Melia Hirst

Practice Areas

Melia’s core focus is advising on non-contentious insolvency matters, starting with strategy planning and implementation around a business restructuring or formal insolvency. Melia also provides advice on scoping potential claims by insolvency practitioners arising from a company entering administration or liquidation. She will deal with all aspects of a formal company insolvency from pre-appointment to appointment, through to dealing with creditor proofs and closure of a case.

A particular focus in her practice is advising on insolvent situations involving property, often for insolvency practitioners in respect of their cases but also for landlords, secured lenders and other stakeholders who are seeking to enforce a proprietary interest or security over the property of an insolvent entity. Melia has particular experience in dealing with LPA Receiverships and other security enforcement outcomes for banks and other lenders.

MVLs and solvent restructurings are other examples of Melia’s practice and she advises on technical and procedural aspects of these situations, often for Liquidators but also advising at board level in a company or intra-group scenario.

Career

Melia has nearly 20 years of experience dealing solely with insolvency matters. She has developed her career across a several regional law firms in the South of England, as a key member of their specialist restructuring and insolvency teams, becoming a Partner in 2019. Since April 2023, Melia heads up the Restructuring and Insolvency team at UK Top 150 Firm, Trethowans LLP focussing her practice around the central South Coast of England. Melia’s breadth of expertise has developed by acting for insolvency practitioners in connection with insolvent estates, as well as directors of businesses facing financial pressures and also stakeholders and creditors who are impacted by the insolvency of another party. Melia has dealt with a wide and varied range of insolvency situations across numerous industry sectors. She is also a frequent speaker on technical legal insolvency matters at industry conferences and seminars as well as offering training sessions to Insolvency Practitioners and business operators.

Professional Memberships

Melia is a longstanding Associate member of R3 and also sits on the committee of the Southern Region of the Association of Business Recovery Professionals. She previously co-chaired the committee of the Southern Region R3 Women’s Group before this was amalgamated into the main regional committee.

Publications

Melia writes articles on restructuring and insolvency matters and has previously contributed to Recovery magazine (R3) and other industry magazines.