Bankruptcy

Macfarlanes adds partner duo with A&O and Jones Day laterals

By Legal Week | September 1, 2009

Macfarlanes has made a double partner hire to strengthen its restructuring and litigation teams with Francis Bridgeman and Barry Donnelly joining from Allen & Overy (A&O) and Jones Day respectively. Jones Day partner Donnelly and former A&O consultant Bridgeman will both join Macfarlanes' partnership later this month (10 September), with the firm predicting an increase in litigation and restructuring mandates in the wake of the credit crunch.

1 minute read

Ashurst and A&O win lead roles on CVA rescue deal for ailing retailer Focus DIY

By Legal Week | September 1, 2009

Ashurst and Allen & Overy (A&O) are among a raft of firms advising as home improvement retailer Focus DIY moves to secure a rescue deal through a company voluntary arrangement (CVA). Ashurst has been advising Focus DIY on the proposed CVA, which received more than 90% backing from creditors last month (24 August). It will see landlords of some 38 closed stores agreeing to waive rent liabilities in return for a share of a pot of money thought to be worth around £3.7m.

1 minute read

Ashurst restructuring chief Angel quits to join Milbank's City base

By Legal Week | August 26, 2009

Ashurst's head of restructuring Nick Angel is set to leave the City firm to join US player Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy. Angel, who has been a partner with Ashurst since 1997, is expected to leave Ashurst this week, although it is unclear when he will formally join Milbank.

1 minute read

Weil Gotshal strengthens London base with hire of A&O tax partner

By Legal Week | August 25, 2009

Weil Gotshal & Manges has made its first lateral partner hire in the City this year, with the New York firm set to bring in Allen & Overy (A&O) tax partner Brenda Coleman. Coleman is expected to join Weil's London office on 21 September on a part-time basis after 11 years as a partner with the magic circle firm. Prior to her time with A&O she was a partner with Herbert Smith, having trained with Slaughter and May.

1 minute read

Linklaters leads as High Court rejects Lehman repayment plan

By Legal Week | August 24, 2009

Lehman Brothers' European creditors have suffered a blow after the High Court rejected a proposed scheme of arrangement which would have seen a timetable put in place for the return of assets. Linklaters is advising Lehman's administrator PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), which made an application to the High Court in relation to the proposed scheme at the beginning of August when presiding judge Mr Justice Blackburne decided to reserve his judgment.

1 minute read

Charles Russell and Trowers land administrator roles for Bahrain banks

By Legal Week | August 24, 2009

Charles Russell and Trowers & Hamlins have won roles to act as administrators to two Bahraini banks. The City firms were appointed earlier this month by the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB), serving as local banking regulator, with Charles Russell acting as administrator of Awal Bank and Trowers acting for The International Banking Corporation (TIBC).

1 minute read

Linklaters and A&O head up Schaeffler's €12bn debt restructuring

By Legal Week | August 20, 2009

Linklaters and Allen & Overy (A&O) have taken lead roles on the €12bn (£10.3bn) debt restructuring of ball-bearing manufacturer Schaeffler, in a move which could lead to a merger with auto-parts manufacturer Continental. Linklaters advised a consortium of five lending banks comprising UBS, Royal Bank of Scotland, UniCredit, Commerzbank and LBBW, with London and Frankfurt-based banking partners Stephen Lucas and Marc Trinkaus leading the team.

1 minute read

CC and Slaughters take top roles on $15bn debt refinancing deal

By Legal Week | August 20, 2009

Clifford Chance (CC), Slaughter and May, Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton and are among a host of firms to advise on the $15bn (£9.1bn) refinancing of cement producer CEMEX's debt. The company, dual-listed in New York and Mexico, completed the debt restructuring last week (14 August), with the deal involving the agreement of all of the company's participating creditors on debt including syndicated loans, bilateral facilities and US private placement notes.

1 minute read

Weil Gotshal set to pass $100m mark for Lehman bankruptcy fees

By Legal Week | August 18, 2009

Weil Gotshal & Manges is set to cross the $100m (£60.5m) mark in total billings on the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy after the firm filed its second application for legal fees and expenses. The second application covers the four-month period from 1 February to 31 May, and comes just days after the approval of Weil's initial request for $55m (£33.3m) in fees and expenses for the period of 15 September 2008 to January 2009.

