Editorial: Insolvency and Restructuring

01 August 2007

This chapter identifies 320 practitioners in 44 jurisdictions. Judging by the make-up of the publication, an increasing number of firms are able to offer clients the benefits of an international platform.

Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP lives up to its longstanding reputation as an insolvency and restructuring “powerhouse”. Lawyers from the firm played central roles in the Enron and WorldCom restructurings and Weil Gotshal acts on the largest and highest-profile matters. The firm boasts six nominees in our book – a showing unmatched by any other firm. Significantly, Weil Gotshal has three inclusions on our list of the practice area’s elite. Marcia Goldstein, Martin Bienenstock and Harvey Miller were three of the most highly nominated individuals in the research and were praised by clients and competitors alike. Goldstein chairs the firm’s business, finance and restructuring department and acted as lead counsel in the restructurings of WorldCom and Parmalat. She also heads the firm’s representation of Eurotunnel. Goldstein has been a mediator in a number of chapter 11 cases and has spoken and lectured widely on the topic. Miller is “one of the big stars in New York” and up until March 2007 was managing director and vice chairman of investment banking firm Greenhill & Co. He has represented debtors in cases including in Texaco and Global Crossing as well as bank lenders such as Safety-Kleen, et al and Braniff Airways. His “reputation is unsurpassed” and rivals were quick to sing his praises. Alan Miller is senior counsel to the firm and is also based in New York. Martin Sosland was one of the principal partners involved in the firm’s representation of Enron and its affiliates, and is known to be “extremely bright”. He also led the firm’s representation of US ONE Communications, Heartland Wireless Communications, Verado Holdings and Hedstrom in their chapter 11 cases, and was described as “outstanding, smart and practical”. Co-head of the firm’s business finance and restructuring department in Paris Jean-Dominque Daudier de Cassini completes the firm’s strong showing.

Bingham McCutchen LLP can also boast of a truly cosmopolitan contingent on the following pages – five partners from three countries, in separate continents, make the grade. James Roome is managing partner of the London office and co-heads the firm’s financial restructuring group. He was described to researchers as “well known and tenacious”. Barry Russell joins Roome and heads the firm’s London fi- nance group. Russell has a reputation among his peers as being “extremely effective” and he represented the senior bank lenders in debt restructuring negotiations with the Gate Gourmet group. In the United States we identify two practitioners from its Hartford office in Connecticut – Michael Reilly and Eric Brunstad. Reilly co-chairs the financial restructuring group with Roome and is deputy chair of the firm’s financial institutions practice. He has an enviable client list which includes Delta Airlines, American Airlines and Western Union. Brunstad has had three victories in the US Supreme Court and also teaches at Yale Law School. The firm provides a nominee in the Japan section of this publication. Hideyuki Sakai is the “doyen of the Japanese market” with the “best practice in the country”, according to sources.

Allen & Overy LLP fields a five-strong contingent. Ian Field is “top-notch” according to one competitor. He has been involved in the restructurings of Marconi, Drax, MyTravel and Polestar and is a “superstar”, according to one of his rivals. Gordon Stewart heads the firm’s global restructuring group and is “one of the deans of the insolvency bar”. He was involved in the restructuring of MG Rover and is “academic and capable”. Mark Sterling is the other member of this strong London-based triumvirate and was said to be “very, very able”. Sterling is managing partner of the firm’s global restructuring and insolvency practice and led the team advising the Schefenacker group on its successful restructuring. He established and ran A&O’s Asian restructuring and insolvency practice until his return to the UK in 2003 and consequently has “a great knowledge of the Asian market”. He was also instructed by Ernst & Young on the £2.6bn restructuring of transport group Metronet. David Kidd was praised for his understanding of the market in the PRC and Hong Kong, where he is based. Kidd heads the firm’s Asian restructuring group and is regarded as “wholly capable and sensible”. He worked on the Fujian Enterprises and SK Global restructurings. The “excellent” Rob Abendroth is the final name from A&O. Abendroth is based in the Netherlands and focuses his practice on domestic and cross-border restructurings.

