Featured Members

Katharina Crinson

How did you first become involved in the world of restructuring and insolvency?

As a trainee solicitor one of my seats was in the firm’s R&I department. I loved the team and enjoyed the work – although this was 2006 so things were a little quieter than I experienced later!

What is the best part of your job?​​​​​​​

Training our trainees and junior associates and really seeing them grow in knowledge and confidence. My favourite part of the day is when someone says “can I bounce something off you” – that always promises an interesting question and the chance to test things, both commercially and from a legal perspective. Needless to say the “quick question” rarely is just that – and always an opportunity to learn something new and get stuck in.

What is your most memorable career moment?

The administration of one of the Icelandic banks, Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander in October 2008. The run up to it was manic – and it then just didn’t stop. Rather foolishly I thought that after some all nighters (with the government drafting legislation to deal with the deposit customers) and then the climax of the court appointment there would be time to breath. Well, that was obviously naïve and instead I was confronted with a host of issues to deal with from moment one, which included both technical questions and questions on how to turn the heating on in the snazzy head office of the bank that we had all decamped too! I made many good friends in those times and got exposed to work that was way above my qualification level, so a great career stretch.

What do you think are the greatest challenges in our profession in the next 10 years?

With the potential for AI to take over some of the tasks that otherwise might land on junior lawyers, I see a challenge for the profession to work out how best to deploy junior lawyers in a way that ensures they continue to develop their instincts for the law. How crypto asset bubbles, international fraud and tracing will all work out is another challenge for us to come, with maybe FTX just the starting gun. There are quite a few challenges ahead – but these can be a good thing to keep the industry on its toes and all of us engaged in what we do!

What is your favourite novel, film and piece of music?

Pride and Prejudice – although I have a lot of time for the German literature I studied in school such as Alfred Doeblin’s Berlin Alexanderplatz (but you’ve got to be a real Germanophile for that!). I am not a film person at all but you can’t beat Pretty Woman! Who doesn’t immediately hear the soundtrack even just as you mention the film! As for music, spotify unwrapped tells me that Dynamite, Heartbreak Anthem and Kings & Queens were my top songs in 2025. Who stole my playlist??

What do you do in your ‘down time’?

I am on the board of the Independent Monitor Board for a women’s and young offender prison where as part of the IMB we monitor the safety, humane treatment, health and wellbeing and progression and release by acting as public watchdogs. I love going to the opera and the ballet and enjoy being able to do so with my family more as my daughter gets older. If the sun is out you can also often find me going for a stroll on Camber beach.

Jam or marmite?

Jam.

What benefit of membership would you most recommend to someone who is thinking of joining?

The opportunity to find your crowd. I have so many friends in the industry and that is with thanks to the ILA. Of course, if you are a legal nerd, the technical bulletins are world class and the chance to debate them on the technical committee is always fun.