Bankruptcy & Restructuring

On any side of a financially troubled business, the key to effective counsel is the ability to promptly marshal versatile legal talent. Squire Sanders’ bankruptcy and restructuring practice group draws on experienced lawyers from our offices in the Americas, Europe and Asia.

Whatever the particular industry or issue at hand, we bring together experience and talent from the many areas of law that shape the dynamics of a troubled company: corporate finance, real estate, tax, pension, labor, litigation, securities and environmental issues.

Since the inception of the Bankruptcy Code in 1978, Squire Sanders has served as counsel to debtors, official committees, institutional investors and other creditors, trustees and federal regulatory agencies throughout the United States. From our firm’s representation of White Motor Corporation in one of the nation’s first major industrial bankruptcies under the Bankruptcy Code to our central roles in some of the largest and most complex Chapter 11 cases in US history such as Enron, WorldCom and AMERCO/U-Haul, we have been at the forefront of bankruptcy and restructuring practice across the country and around the world.

We are also a leader in advising parties in out-of-court restructurings. We are adept at working collaboratively with other parties in a capital structure to achieve a consensual reorganization when a Chapter 11 proceeding is not desirable or necessary. Representing borrowers, senior secured lenders, subordinated lenders, investors and others, we have restructured tens of billions of dollars of debt in the last 10 years.

Our experience covers a wide variety of engagements and a vast array of client industries including, among others, automotive, aviation, chemicals, construction, distribution, energy, entertainment and media, financial institutions and services, food and beverage, health care, hospitality, manufacturing, professional services, real estate, retail and steel.

Practice Expertise

• Additional Restructuring Issues
• Chapter 11 - Committees
• Chapter 11 - Creditors
• Chapter 11 - Debtors
• Cross-Border Insolvency
• Distressed Asset Sales & Acquisitions
• Distressed Real Property
• Industry Expertise
• Mass Tort
• Real Estate Restructuring & Workouts
• Structured & Other Financings

Representative Experience

• Representing Baltia Bank in the process of bankruptcy and liquidation in its relations with Russia-based debtors and creditors, in arbitration in Russia and as to regulations governing bankruptcy procedures applicable to banks and credit institutions in Russia.
• Representing the superintendent of insurance for the state of New York, as rehabilitator, in discharging its duty to serve the interests of the insurer's claimants and creditors in the liquidation of an insurance company, Frontier Insurance. Our work included petitioning to stay the liquidation pending resolution of interstate law issues.
• Representing the Mesaba Aviation Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in the Chapter 11 case of a regional airline. We represented the committee in connection with the debtor’s efforts to monetize a substantial asset consisting of a claim against Northwest Airlines and in litigation concerning the debtor’s efforts to reject existing collective bargaining agreements with its pilots, flight attendants and mechanics, and avoidance actions belonging to the estate relating to prebankruptcy distributions made by the debtor to its nondebtor parent company.
• Representing All American Semiconductor, Inc., a Miami-based distributor of semiconductors and other electronic components, and its 33 subsidiaries around the globe in gaining approval of its DIP financing by the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida, Miami Division. We assisted with the DIP financing of up to US$25 million and in the successful auction in its bankruptcy proceedings of substantially all of its operating assets for an aggregate purchase price of US$15.2 million.
• Representing Japan-based Itochu Corporation and Toshiba Corporation in the restructuring of debt for a cement processing plant in Indonesia.
• Serving as counsel to Organized Living, an Ohio-based distressed retailer of home organization systems, in its liquidation.
• Representing Brazil's nuclear agency, Industrias Nucleares do Brasil, S/A, in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings of the world's largest trader of uranium. We also coordinated related litigation and arbitration in Rio de Janeiro, Bern and Hamburg.
• Representing Trussway, a national manufacturer of commercial roofing materials, in the restructuring of its public bond debt and institutional secured debt of more than US$200 million. In our client's Chapter 11 proceeding, we obtained approval at the bankruptcy court of a DIP financing package, as well as approval of a comprehensive restructuring agreement with the holder of approximately 75 percent of the senior secured debt, wherein it would acquire the company in a partial stock for debt exchange and restructure the balance of the senior debt. A minority secured debt holder (itself a potential acquirer of the company) objected and appealed the bankruptcy court's decision (rendered after a full evidentiary hearing). The creditor sought a stay pending appeal before the bankruptcy court, which was denied. The creditor then sought an emergency stay pending appeal before the District Court, which was also denied after briefing and oral argument. The creditor then sought a writ of mandamus in the Fifth Circuit, arguing the district court abused its judicial discretion in denying the stay. The Fifth Circuit panel granted an interim stay while the matter was briefed. After full briefing, the Fifth Circuit denied the petition for writ, paving the way for the reorganization. After the Fifth Circuit ruling, we were able to negotiate a global settlement resulting in a consensual plan of reorganization.
• Serving as counsel to American Architectural Products, a national window and door manufacturing company, in the restructuring of US$200 million in public debt securities.
• Serving as counsel to Creditors Committee in Enron's bankruptcy sale of its wind power business in Europe and the United States to a major multinational corporation.