Most Highly Regarded Firms: California 2009 - Insolvency & Restructuring
The current economic climate means that insolvency and restructuring lawyers are finding themselves in ever greater demand. In California many corporate lawyers are choosing to focus more of their time in this area - particularly in restructuring. The specialists we spoke to said this has been a particularly busy year, with all signs pointing to even higher levels of activity in 2009.
Thirty-three lawyers appear in this chapter. Five practitioners each were selected from boutique bankruptcy firms Klee Tuchin Bogdanoff & Stern LLP and Stutman Treister & Glatt PC.
Stutman Treister & Glatt PC has an "excellent reputation" for bankruptcy advice and representation. Isaac Pachulski was repeatedly mentioned for his "vast experience in the sector". He recently represented the holders of in excess of $200 million of secured notes in the chapter 11 case of Scotia Pacific, as well as the holders of approximately $500 million in unsecured senior notes in Delphi's chapter 11 case. "Talented" Robert Greenfield was a popular choice for our list. He specialises in corporate reorganisation, insolvency and bankruptcy law. Greenfield has acted as lead reorganisation counsel for Falcon Products and as lead restructuring counsel for Butler Manufacturing of Kansas City. Jeffrey Krause was described as "a top-tier contender". Krause has been an adjunct professor at University of Southern California School of Law and the Loyola School of Law. He has written a large number of articles about bankruptcy including many on real estate debt. "Outstanding" ex-United States bankruptcy judge Ralph Mabey was repeatedly mentioned to our researchers. Mabey specialises in complex workouts, bankruptcy, reorganisations and litigation. His clients have included AH Robins, Dow Corning and Columbia Gas System. John Shaffer was praised for his "extensive knowledge" in chapter 11 cases, where he has worked for debtors and creditors. Shaffer has spoken at a number of high-profile conferences including the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges and the American Law Institute - American Bar Association.
Klee Tuchin Bogdanoff & Stern LLP is "renowned in business for its insolvency and reorganisation experts", five of whom were chosen for this chapter. Kenneth Klee was repeatedly mentioned for work on the bankruptcy code, as well as being called a "gold-standard debt lawyer". He has worked for a diverse range of clients such as the Boston Chicken Plan Trust, First Trust and Bank of New York trustees, and Maxwell Communications. Alongside his work at the firm Klee teaches bankruptcy and chapter 11 law at the UCLA School of Law. Thomas Patterson, known for his "intelligence in the field", focuses on chapter 11 cases and insurer insolvency matters. Patterson has represented many chapter 11 debtors, including All Star Gas, Imagyn Medical Technologies and Aquarius Promotional Enterprises. He currently represents the liquidating trustees of the Golden Eagle Liquidating Trust. Michael Tuchin was described as "definite short-list material". He acts for debtors, equity holders, secured and unsecured creditors, committees and parties interested in acquiring assets from troubled companies. Tuchin has represented Samuels Jewelers, Fountain View (providers of nursing and assisted-care living) and Maple Plaza (a commercial property owner). He has also led out of court restructurings for a California home building company, a giftware company and an express delivery company. Lee Bogdanoff has worked on a large number of chapter 11 cases including Dolco Packaging, Liquor Barn and Merksamer Jewellers and was recommended for his "negotiation skills". Daniel Bussel specialises in bankruptcy reorganisation law and has been selected as an expert consultant and witness in a number of bankruptcy matters. Like Klee, Bussel is a professor of law at UCLA law school, where he teaches courses in bankruptcy.
Multi-practice firm Latham & Watkins LLP has three partners in the chapter. Chair of its Southern California insolvency practice group Michael Lurey heads up a team of 11 lawyers and has an "excellent reputation" in the industry. He has recently acted for the chief liquidating officer of MII Liquidation and is currently serving as special litigation counsel in the chapter 11 cases of Franchise Pictures LLC and its affiliates. He also represents the liquidation trust established under the chapter 11 plan confirmed by Consolidated Freightways. Peter Gilhuly is involved in all aspects of bankruptcy law, but in the past year he has worked with a number of mortgages and subprime insolvencies due to the decline in the Californian housing market. He has also been working on distressed merger and acquisition cases. "Accomplished" Robert Klyman specialises in ‘pre-negotiated' bankruptcies that take less time to complete than conventional cases. His clients in this area include a major Atlantic City hotel and casino company in the restructuring of more than $1.5 billion in debt, Leap Wireless Communications in the restructuring of approximately $2.6 billion in debt and Flagstar Corporation.
