Mr. Eckstein is Co-Chairman of Kramer Levin’s 40-attorney Corporate Restructuring and Bankruptcy Department and has played a prominent role in many of the largest and most complex Chapter 11 reorganization cases and out of court workouts over the past 30 years. His practice includes both in and out-of-court restructurings of financially distressed businesses on behalf of debtors, creditor committees, major secured and unsecured creditors, bondholders, trustees, examiners, and third parties seeking to acquire the assets or businesses of financially troubled companies.
Mr. Eckstein’s representations include the official creditor committees of General Motors, Chrysler, Cooper-Standard, Magna Entertainment, Leap Wireless, Big V Supermarkets, SGL Carbon Corp., Cityscape Financial, Olympia & York, Integrated Resources, SLM International, Financial News Network, PSNH, Eastern Airlines and Texaco. His other representations include the Adelphia/FrontierVision Bondholders, Owens Corning Bank Group, Calpine Canada bondholders and the Dow Corning Claimants Committee. Mr. Eckstein also represented the debtors in the bankruptcy of Saint Vincent Catholic Medical Centers, Bally Total Fitness, Ascendia Brands, Malden Mills, MicroWarehouse, Berry-Hill Galleries, Elite Models, Cross Media and The Wiz, Inc., and has represented bondholders, bank groups, acquirors and other major creditors in Tribune Company, Charter Communications, Steve & Barry’s, Calpine Corporation, Northwest Airlines, PTS, Enron, Warnaco, NTL, Twin Lab, Amerco, Mediq, PacCoin, Big City Radio, Jitney Jungle, LTV, New Valley, Herman’s Sporting Goods, Tucson Electric and Farley Industries. He has led his firm’s representation of Deloitte LLP for the purchase of assets of BearingPoint's Public Services practice, the Examiner in Bruno’s Inc. and the Independent Restructuring Advisor in Coram Healthcare. He has also represented the Trustee in Island Mortgage and in Sharp International.
Mr. Eckstein regularly represents a wide range of lending and other financial institutions and distressed investors in chapter 11 cases, workouts and out of court restructurings. These institutions include JP Morgan Chase, Credit Suisse, BNP-Paribas, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Harbinger, GSO, Alliance Capital, Barclays, Elliott Associates, Angelo Gordon, Farallon and others.
Mr. Eckstein has received many honors, including being recognized as one of the Best Lawyers in America from 2004 to 2012, being listed in Chambers USA, Leading Lawyers for Business, 2003-2011, Legal 500 US 2009-2011, Lawdragon 500 (2011) and being designated a New York Super Lawyer (2006-2011). He was named "Restructuring Lawyer of the Year" by Global M&A Network at the Distressed M&A Deal Forum and Turnaround Atlas Awards Gala. Turnarounds & Workouts recently named him one of 2011’s “Outstanding Restructuring Lawyers.”
Mr. Eckstein is the author of "Class Action Issues Affecting Chapter 11 Reorganizations," a chapter in the 2011 edition of the Collier Guide to Chapter 11, published by LexisNexis. He has served as a member of the Committee on Bankruptcy and Corporate Reorganization of the New York City Bar Association, and is a member of the Section on Corporation, Banking and Business Law of the American Bar Association.