Clifford Chance LLP also has multiple nominees in UK and has recently been expanding in the US with several high-profile lateral hires. This chapter includes partners from London, New York and Frankfurt. Mark Hyde heads the firm’s insolvency practice and is well known for his cross-border work. Nicholas Frome joins Hyde in London and is “very well respected” for domestic and cross-border restructurings. The final inclusion from the strong London office is Adrian Cohen. Cohen is skilled in domestic and international non-contentious insolvency and corporate restructuring, with particular knowledge of insurance insolvencies. Kolja von Bismarck in Frankfurt is a prolific speaker and author and concentrates on corporate workouts with an international scope. Von Bismarck was described to researchers as “calm and collected”. Andrew Brozman practises in the firm’s New York office and represents foreign and domestic banks in the restructuring and recovery of syndicated loan facilities.

DLA Piper also has the capabilities to represent clients across the globe, with respected practitioners included in the New Zealand, Norway, Thailand and United States sections of the publication. Siv Sandvik, from her base in Oslo, leads the charge in terms of nominations. Sandvik concentrates her practice on cross-border issues and is frequently appointed as administrator to the Oslo bankruptcy court. She is consequently “very well known in Norway”. Richard Kremen represents financial institutions from his base in Baltimore and is “a top name” in the state. Michael Bos in Auckland is “one of New Zealand’s leading insolvency lawyers”, according to sources. The final inclusion from the global powerhouse is Lampros Vassiliou, in Bangkok. Vassiliou is a consultant for the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. He acts for insolvency practitioners, banks, investment banks and creditors in Asian restructurings as well as representing major companies undergoing restructuring. White & Case LLP has an equally impressive geographical spread and a reputation for being “the cream of the crop” for insolvency and restructuring matters. The firm is used to handling high-profile cases and represented Mirant in its chapter 11 case before the US Bankruptcy Court. In New York, Andrew Denatale is a former co-head of the firm’s financial restructuring and insolvency group. He has extensive chapter 11 experience, having represented creditors’ committees, including those in the Reliance Group Holdings and Southmark bankruptcy cases, and creditors interests in cases such as United Airlines and Enron. DeNatale is a keen author who “gets straight to the heart of the issue”. Sven-Holger Undritz acts as insolvency administrator appointed by the Local Court of Hamburg, Norderstedt and Flensburg. This role has developed his expertise in corporate reorganisation law and Undritz is recognised by sources as “excellent”. Bertie Mehigan is based in Singapore and represents creditors and debtors across Asia, with a particular focus on debt restructuring. Lech Gilicinski from Warsaw is the final White & Case partner we include. He was called upon by the Polish minister of justice to act as principal legal adviser in the process of the implementation of the new law on insolvency and restructuring. The past five years have also seen Gilicinski coordinating legal services for an international investment bank in relation to its debt restructuring of Polish companies.

United States

Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP performed extremely well in its home market and is “a big firm in the area”, according to one competitor. D J Baker practises in the New York office and has represented companies such as GenTek and Safety-Kleen in their chapter 11 cases or out-of-court restructurings. He also represents lenders, committees and acquirers. Jack Butler co-heads Skadden’s worldwide corporate restructuring practice from Chicago. Butler also boasts an enviable client list, having worked on the restructurings of companies that include Delphi and Kmart. Butler also has a great deal of cross border experience. Timothy Pohl joins Butler in Chicago and has worked on the chapter 11 cases of National Steel and McLeodUSA, among others. He is also active out of court, leading the restructurings of American National Power and Krispy Kreme. Gregg Galardi is a “great debtors lawyer” and is based in Wilmington, thus completing another strong showing for this internationally respected outfit.

