In the event of any distribution of an employer's assets pursuant to an order of any court, including any receivership, probate, legal dissolution, or similar proceeding, or in case of any assignment for the benefit of creditors, composition, or similar proceeding, premiums, interest, or penalties then or thereafter due shall be a lien upon all the assets of such employer. Said lien is prior to all other liens or claims except prior tax liens, other liens provided by this title, and claims for remuneration for services of not more than two hundred fifty dollars to each claimant earned within six months of the commencement of the proceeding. The mere existence of a condition of insolvency or the institution of any judicial proceeding for legal dissolution or of any proceeding for distribution of assets shall cause such a lien to attach without action on behalf of the commissioner or the state. In the event of an employer's adjudication in bankruptcy, judicially confirmed extension proposal, or composition, under the federal bankruptcy act of 1898, as amended, premiums, interest, or penalties then or thereafter due shall be entitled to such priority as provided in that act, as amended.