Biography: Insolvency & Restructuring

Harold S Novikoff focuses on creditors' rights, bankruptcy, debt restructurings and financial market transactions, and is chair of the restructuring and finance department at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. Mr Novikoff has 34 years of professional experience in representing the principal lenders, bondholders and underwriters in Chapter 11 cases and out-of-court debt restructurings of a wide range of public and private companies; purchasers of and investors in financially distressed companies; and dealers and other market participants in connection with derivatives, repurchase agreements, securities loans and other financial market transactions.

In addition to his role in the firm's restructuring and finance practice department, Mr Novikoff has chaired and taught numerous continuing legal education and professional programmes on a broad spectrum of financial, creditors' rights and bankruptcy-related topics, including Chapter 11 plans and disclosure statements, valuation of companies in Chapter 11, bankruptcy-remote vehicles, special protections for financial market transactions in bankruptcy, structuring of loans and other credit transactions, lender liability, and pension claims in bankruptcy. He is co-author of Collier on Bankruptcy and author of numerous published articles and outlines on bankruptcy-related topics.

Mr Novikoff is a member of the Law Review of Columbia University Law School; former chair of the committee on bankruptcy and corporate reorganisation of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York; co-chair of the capital markets committee of the National Bankruptcy Conference; Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy; and a member of the steering committee of the board of visitors of Columbia Law School.

Recent representations include the United States Treasury in the rescue of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac; JPMorgan (the largest secured creditor) in the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy; and major creditors of Collins & Aikman, KKR Atlantic and Pacific, Axon Financial, Victoria Finance, Northwest Airlines, Blockbuster, Meridian Automotive, HealthSouth, 360networks, Independent Wireless One, Looking Glass Networks, National Century Financial Enterprises, American Business Financial Services and Navigator Gas.

Mr Novikoff received his Bachelor's degree with distinction from Cornell University. He received his Juris Doctor from Columbia University School of Law, where he was a member of the board of editors of the Columbia Law Review.