Douglas McEvoy

ASSOCIATE
Douglas is an Associate in the Restructuring & Insolvency team.

He has experience in contentious insolvency litigation, director disqualification, contractual and commercial litigation, director and shareholder disputes, and personal insolvency matters.

 

He graduated from the University of Birmingham in 2017 with a 2:1 in Law and subsequently completed the Legal Practice Course at the University of Law in 2018, attaining a Commendation.

 

Prior to joining Edwin Coe, Douglas trained and qualified as a solicitor in Birmingham before moving to a London Law firm in May 2022 and joining Edwin Coe in January 2025.

 

Audience and Work Summary:

 

Contentious Insolvency: Bringing and defending claims against directors.

 

Director Disqualification: Defending directors from investigations brought by the Secretary of State for their disqualification.

 

Bankruptcy: Bringing and defending bankruptcy petitions.

 

Winding up Companies: Bringing and defending winding up petitions.

 

Insolvency Processes: Advising on processes involving liquidation and administration of companies.

 

Statutory Demands: Serving and responding to statutory demands against individuals and companies.

 

Commercial Litigation: Advising on various stages in litigation representing claimants and defendants.

 

Shareholder Disputes: Assisting and advising directors and shareholders regarding internal disputes and various options.

EXPERIENCE
Douglas’s experience includes:
Successfully defended multiple directors from disqualification investigations brought by the Insolvency Service on behalf of the Secretary of State. Usually, such investigations would involve allegations such as trading to the detriment of HMRC, wrongfully obtaining government-backed bounce back loans, failing to comply with regulations, and other relevant misfeasance.
Acting on behalf of both Defendants and Claimants in substantive contentious insolvency litigation including antecedent transactions, wrongful trading, fraudulent trading, misfeasance, and transactions defrauding creditors. This has also included loan charges, e-share schemes, and general unpaid VAT, CIS and NIC claims by HMRC. He has litigated from the pre-action stage all the way to settlement, trial, and/or enforcement post-trial.
Advising on and assisting with compensation claims for financial recovery brought by the Insolvency Service against directors. These would, quite often, be brought at the same time as director disqualification investigations.
Advising on breaches of share purchase agreements, shareholder agreements, and other breaches of contract leading to claims for damages. He has advised on varying contractual disputes including earn-out disputes involving deferred acquisitions, personal guarantee obligations, compliance with restrictive covenants, and general reviews in the context of disputes with suppliers and/or clients.
Advising on statutory demands for the recovery of undisputed debts. Assisting individuals and companies with preparing and/or responding to statutory demands.
Assisting and advising individuals and companies in bringing and or defending bankruptcy petitions and winding up petitions. Advising on the process from inception to court order and the consequential liquidation or bankruptcy.