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Bankruptcy

Contact

Andrew M. Troop
Partner, New York
T: +1.212.858.1660
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Areas of Focus

Pillsbury’s Insolvency & Restructuring practice is recognized for innovative representation of financially distressed entities, creditors’ rights work for financial institutions and strategic advice to stakeholders dealing with troubled projects.

Pillsbury Insolvency & Restructuring lawyers devise cutting-edge solutions for banks and other financial institutions, secured and unsecured creditors, debtors and borrowers, indenture trustees, distressed investors and other interested parties. Our team deftly navigates clients through business cycles, bankruptcies, complex restructurings and workouts. We have extensive experience in handling chapter 11 cases, pre-arranged and pre-packaged bankruptcies, out-of-court restructurings, distressed M&As, capital raising and refinancings, recapitalizations and asset sales. Our lawyers also provide comprehensive counsel on debtor-side assignments and have particular strength in handling complex and sophisticated creditors’ rights matters for many of the leading U.S. and international financial institutions. Further, we represent nontraditional banking clients, like hedge funds and private equity firms, in distressed transactions. Pillsbury’s Insolvency & Restructuring team advises companies and boards of directors across industries, helping them overcome operational, financial and corporate governance challenges with creative, out-of-the box solutions, enabling them to plan for the future and get back to business as usual. We also provide strategic business counsel, working closely with companies to identify risks and early warning signs of financial distress.

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  • Bankruptcy Cases
    • Prebankruptcy planning
    • Claims assertion and allowance
    • Resolution of lien priority, intercreditor and subordination issues
    • Debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing
    • Negotiating, formulating and confirming plans of reorganization
    • Prepackaged and prenegotiated bankruptcies
    • Indenture trustee representation
    • Cash collateral stipulations and adequate protection
    • Objections to disclosure statements and plans
    • Cramdown litigation
    • Sales of stock and other assets
    • All aspects of unexpired leases and executory contracts and intellectual property licenses
    • Prosecution and defense of avoidance actions (fraudulent transfers, preferences, etc.)
    • Turnover actions
    • Abstention and removal issues
    • Involuntary petitions
    • Governmental/municipal bankruptcies
    • Bankruptcy discharge and nondischargeability actions
    • Relief from stay litigation
  • Workouts
    • Capital structure and general business restructuring advice for lenders and borrowers
    • Complex loan workouts and restructurings from strategic development through negotiation and documentation
    • Buy- and sell-side distressed company mergers and acquisitions
    • Legal and strategic counseling to loan officers and indenture trustees on potential problem credits
    • Out-of-court restructurings
    • Alternatives to bankruptcy
  • Litigation
    • Nonbankruptcy fraudulent conveyance and other avoidance actions
    • Constructive trusts
    • Receiverships
    • Writs of attachment, writs of possession (also known as replevin or claim and delivery) and other prejudgment remedies
    • Judicial and nonjudicial foreclosures
    • Lender liability claims defense
    • Execution, garnishment, judgment debtor examinations and other methods to enforce judgments

Representative Experience

  • Helped Louis Berger Group develop and implement operational restructuring plan, realigning business lines and legal entities worldwide, integrating functions across subsidiaries.
  • Advised a nonprofit organization on $860 million acquisition of bankrupt Patriot Coal Corp.’s assets. The innovative deal paired subterranean coal mining with carbon credits generated by tree planting and other reclamation efforts.
  • Advised Daughters of Charity Health System regarding its restructuring and subsequent sale to private equity firm Blue Mountain Capital, the largest-ever and most complex nonprofit hospital transaction in California history.