Shearman & Sterling LLP also boasts four practitioners on the following pages. James Garrity was touted as “one of the best in the US” by a fellow practitioner. Garrity is well known for his time as a bankruptcy judge in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. In private practice Garrity has represented clients including Pathmark Stores and its affiliates, as debtors, in their chapter 11 cases. Douglas Bartner heads the firm’s bankruptcy and reorganisation group and was special bankruptcy counsel for Delphi Corporation in its chapter 11 case. Robert Mackinnon is of counsel to the firm and is a “respected name in the area”. In California Steven Sherman manages the firm’s West Coast private financing and bankruptcy practice. Sherman is particularly active in chapter 11 bankruptcies and out-of-court reorganisations.

Over 50% of Fortune 500 companies are incorporated in Delaware and its experienced courts make it a key state in this field. Wilmington-based David stratton co-chairs the corporate restructuring and bankruptcy practice group at Pepper Hamilton LLP. Stratton was praised for his “excellent representation of creditors” particularly in the Harvard Industries bankruptcy, among many others. Robert Hertzberg comes highly recommended and is Stratton’s co-chair. Hertzberg practises in the Detroit and New York of- fices and represents secured lenders, debtors, debtors-in-possession, trustees, creditors and creditors’ committees. William Cohen is also based in Detroit and is immediate past chair of the aformentioned practice group and “very well respected”. Michael Reed completes this strong quartet. Reed comes recommended as a “force to be reckoned with” and is very active in the area – he is part of the business bankruptcy committee of the American Bar Association and writes frequently on bankruptcy issues.

Larry Nyhan co-chairs Sidley Austin LLP’s firmwide corporate reorganisation and bankruptcy group from the firm’s Chicago office. He comes recommended as a “can-do lawyer” with a “nationally and internationally renowned” reputation. Nyhan worked on the chapter 11 proceedings of Bethlehem Steel and Budget Group. Bruce Bernstein in Chicago was recommended to researchers as “intellectually strong”. Sally Neely in Los Angeles was also consistently recommended for her “fantastic track record”, which includes representing Federal Mogul Global in its asbestos-related chapter 11 case. Patrick Corr is based in London and gives Sidley an international dimension to its listing. Corporate reconstruction is a key area for the London office and Corr can boast an established and “respected practice”. Latham & Watkins LLP also has representation on both sides of the pond. The “exceptional” Robert Rosenberg in New York is former global co-head of the firm’s insolvency practice group. His “fantastic reputation” is highlighted by his impressive client list that includes names such as Lehman Brothers, Credit Suisse and Goldman Sachs. On the West Coast former co-chair of the firm’s global insolvency practice group Michael Lurey in Los Angeles has represented Consolidated Freightways Corporation, et al as chapter 11 debtors and “clients love him”, according to one prominent rival. Fellow co-chair David Heller in Chicago also leads the firm’s Latin American practice group and is well known for his work on the restructuring of Latin America debt. Heller recently led the restructuring and sale of AT&T Latin America. Latham & Watkins also has a significant presence in the London market in the form of John Houghton, an “aggressive player” and co-chair of the firm’s insolvency practice. Houghton advised mezzanine lenders with regards to the successful debt for equity restructuring of the Gate Gourmet group and has also advised Deutsche Bank and KPMG on a number of matters.

