Corporate Restructuring and Bankruptcy
In distressed situations, it is crucial that counsel be experienced, creative and pragmatic. It is imperative that counsel have the ability to structure and negotiate transactions as well as the litigation expertise necessary to protect client rights. Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP’s 35-attorney Corporate Restructuring and Bankruptcy Department has the resources necessary to tackle complex problems and we take pride in our ability to yield tangible results. Institutions, committees, corporations and individuals look to us to find practical solutions where others cannot. We have been actively involved in most of the major bankruptcy cases over the last 20 years and our
breadth of industry expertise is second to none. We are knowledgeable in the telecommunications, real estate, health care, manufacturing, retail, mortgage finance, consumer products, supermarket, food service, financial services, construction, transportation, utilities, media and entertainment sectors, among others.
Working closely with the firm’s other departments, our diverse practice area includes representation of creditors’ committees, equity committees, debtors, banks, bondholders, trade creditors, landlords, investors, debtor-in-possession lenders and acquirers as well as investors in the purchase and sale of securities and assets of troubled companies. Among other areas, we have particular expertise giving advice in connection with complex bankruptcy litigation and investigations, distressed investments, mergers and acquisitions, and mass tort and class action bankruptcies. We also have an active subgroup of attorneys focused on distressed and special situations lending, and another devoted to claims trading in distressed enterprises.
The department's recent recognitions and news include:
- Kenneth H. Eckstein and Thomas Moers Mayer were selected by Chambers USA 2008 and Best Lawyers in America for 2008 as leaders in their field;
- Mr. Mayer will be honored with the Conway Mackenzie & Dunleavy Award as one of 12 Outstanding Restructuring Lawyers of 2007 on June 19, 2008 at the Eleventh Annual Conference on Corporate Reorganizations ceremony;
- Mr. Mayer was named to Lawdragon 500’s third annual “Leading Lawyers in America Guide” as well as to Chambers Global 2008;
- Amy Caton was selected as one of the nation’s top 12 “Outstanding Young Restructuring Lawyers of 2008” by Turnarounds & Workouts;
- David M. Feldman was named by the Investment Dealers Digest as one of the "Top 40 Under 40 Dealmakers" of 2007;
- Department selected as one of the best in the United States in the 2008 edition of the IFLR 1000;
- Firm received the awards for Chapter 11 Reorganization of the Year for its work on the WCI Steel case and for overall Bankruptcy Law Firm of the Year by M&A Advisor; and
- Department selected as one of the country’s best in the Legal 500 U.S. series.
These awards not only reflect the depth of our restructuring practice and our ability to deliver successful outcomes but also our prominence as an industry leader, as evidenced in our current involvement in some of the nation’s largest and middle-market cases like the Dana Corporation, Dura Automotive, Calpine, Sea Containers, Adelphia, Northwest Airlines, ASARCO and Fabrikant bankruptcies, to name a few.
Members of our team regularly publish, teach and lecture widely on bankruptcy-related topics, including issues related to DIP financing, asset sales, mass tort bankruptcy, acquisition of troubled companies, creditor and shareholder rights, distressed investing and developments in claims trading. Many of our attorneys have clerked for prominent federal and bankruptcy judges. We continue to draw on the qualities that have fueled the success of the firm and our clients: a commitment to excellence and a dynamic spirit.
Principal Areas of Focus