protection of Business and Employment in Insolvency - An Anglo-French Perspective (Eleven International Publishing 2017)
“The Impact of Austerity in the Framework of Corporate Rescue and the Rights of Workers in the EU: A Road to Recovery?” 26 International Insolvency Review 26(2) International Insolvency Review 176 (with Alexandra Kastrinou)
“Constitutions and Crises: Balancing Insolvency and Social Policy through the Lens of Comparative Legal History” in Jennifer L L Gant (ed), Harmonisation of European Insolvency Law (INSOL Europe 2017) 51-70
(Edited Book), Harmonisation of European Insolvency Law (INSOL Europe 2017)

2016

“Studies in Convergence? Post-Crisis Effects on Corporate Rescue and the Influence of Social Policy: The EU and the USA” (2016) 25(1) International Insolvency Review 72-96
“Corporate Rescue in the United Kingdom: Ten Years after the Enterprise Act 2002 Reforms” (2016) 23 Australian Insolvency Law Journal 40-61 (with Paul Omar)
“The Cost of Bank Insolvencies: A Socio-Economic Rights Analysis” in R Parry (ed), Banking and Financial Insolvencies: The European Regulatory Framework (INSOL Europe 2016) 123-134
“Convergence of Social Policy and Labour Regulation: The European Equation” (2016) 4(2) Nottingham Insolvency and Business Law e-Journal 11

2015

“Path Dependent Obstacles to Cross-Border Insolvency: a Social Darwinian Perspective” (2015) 3(7) Nottingham Insolvency and Business Law e-Journal (Special Edition) 101-134
“Lender Liability and Fault for Deepening Insolvency: A Comparative Analysis” (2015) 132 South African Law Journal 39-58 (with Paul Omar)
“Establishing Interpretation in the Collective Redundancies Directive” (2015) Summer Eurofenix 24
“The Road to Recovery: A Comparative Analysis of the Impact of the Financial Crisis on Rights of Workers in Greece, Portugal, France and the United Kingdom and their Insolvency Legal Systems” in R Parry (ed), Designing Insolvency Systems (INSOL Europe 2015) 31-54 (with Alexandra Kastrinou)

2014

“Social Policy and Insolvency: Struggles toward Convergence” (2014) 2(4) Nottingham Insolvency and Business Law e-Journal 49
“Social Policy and the Reform of the EU Insolvency Regulation” in S Bariatti and P Omar (eds), The Grand Project: Reform of the European Insolvency Regulation (INSOL Europe 2014) 125-138
“The Impact of Social Policy on Cross-Border Insolvency” (2014) Autumn Eurofenix 32
“Obstacles to Cross-Border Insolvency and Employment Protection Coordination in the European Union” in A Bilal et al (eds), Breaking Boundaries (Nottingham Trent University 2014) 22-26 http://breakingboundaries2014.blogspot.com/p/publication.html