Stutman Treister & Glatt PC has focused exclusively on bankruptcy and corporate restructuring since its inception in 1948. Debtor clients of this “legendary firm” have included Daewoo Motors America, Orange County and Sirius Satellite Radio; on the creditors’ side the firm has represented American Restaurant Group and Western Water, among others. ST&G also has a fine pedigree in the representation of investors in troubled companies, including Apollo Advisors and Madison Capital. The presence of four of the firm’s partners on our list make it the leading firm in California in terms of numbers. Ralph Mabey is another former US bankruptcy judge and in private practice has represented American Airlines (as counsel for the pilots) and was special counsel for the debtor in the Enron proceedings. Isaac Pachulski is “very smart, creative and talented” and recognised nationwide for his representation of the holders of over US$1.6 billion of unsecured debt of Enron during its chapter 11 cases, as well as the holders of US$275 million of debt in the Owens-Corning chapter 11 case. His appellate practice was also widely praised and he was praised to researchers as a “tenacious, effective counsel”. Robert Greenfield is a “star”, and regarded as “one of the key people at the firm”. He served as lead reorganisation counsel for furniture manufacturer Falcon Products, and fulfilled a similar role for Clark Retail Enterprises, Butler Manufacturing and Huntsman Corporation and its domestic subsidiaries. His out-of-court workout negotiation practice also received much praise, and he has represented clients such as Quantel and North American Car in this area. The “excellent” John Shaffer completes the firm’s strong showing.

Any analysis of the US market would be incomplete without mention of the following individuals, all of whom performed well in our research. Donald Bernstein from Davis Polk & Wardwell is well known for his “great work for very sophisticated creditors”. Alan Kornberg from Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP’s New York office was extremely well recommended by clients and peers alike. Kornberg heads the firm’s bankruptcy and corporate reorganisation department and handles a wide variety of insolvency related matters – including cross-border cases. Richard Levin’s recent move to Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP to head the firm’s new restructuring and insolvency practice gives them a strong foothold in this publication. Levin is an eminent figure in the market and was one of the principal authors of the Bankruptcy Code and the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978. Myron Trepper chairs the business reorganisation and restructuring department at Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP in New York (where Matthew Feldman and Marc Abrams are also listed). Trepper has served as counsel to Adelphia Communications and as counsel to Telmex in its acquisitions of AT&T Latin America and Embratel. He is regarded by his rivals as “dean of the bar” and “respected worldwide”. Daniel Glosband from Goodwin Procter LLP is based in Boston and is rated as a “real leader”. Glosband has acted as adviser to the US State Department and the American Law Institute on international insolvency projects and recently represented the lead investors in the proposed chapter 11 plan of US Airways. Haynes and Boone LLP sees Dallas’s Robin Phelan in the top-tier of practitioners. Phelan is a prolific author and a contributor to several major treatises on bankruptcy. Evan Flaschen from Bracewell & Giuliani LLP’s Hartford office is another “highly skilled” practitioner, who features alongside the aforementioned individuals on the list of this publication’s most highly nominated. Flaschen is active in both domestic and international restructuring proceedings including Remy International, AT&T Canada and Asia Global Crossing.

Canada

McCarthy Tétrault LLP is the best-represented firm in Canada, fielding three nominees. Toronto’s Kevin McElcheran represents both debtors and creditors and acts as an insolvency adviser in complex securitisations and derivatives transactions. Sylvain Vauclair is coleader of the firm’s national bankruptcy and restructuring group from the Montreal office. Vauclair was described as “pre-eminent”. He represented Citibank in the Air Canada CCAA restructuring. Philippe Bélanger joins Vauclair in Montreal and brings with him a “fantastic and ever growing reputation”. His practice focuses on the representation of secured lenders and borrowers, working for the National Bank of Canada and the Canadian government, among others.

Bruce Leonard from Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP in Toronto is Canada’s most highly nominated individual and appears on the list of the area’s leading practitioners. He is an authority in the field and is a popular speaker and author. Leonard is immediate past chair of the International Bar Association’s committee on insolvency and creditors’ rights. The head of the Goodmans LLP’s corporate restructuring group, Jay Carfagnini, in Toronto is “one in a million”. Carfagnini is well known for his cross-border work as well as for his domestic experience, which has seen him acting on the Air Canada and Calpine Canada restructurings.

