In brief
From 20-22 April 2026, the global restructuring and insolvency community gathered in London for the annual INSOL International Conference.
Against a backdrop of geopolitical fragmentation, evolving capital markets and rapid technological change, discussions throughout the program explored how practitioners, courts, investors and advisers are responding to a more complex, interconnected and contested restructuring landscape.
In depth
At the conference
Baker McKenzie was represented at INSOL International, London 2026 by a cross border team spanning the UK, US, Asia Pacific and Europe. This breadth of participation underscores the firm’s integrated global approach to cross border restructuring. Notably, Priyanka Usmani (Partner, London) served on the INSOL Technical Committee responsible for curating the INSOL International 2006 conference program to reflect key industry trends and issues, underscoring the firm’s long-standing contribution to INSOL International as a member of Group of Thirty-Six (G36).
Below we provide the team’s key insights based on discussions with market participants, sentiment and the conference program, followed by key areas to watch in the coming year.
Key insights
Economic outlook
- Economic and geopolitical uncertainty forms the backdrop to many of the restructuring themes explored at this year’s conference. The opening plenary reinforced how geopolitical fragmentation, erosion of trust between governments, corporations and populations, and the accelerating use of technology are no longer peripheral risks, but material drivers of economic volatility.
- A recurring focus was the role of trust in economic resilience. Speakers highlighted that declining trust in institutions and governance frameworks can amplify shocks, destabilize markets and materially shape restructuring outcomes. In an environment marked by geopolitical rivalry, disinformation and contested global norms, rebuilding trust has become a core economic challenge rather than a purely political one.
- Artificial intelligence (AI) featured prominently as both an opportunity and a source of systemic risk. While technological advances offer productivity gains and new analytical capabilities, panelists cautioned that unconstrained development — particularly in highly sensitive or militarized contexts — may outpace ethical, regulatory and institutional safeguards.
- Importantly, this macro discussion set the context for a wide range of program topics explored elsewhere at the conference, including transformational leadership as a practical capability for navigating prolonged uncertainty, the commercialization of space and its restructuring implications, the evolving role of private capital (and private credit in particular) across the capital structure, and the continued — if still uneven — use of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) tools.
- Taken together, the message was clear: future distress scenarios are likely to be shaped as much by geopolitics, trust and technology governance as by traditional macro‑economic cycles.
Key legal developments
- A central strand of the program focused on the legal frameworks shaping modern restructurings, particularly in cross border contexts. Preventive restructuring regimes, recognition and enforcement, and the boundaries of comity featured prominently across multiple sessions.
- Discussion of the EU’s Preventive Restructuring Directive highlighted mounting questions around coherence and consistency across Member States, including valuation methodologies, treatment of equity, cross‑class cram‑down mechanics and the interaction with the EU Insolvency Regulation. For international stakeholders, the practical challenge remains how these regimes operate in multi‑jurisdictional restructurings and how outcomes are recognized beyond the EU.
- Other sessions examined forum selection, synthetic proceedings, third‑party releases and the evolving role of courts. Across jurisdictions, the program suggested heightened judicial awareness of restructuring arbitrage and information asymmetry, alongside a growing tension between domestic policy considerations and the demands of global restructurings.
- A recurring theme was the increasing scrutiny applied by courts to process, fairness and creditor engagement, particularly in complex capital structures and cases involving minority creditor outcomes or restructuring‑related fees. While approaches vary by jurisdiction, the direction of travel points toward greater transparency, earlier engagement and a more active judicial role in shaping acceptable restructuring outcomes.
Changes in the restructuring market and profession
- The program reflected a restructuring market in transition, shaped by new actors, new tools and evolving professional expectations.
- A defining feature of the current restructuring landscape was the expanding influence of private capital, and private credit in particular. Sessions explored how private credit has become central to refinancing and restructuring across markets, offering speed, certainty of execution and bespoke capital solutions. At the same time, panelists highlighted the importance of underwriting discipline, transparency and alignment of incentives, noting that private capital can both defer and precipitate restructuring depending on documentation flexibility, sponsor behavior and market conditions.
- Technology, and particularly AI, featured as a practical enabler rather than a theoretical concept. Sessions on asset tracing and recovery demonstrated how AI‑driven tools are being deployed to analyze vast volumes of structured and unstructured data, significantly reducing fragmentation, shortening recovery timelines and expanding the range of cases that are economically viable to pursue. At the same time, speakers repeatedly emphasized the continued necessity of human judgment, evidential scrutiny and clear governance around AI‑assisted outputs.
- ADR also received sustained attention across multiple sessions. Mediation and arbitration were discussed as tools to manage complex creditor disputes, mass claims and cross‑border deadlock — both in and alongside formal insolvency processes — while recognizing the statutory and procedural limits that may constrain their use in certain jurisdictions. The program suggested a gradual, though not uniform, shift toward integrating ADR more strategically into restructuring toolkits.
- Another session explored the commercialization of the space economy and its restructuring implications. The discussion underscored that “space insolvency” is no longer theoretical: the sector is capital intensive, often venture backed, inherently cross border and increasingly interconnected with critical infrastructure and national security. Reliance on space enabled services — such as satellite communications and timing signals — also raises broader systemic risk considerations that extend well beyond the space sector itself.
What’s ahead and key areas to watch in the coming year
Looking ahead, INSOL International, London 2026 highlighted several themes likely to shape restructuring and insolvency practice over the coming year:
- Continued geopolitical volatility as a catalyst for financial stress across industries and regions
- Greater judicial focus on cross‑border coherence, process integrity and fairness
- The expanding influence of private capital in distressed and special situations
- Deeper integration of technology and AI into mainstream restructuring, investigations and asset recovery
- Broader — though still uneven — use of ADR alongside formal insolvency tools
INSOL International, London 2026 offered a timely reminder that restructuring and insolvency practice is defined not only by legal frameworks and financial tools, but by judgment, perspective and the ability to adapt as markets evolve. The breadth of issues explored — from capital and technology to governance and emerging sectors — reflected a profession very much in motion.
We look forward to carrying these conversations forward and to reconnecting with the community at INSOL International, Sydney 2027.
Further resources and information
Read more analysis from our Global Restructuring & Insolvency experts and learn more about the team by visiting our website.