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  • Bankruptcy
    • Represented Specialty Hospital of America as debtor counsel in its chapter 11 bankruptcy cases in DC and assisted with DIP financing and sale of client’s long-term acute-care hospitals and skilled-nursing facilities.
    • Represented petrochemical company LyondellBasell, reducing billions of dollars of secured debt and resolving massive environmental liabilities through chapter 11 and post-chapter 11 resolution of thousands of pending claims against it.
    • Represented Brazilian Viacao Aerea Rio-Grandense (Varig S.A.) in its bankruptcy proceedings and debt restructuring. Recognized by Latin Lawyer as a “Deal of the Year.”
  • Creditors’ Rights & Indenture Trustee Representation
    • Achieved precedent-setting win for Wells Fargo regarding permissibility of imposing freezes on bankruptcy debtor bank client accounts when Ninth Circuit held that such freezes were allowed to preserve bankruptcy estate assets.
    • Represent Wells Fargo bank in workout and bankruptcy in connection with loans to Cocopah Nurseries, the largest supplier of date palm trees in the U.S., and its affiliates.
    • In a pro bono engagement, representing 15 unpaid employees in recovering wages from post-bankruptcy liquidated day care employer. Under applicable Massachusetts law, employer is personally liable for unpaid wages, trebled, attorneys’ fees, interest and costs.
    • Represented BNY Mellon and Wilmington Trust Company regarding equipment trust certificates, leveraged leases and other aircraft finance transactions in American Airlines bankruptcy. Matter value: $3 billion.
    • Represented Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas as indenture trustee for $200 million of subordinated notes in K-V Pharmaceutical Company et al. chapter 11 cases.
    • Obtained for Wells Fargo Bank stay relief and initiated receivership regarding loans to two hotel-owner limited partnerships that filed bankruptcy.
    • Representing Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, on behalf of bondholders, regarding Grupo Aralco’s bankruptcy filing in Brazil and chapter 15 bankruptcy filing in the Bankruptcy Court SDNY.
    • Representing Deutsche Bank, on bondholders’ behalf, in restructuring of $1 billion+ of senior notes issued by OAS Finance Limited and OAS Investments GMBH. Received Latin Lawyer “Deal of the Year” recognition.
  • Out-of-Court Restructurings
    • Represented Grupo Camarero in extensive chapter 11 litigation, including three competing reorganization plans, resulting in the client’s acquisition of Puerto Rico’s only horseracing facility.
    • As counsel to MedLab in bankruptcy case filed in response to Medicare and other reimbursement reductions and creditor demands, obtained Bankruptcy Court authorization for MedLab to sell its three divisions through court-supervised auctions.
  • Cross-Border Matters
    • Representing three Japanese companies exiting their investment in the shipping industry in Brazil.
    • Representing Deutsche Bank in restructuring of senior notes issued by Industrias Metalurgicas Pescarmona S.A.I.C. of Argentina and guaranteed by Wind Power Energia S.A. of Brazil, which sought bankruptcy protection in Brazil.
    • Represented Deutsche Bank in connection with the restructuring of a loan to San Antonio Oil and Gas Services Ltd. (Argentina).

Practice Area Highlights

  • Pillsbury is “Highly Commended” by Financial Times for legal innovation in our out-of-court work.
  • Best Lawyers recognizes our Bankruptcy and Creditor/Debtor practice as among the top in the nation and U.S. News & World Report reports top-tier national recognition to Pillsbury for bankruptcy litigation.
  • Lawdragon has recognized several of our partners on their annual lists of the 500 Leading Global Restructuring & Insolvency Lawyers and 500 Leading U.S. Bankruptcy & Restructuring Lawyers.

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  • Chambers USA recognizes individual Bankruptcy/Restructuring partners throughout our various offices.
  • Law360 recognized a Bankruptcy/Restructuring counsel as one of five national “Rising Stars” under 40 (2019).
  • Multiple “Deal of the Year” honors and other accolades from publications such as The Financial Times, M&A Advisor, Global M&A Network, Turnaround Management Association, International Financial Law Review and Latin Lawyer.

Awards

2022 Lawdragon 500 Guide

Three Pillsbury partners named to the 2022 Lawdragon U.S. Bankruptcy & Restructuring Lawyers guide

2022 U.S. News—Best Lawyers Best Law Firms

96 Tier 1 practice rankings in the U.S. News—Best Lawyers 2022 Best Law Firms survey

2022 Latin Lawyer Deal of the Year - Restructuring

Counsel for multiple creditors in the Chapter 11 restructuring of Avianca Holdings, S.A.

Resources

INSOLVENCY ISSUES, REAL ESTATE & COVID-19

Pillsbury insights on insolvency-related solutions, obstacles and precedents.

Video Series

Swimming Lessons–Surviving and Navigating the Choppy Waters of Distressed Real Estate

Case Study

(VCLF) Prevailing at Trial Against a Determined Plaintiff

Case Study

Bankruptcy as a Civic Service

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