Bankruptcy and Restructuring

OVERVIEW

Anderson Kill’s bankruptcy and restructuring attorneys bring broad experience in complex cases. We understand that troubled businesses face a wide range of issues and leverage our highly respected practices in other areas of law, including secured and unsecured lending, structured finance, mergers and acquisitions, insurance, tax, real estate, ERISA, and employment law, among others, to handle all bankruptcy or restructuring issues in order to maximize the benefits and minimize the risks for your business. Through this comprehensive approach, we determine the best way to strengthen your business’s position and achieve its goals.

We offer a full range of restructuring resources and strategies. We represent both domestic and international business clients in debt restructurings, bankruptcy cases, creditors’ rights matters, litigation and related finance, mergers and acquisitions and other corporate transactions.

Debtors

Anderson Kill’s attorneys have substantial experience in representing debtors in Chapter 11 cases and distressed businesses in out-of-court recapitalizations and restructurings, as well as through the Chapter 11 process.  We also represent businesses in pre-packaged and pre-negotiated reorganizations.

In representing debtors, our attorneys utilize technical experience in such areas as debtor-in-possession financing, asset sales, granting of adequate protection of interests, treatment of executory contracts and unexpired leases, prosecution of voidable transfers, and the implementation of new value plans.

We also call upon other practice areas within the firm to address the wide range of legal issues that routinely arise for debtors in Chapter 11 cases.  In order to assure our successful representation of a debtor, we often employ our skills in the areas of commercial litigation, corporate law and finance, employment and labor law, insurance coverage litigation for policyholders, intellectual property, real estate and tax.

Navigating a business through the Chapter 11 process requires more than technical skills alone. Successfully confirming a business reorganization requires negotiating skills, financial acumen and a thorough understanding of a debtor’s business.  Because Anderson Kill attorneys have many years of experience in reorganizing many different types of businesses, we believe that we are in a unique position to confront and successfully resolve the problems of financially distressed businesses.

Official and Unofficial Committees

Anderson Kill has been especially prominent in the representation of creditors, with engagements on behalf of committees, lending groups and holders of control positions. Our attorneys have handled the full panoply of complex financial, business and legal issues necessary to assist committees in performing their functions.

Our notable accomplishments have included:

  • Replacing Old Equity and Management
  • Confirming Creditor Reorganization Plans
  • Prevailing in Contested Plan Confirmations
  • Forcing Sales of Viable Businesses
  • Resolving Intercreditor Disputes
  • Dealing Successfully With Complex Capital Structures
  • Unraveling Securitizations
  • Bankruptcy M&A
  • DIP and Exit Financing
  • Conflicts Counsel Engagements
  • Prosecuting Involuntary Bankruptcy Cases
  • Extensive Bankruptcy and Restructuring Litigation
  • Committee Administration

Bondholder and Indenture Trustee

Our Bankruptcy and Restructuring attorneys have successfully represented both ad hoc and official bondholder committees and indenture trustees. We are especially well known for our success on behalf of bondholders in difficult cases.

Our notable accomplishments in difficult cases have included:

  • Advancement and Enforcement of Bondholder Rights
  • Replacing Management
  • Confirming Bondholder Reorganization Plans
  • Terminating Exclusivity
  • Prevailing in Contested Plan Confirmations
  • Forcing Sales of Viable Businesses
  • Forcing Liquidation of Broken Businesses
  • Prosecuting Involuntary Bankruptcy Cases
  • Dealing Successfully With Complex Capital Structures
  • Bankruptcy M&A
  • Extensive Bankruptcy and Restructuring Litigation

Banks and Secured Lenders

Anderson Kill regularly represents banks, secured lenders and other lending institutions. Because of our extensive experience in protecting the interests of lenders, both secured or unsecured, we are able to provide effective representation and evaluation of alternative strategies to maximize recoveries.

Among the services we typically provide to lenders are the following:

  • Workouts, loan restructuring and documentation
  • Representation in voluntary and involuntary bankruptcy proceedings, including:
    • cash collateral agreements and orders
    • debtor-in-possession financing
    • exit financing
    • bankruptcy litigation
  • Third party litigation involving management misconduct and professional malfeasance
  • Filing involuntary bankruptcy petitions
  • Proposing and confirming creditor plans

State, Local and Foreign Governments and Agencies

Anderson Kill represents state and local agencies, taxing and regulatory authorities and foreign governments in complex bankruptcy and related litigation matters in State and Federal Courts throughout the United States, including the Bankruptcy Courts.

Our representation of governmental entities includes bankruptcy cases, adversary proceedings and similar matters relating to tax and revenue collection, dischargeability and industrial development projects. Our attorneys have handled matters on behalf of employment, health, insurance and motor vehicle agencies, ad valorem, sales and income tax authorities and individual governmental representatives named personally in proceedings initiated by debtors and trustees.

Investors, Buyers and Sellers of Businesses and Assets

Our attorneys have extensive experience in mergers, acquisitions, and other exit transactions in the bankruptcy and restructuring context. We thus effectively and efficiently represent clients in the purchase and sale of the stock or assets of corporations in bankruptcy proceedings. We also represent clients in the purchase and sale of claims in bankruptcy.

We have represented investors, purchasers and sellers in a variety of bankruptcy mergers and acquisitions transactions. We have helped navigate buyers and sellers through acquisitions and dispositions of entire businesses, as well as specific assets, in numerous matters, often including cross-border sales. Many times, transactions are structured to convey and acquire businesses and assets under Section 363 of the Bankruptcy Code. At other times, because of the objectives of the client, we have been involved in transferring businesses and assets through plans of reorganization.

In addition to our experience involving typical corporate and bankruptcy concerns in sales of businesses and assets, our attorneys are often called upon to address complex issues involving, among other things, conveying and acquiring businesses and assets free and clear of environmental, tax, and other governmental claims, as well as product liability, employee, and successor liability claims. We also routinely assist our clients in negotiating the transactional details that are critical to successful bankruptcy sales such as bidding procedures, overbids, break-up fees, and other procedures typically utilized in bankruptcy sales.

Parties in Bankruptcy and Financial Services Litigation

Because of our firm’s strong litigation background, Anderson Kill routinely handles complex financial services and bankruptcy-related litigations. Many of these cases involve non-bankruptcy issues in areas where we also have substantial experience. Relying upon our substantial litigation resources and experience, we offer effective representation to debtors and creditors in financial services litigation, including:

  • Asset Recovery Negligence
  • Breach of Fiduciary Duty Plan-Related Litigation
  • Contested Matters Preference Litigation
  • ERISA Professional Malpractice
  • Foreclosure Fraud Proxy Contest Litigation
  • Fraudulent Transfers Securities Trading
  • Indenture Reformation Securities Fraud
  • Insurance Coverage Securitizations
  • Inter creditor Disputes Trustee Appointment
  • Involuntary Bankruptcy Petitions Tax and Regulatory Disputes