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
• Distressed Asset Sales & Acquisitions
• Distressed Real Property
• Industry Expertise
• International Financial Restructuring
• Mass Tort
• Real Estate Restructuring & Workouts
• Structured & Other Financings

Representative Experience

• Serving as restructuring counsel to the debtor, Drug Emporium AZ, Inc., a large retail drugstore chain with more than US$1 billion in annual revenues, in its successful reorganization pursuant to a plan of reorganization. The restructuring involved the conduct of going-out-business sales and closing of a number of the debtor's retail stores and the sale, pursuant to the plan, of the debtor's equity interests to a third party.
• 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 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 Japan-based Itochu Corporation and Toshiba Corporation in the restructuring of debt for a cement processing plant in Indonesia.
• 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 co-counsel to the unofficial senior noteholders committee in the Chapter 11 reorganization in the more than US$1 billion debt of Chiquita Brands International, Inc., a major US-based food acquirer, processor and distributor.
• Representing EaglePicher Holdings and its affiliates, a diversified conglomerate consisting of a Tier 1 auto supplier, manufacturer and marketer of advanced technology and industrial products, in their Chapter 11 reorganization of in excess of US$1 billion. Our work included the negotiation and execution of a three-tranche US$345 million DIP financing agreement. The DIP consisted of a US$220 million first lien and US$75 million second lien term loan from Goldman Sachs Credit Partners LP, as well as a US$50 million third lien junior term loan from two funds affiliated with the company’s bondholders. We helped our clients obtain a crucial and unique provision in the DIP package: the option, but not the obligation, to convert the loan package to an exit financing for newly formed companies that acquired the clients’ assets under a plan of reorganization. This DIP replaced a US$60 million interim DIP facility provided by Harris N.A. Both transactions occurred in the context of Chapter 11 proceedings voluntarily filed by our clients to restructure their businesses more effectively.
• Advising TRW Automotive, a US-based manufacturer of automotive parts, on the impact of the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing of Tower Automotive, a manufacturer of metal stampings and engineered assemblies, on its contracts with that company and related claims.
• Representing the US operations of Europe-based consumer product conglomerate Electrolux Home Products, Inc. in various restructuring and bankruptcy matters involving suppliers.
• Serving as counsel in the restructuring of an integrated steel company headquartered in Ohio. We represented the company first in efforts to restructure its financial operations outside a bankruptcy proceeding, including negotiations with the holders of the company's approximately US$300 million of outstanding debt securities. We then represented the company in its Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding, addressing the claims of the bondholders and trade creditors as well as commercial and contract issues and obligations under the company's collective bargaining agreements.

Case Studies

Historic Pro Sports Bankruptcy Case

While the owner of the National Hockey League’s Phoenix Coyotes waded through an historic bankruptcy proceeding in 2009, Squire Sanders helped lead the way toward an unprecedented resolution. The Coyotes had moved to Arizona from Winnipeg, Manitoba,...

Representing AmTrust Financial Corporation in Chapter 11 Proceedings

In November 2009, Squire Sanders filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases for AmTrust Financial Corporation (now known as AmFin Financial Corporation) and five subsidiaries in Cleveland. AmTrust Financial was the holding company for AmTrust Bank, which was ...

Clearing the Way for Emergency Responders in Largest Realignment of Radio Spectrum Ever Attempted

Squire Sanders was selected in 2004 to serve as General Counsel to the 800 MHz Transition Administrator (TA), a hand-picked team charged with oversight and administration of the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) 800 MHz reconfiguration progra...