Europe

London is a key jurisdiction for insolvency and restructuring work. Twenty-seven individuals from 17 firms appear on the following pages, a number of whom have already been mentioned. Lovells LLP performed exceptionally well in the capital, with three practitioners making the final list. One competitor praised the firm for having “the most international practice in London”. Competitors have “enormous respect” for Christopher Grierson, whose focus is on contentious insolvency. The international scope of his practice was also praised and sources noted that Grierson is particularly adept at working with lawyers in the US. Stephen Foster’s domestic and cross-border practice was also highly recommended. Foster has gained a reputation as “a go-to-guy for banks” and also acted on the administration of Railtrack. Robin Spencer has a reputation as “one of the quietest yet most effective men in the profession”. He is head of business restructuring and insolvency at Lovells and is well known for his work in the insurance sector.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has four nominees in Europe on the following pages; two of these are in London. Ken Baird is a “good operator” and heads the firm’s restructuring and insolvency group. His enviable client list has seen him work on deals that include the restructuring of Meridien Hotels for Lehman Brothers and GE as senior lender in Schafenecker. Nicholas Segal joined the international powerhouse in 2006 from the New York office of Davis Polk & Wardwell and has developed an enviable and “very effective practice” at the firm. Lars Westpfahl is based in the Hamburg office and does a great deal of work for German debtors. Raffaele Lener brings the Freshfields showing to a close. Based in Rome, Lener acts for clients in the financial services industry.

Norton Rose LLP’s Hamish Anderson is included on our list, with some justification as he is London’s most highly nominated practitioner and the only UK-based lawyer in our list of the practice area’s elite. A senior research fellow at the Centre for Insolvency Law and Policy at Kingston University and also a prolific author, Anderson has recently acted the liquidators of Flightlease, the aircraft- leasing arm of Swissair. Denton Wilde Sapte sees Mark Andrews included. Like Anderson he features in the above list of the publication’s most nominated practitioners. Andrews is head of the firm’s reconstruction and insolvency group and is well known for his cross-border work and his involvement in the Federal-Mogul Group restructuring. The “impressive” Nigel Barnett joins him in the London office. Herbert Smith LLP also has two inclusions from the City. Stephen Gale came very highly recommended as a “tremendous practitioner” with a deep knowledge of the UK and Asian markets. Laurence Elliott was praised as fervently as his partner and is especially well known for advising on schemes of arrangement.

In France, two firms, Gide Loyrette Nouel and De Pardieu Brocas Maffei, lead in terms of numbers. Gide can call on the expertise of the “prominent” Olivier Puech and Jean-Michel Lucheux whereas De Pardieu possesses Antoine Maffei and the “excellent” Jacques Henrot – “one of the best in France”, according to one source. However Isabelle Didier of Cabinet Isabelle Didier is the country’s most consistently nominated individual. She is reportedly a “fantastic speaker” and is a member of the membership development committee of INSOL International. Clients and peers consistently recommended her to researchers, many of whom noted her “relaxed and confident approach”.

Schultze & Braun’s Eberhard Braun is “the most prominent practitioner in Germany”. Braun founded the firm and heads the restructuring consulting business sector. Annerose Tashiro joins him on the following pages. Tashiro is the head of the cross-border restructuring and insolvencies group and has a “fantastic reputation here and abroad”, according to one source. Hans-Jochem Lüer from Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek also performed well in the research and was noted by one source as “probably the best in Germany”.

Wenger Plattner is the only firm in Switzerland to boast multiple inclusions in this publication. The Zurich office is home to Karl Wüthrich and Brigitte Umbachspahn, who were described to researchers as “fantastic”. Wüthrich is known among his peers as “Mr Liquidator” and “one of the best” in Switzerland. Both Wüthrich and Umbach-Spahn were involved in the Swiss- Air restructuring. Christoph Stäubli from Walder Wyss & Partners is perhaps Switzerland’s most famous name in the insolvency market. The firm has been involved in many of Switzerland’s most complex bankruptcies and reorganisations, including the restructuring of a Swiss bank and acting as Swiss counsel to a global financial service provider regarding the bankruptcy of a joint venture.