Three lawyers were also nominated from boutique bankruptcy firm Peitzman Weg & Kempinsky LLP, including name partners Lawrence Peitzman and Howard Weg. Peitzman is a "great lawyer" who has represented a number of high-profile debtors and creditors. Weg has represented debtors, creditors, and creditors' committees in numerous workouts and chapter 11 cases including for energy companies California Power Exchange, Pacific Gas and Electric, and Enron. Arnold Quittner was praised for his "great people skills and experience". Quittner focuses on international insolvency, particularly in Asia. During his time in Asia he taught at universities in Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Zhongshan in southern China.
At Sidley Austin LLP, Richard Havel specialises in informal workouts and chapter 11 proceedings. He is also known for his "engaging speeches" at the Bankruptcy Litigation Institute in San Francisco and at ALI-ABA. "Forward thinking" Sally Neely is currently representing the creditors' committee in the chapter 11 case for Franchise Pictures LLC and its affiliates as well as working with Daewoo Motor and Cameron Capital.
Richard Pachulski, a name partner in specialist bankruptcy firm Pachulski Stang Ziehl Young Jones & Weintraub LLP, was consistently named as a "leading practitioner". One source described Pachulski as a "fantastic lawyer, who thoroughly deserves a high ranking". He has worked on the reorganisation of many technology companies including Breed Technologies, which resulted in the restructuring of $1.6 billion of debt.
Bruce Bennett of Hennigan Bennett & Dorman LLP was described as "an impressive top-tier lawyer" for his work representing debtors' councils. Bennett led the debtor's counsel for County of Orange, the largest municipal bankruptcy in the country. Other clients have included LTV Corporation, Rabobank and Dome Petroleum.
Jones Day's Peter Benvenutti specialises in bankruptcy and creditors' rights law and has "a particularly good reputation" for his work on business reorganisations. He has recently worked on a major cross-border issue involving a US bank and a Polish real estate company, and has represented the chapter 11 trustees of a casino in litigation before an administrative agency and in state court over challenges to gaming ordinance restrictions.
Richard Wynne is the head of Kirkland & Ellis LLP's West Coast restructuring practice. Wynne represents both debtors and creditors in chapter 11 court cases and out-of-court agreements. He represented the creditor's committee in the Reed Slatkin Investment Fund bankruptcy and also worked on the Williams Communications case.
Marc Levinson is a partner in the creditors' rights and bankruptcy group at Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP in Sacramento and was described by one source as having a "talent for reorganisations". Levinson led an Orrick team in representing the interests of approximately 1,300 investors in USA Capital Diversified Trust Deed Fund whose cumulative investment exceeded $150 million.
Jim Lopes is the head of the bankruptcy and reorganisation group at Howard Rice Nemerovski Canady Falk & Rabkin PC and is based in Los Angeles. He is "highly regarded" for his representation of creditors including Charles Schwab and the creditors' committee of Media Vision Technology.
Patrick Murphy is based in Winston & Strawn LLP's San Francisco office and was a popular choice in our research. He was described as a "top ten" practitioner by one source and has represented debtors, creditors, and creditors' committees in major corporate restructurings and insolvency cases. He has experience of working in cross- border insolvency cases, particularly involving South East Asian and Canadian companies.
Larry Engel of Morrison & Foerster LLP has worked on a wide range of bankruptcy and insolvency projects including buyouts and financing deals and has had a large number of articles published including works on the collapse of hedge funds.
Marc Cohen is the chair of Kaye Scholer LLP's business reorganisation and creditors' rights group in Los Angeles. He is currently representing Los Angeles World Airports, including LAX, in the Northwest Airlines and United Air Lines chapter 11 proceedings. He is also known for his work on behalf of JP Morgan Chase Bank in the Opal Concepts chapter 11 proceedings.
David McCarty of Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP specialises in bankruptcy, restructuring and creditors' rights. His clients have included US Bank, Comerica Bank, Union Bank of California, Northrop Grumman and Unified Western Grocers.
Steven Sherman manages Shearman & Sterling LLP's West Coast private financing, project development and bankruptcy practice and also features in our banking chapter for his financial expertise. The "well-respected" lawyer has been working on two large restructuring cases in New York and Atlanta. He recently represented Smarte Carte in its leveraged recapitalisation and reorganisation.