1 minute read

CC names new managing partner for Kiev operation

By Legal Week | August 17, 2009

Clifford Chance (CC) has appointed a new managing partner for its Kiev office, with finance partner Jared Grubb to replace Nick Fletcher in the role. Grubb, who joined CC from the Moscow office of CMS Cameron McKenna in 2007, focuses on bank lending, financing and debt restructuring in Russia, Ukraine and other CIS countries. He relocated from Moscow to Kiev in May.

1 minute read

New Jersey Law Journal

Geoffrey's Wild Ride Through Bankruptcy

By Barry Roy | January 26, 2022

When I heard in 2017 that Toys 'R' Us was on the verge of bankruptcy, the kid in me was crushed; the bankruptcy attorney in me was not the least bit surprised. Here's an account of what happened.

11 minute read

New Jersey Law Journal

Cramdown Litigation: Considering COVID in Valuing Real Estate in Chapter 11 Cases

By Timothy P. Duggan | January 26, 2022

Valuation of real estate in Chapter 11 cases is challenging to begin with, and adding the effect of COVID-19 to the equation will make litigating valuation issues much more complicated. This article discusses a few cases that provide some guidance on what courts are looking at.

10 minute read

New Jersey Law Journal

Talc Bankruptcy Judge Disbands Dual Claimants' Committees

By Amanda Bronstad | January 21, 2022

After challenges to a U.S. trustee's action, New Jersey Chief Bankruptcy Judge Michael Kaplan on Thursday reinstated the original claimants' committee in the Chapter 11 case involving 38,000 talcum powder lawsuits against Johnson & Johnson.

5 minute read

Delaware Business Court Insider

Settling Power Struggle, Talc Bankruptcy Judge Disbands Dual Claimants' Committees

By Amanda Bronstad | January 21, 2022

Laura Davis Jones, a partner at Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones in Wilmington, Delaware, said at the hearing that the dual committees would "foster division, not compromise," and create an "enhanced footing of one subset of talc claimants."

5 minute read

Delaware Law Weekly

Talc Bankruptcy Judge Disbands Dual Claimants' Committees, Settling Power Struggle

By Amanda Bronstad | January 21, 2022

Laura Davis Jones, a partner at Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones in Wilmington, Delaware, said at the hearing that the dual committees would "foster division, not compromise," and create an "enhanced footing of one subset of talc claimants."

5 minute read

National Law Journal

Judge's Ruling Highlights Forum Shopping Concerns in Bankruptcy Matters

By Avalon Zoppo | January 21, 2022

"The practice of regularly approving third-party releases and the related concerns about forum shopping call into question the public confidence in the manner that these cases are being handled by the Bankruptcy Court in the Richmond Division," U.S. District Judge David Novak wrote.

5 minute read

Delaware Business Court Insider

This Federal Judge is Highlighting Forum Shopping Concerns in Bankruptcy Matters

By Avalon Zoppo | January 21, 2022

"The practice of regularly approving third-party releases and the related concerns about forum shopping call into question the public confidence in the manner that these cases are being handled by the Bankruptcy Court in the Richmond Division," U.S. District Judge David Novak wrote.

5 minute read

New York Law Journal

Second Circuit Revives Jay Alix's RICO Claims Against McKinsey

By Tom McParland | January 19, 2022

The decision found that Alix made an early showing to support claims that he and his former firm, AlixPartners, had lost out on bankruptcy advising contracts after McKinsey failed to disclose conflicts in 13 restructuring cases.

4 minute read

Daily Business Review

Judge Signs Plan, Resolves Puerto Rico Bankruptcy Battle

By Danica Coto | January 19, 2022

Judge Laura Taylor Swain signed a plan that cuts Puerto Rico's public debt by 80% and saves the island more than $50 billion in debt service payments.

5 minute read

The American Lawyer

LeClairRyan Founder Dropped From Defunct Firm's Bankruptcy Fight

By Dan Packel | January 18, 2022

A trustee agreed to drop all outstanding claims against Gary LeClair, while LeClair agreed to drop all his counterclaims against the trustee.

2 minute read