In the Netherlands the most highly nominated practitioner is Sijmen de Ranitz from De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek. He focuses his practice on advising and assisting banks and corporations in financial distress. He is immediate past president of INSOL International and recently worked on the restructuring of a major retail company. Robert Van Galen from NautaDutilh is another of the Netherlands’ most recognised individuals, having worked on international restructurings and bankruptcies such as Fokker, Global Telesystems Europe, UPC and KPNQwest.

There are also some extremely strong individuals to be found in Scandinavia. In Denmark, Bech-Bruun boasts two individuals on the following pages. Ole Borch is always the “first choice” of one source we spoke to. Carsten Ceutz joins Borch on our list and was praised as a “very good team player”. Both are based in the Copenhagen office. In Norway, Leif Petter Madsen from Wikborg Rein joins DLA Piper’s Siv Sandvik in the upper rankings of the research for this country. Madsen has been appointed trustee and liquidator of many of Norway’s most high-profile bankruptcies and also works a great deal in the field of debt reorganisation. In Sweden Setterwalls Advokatbyrå AB can pride itself upon the inclusion of the “fantastic” Odd Swarting. Swarting is the country’s most highly nominated practitioner and is known for his work with pharmaceutical and biotech companies.

Rest of the World

Carlos Sanchez-Mejorada y Velasco from Sanchez- Mejorada y Asociados and Dario Oscós Coria from Oscós Abogados are the “stand out practitioners” in Mexico. Sanchez-Mejorada y Velasco has a great deal of in house experience having worked as the vice president, general counsel and secretary of General Electric de Mexico SA and vice president and general counsel of Citibank de Mexico. Oscós Coria is “extremely active” and his practice was praised internationally. Francisco Javier Illanes from Cariola Díez Pérez-Cotapos & Cía Ltda is the only lawyer to appear in the Chile section of this publication. Illanes is the head of the firm’s banking and finance department and is “my go-to-guy in Chile”, according to one source.

The Asian commercial and financial hub of Singapore is another key jurisdiction, with nine inclusions on the following pages. Drew & Napier LLC can call upon the expertise of Davinder Singh SC, their chief executive officer. Singh represented Asia Pulp & Paper in one of the largest debt restructurings to take place in Asia. Sushil Nair joins Singh in the publication and was also involved in the Asia Pulp & Paper case. He is well known for acting on behalf of the UK administrators of Barings in connection with the insolvency of the group’s Singapore subsidiaries. Nair was described to researchers as “incredibly active across the region”. Patrick Ang from Rajah & Tann was also highly nominated for his participation in the “biggest cases”, again including the Asia Pulp & Paper case.

Dominic Emmett heads Corrs Chambers Westgarth’s insolvency and reconstruction group and was Australia’s most highly nominated practitioner. Described to researchers as “brilliant” particularly for cross border insolvencies Emmett has also been involved in high-profile domestic matters including acting for the administrators in Ansett, Newmont Yandal, Walter Construction and Lewingtons Transport.

Guy Locke from Walkers is “first choice in the Cayman Islands”, according to a number of sources. He was praised for his “vast experience in complex offshore liquidations” and clients include Drax Holdings, Transocean and Kroll. He has, more recently, been advising the liquidators of Asia Cell Cayman on the sale of an operating mobile telecommunications network in Iraq. Sandie Corbett joins Locke on the following pages and ensures that Walkers is the only firm in the Caymans with multiple nominees. In Bermuda “the undisputed queen of insolvency” is Robin Mayor from Conyers Dill & Pearman. Mayor is known for her multinational reorganisation practice and she has worked on cases such as ICO Global Communications and Global Crossing. Mayor also does a great deal of work with insurance and reinsurance companies, securing her the reputation as “unquestionably the best practitioner in Bermuda”. Jan Woloniecki from Attride-Stirling & Woloniecki and Jennifer Fraser from Appleby also came highly recommended in Bermuda. They and the other nominees for The International Who’s Who of Insolvency & Restructuring Lawyers can be found overleaf.

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