Business Reorganization, Debt Restructuring and Creditors’ Rights

Overview

The attorneys in Tannenbaum Helpern’s Business Reorganization, Debt Restructuring and Creditors’ Rights practice represent financially-distressed businesses, investors and shareholders, landlords, lenders, vendors, asset purchasers, professional services firms, and other stakeholders in restructuring negotiations, out-of-court workouts and bankruptcies throughout the United States. We work closely with our colleagues in the Firm’s litigation, corporate, investment management, real estate, construction, employment, intellectual property and tax practices to effectively and efficiently represent distressed businesses and their creditors.

Representative Services:

Debt Negotiations, Out-of-Court Workouts and Bankruptcies

Tannenbaum Helpern represents debtors, as well as secured and unsecured creditors and investors in debt negotiations, out-of-court workouts, Chapter 11 reorganizations, Chapter 7 liquidations and cross-border insolvency proceedings throughout the United States. Our industry experience includes automotive, aviation, distribution, entertainment, financial services, gaming, hospitality, manufacturing, media, professional services, real estate, retail, staffing, technology and telecommunications.

Distressed Mergers & Acquisitions

Tannenbaum Helpern represents buyers and sellers in distressed M&A transactions, including Section 363 sales, foreclosures, assignments for the benefit of creditors and similar transactions. We structure transactions, perform legal due diligence, negotiate purchase and sale documentation, develop bidding and auction procedures in Section 363 and plan of reorganization sales, advise on employee severance issues, advise on incentive programs for key employees, and litigate contested bidding procedures and auction results.

Insolvency-Related Litigation and Creditors’ Rights

Tannenbaum Helpern attorneys represent clients in a wide array of debtor/creditor disputes and intercreditor disputes through trials and appeals as necessary. Disputes include preference and fraudulent transfer litigation, litigation over disputed bankruptcy claims, plan confirmation disputes and equitable subordination litigation. Tannenbaum Helpern also represents secured lenders in foreclosures and in credit-bidding transactions, as well as advising clients on creditors’ rights issues arising in real estate acquisitions, sales, financing and foreclosures.

Professional Retention and Fee Matters

With deep experience in representing professional services firms (such as accounting firms, financial advisors and investment banks) in professional retention and fee matters in Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases, Tannenbaum Helpern attorneys handle contested retention and fee matters for these firms in bankruptcy courts across the country.

Transaction Structuring and Legal Opinions

Our bankruptcy attorneys work with attorneys in the Firm’s corporate practice on M&A and financing transactions to minimize clients’ insolvency and bankruptcy-related risks. Tannenbaum Helpern attorneys negotiate and prepare intercreditor agreements and agreements among lenders, and structure and document structured finance transactions. They also perform legal analysis and prepare legal opinions with respect to substantive consolidation, fraudulent transfer, letter of credit and other bankruptcy-related issues.

Distressed Trading and Special Situations Investment Review

Tannenbaum Helpern advises purchasers and sellers of bank and private loans, bond debt, trade claims and equity positions in distressed debt and special situations investment transactions, as well as analyzing credit structures and reviewing covenant packages and other provisions of credit agreements and indentures to determine the rights and remedies that may be available to lenders and equityholders. Our attorneys assess litigation strategies that may be available to investors in their capacity as lenders, bondholders and equityholders.

Bankruptcy Mediation

One of our attorneys is a panel mediator for the U.S. Bankruptcy Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, and for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

Representative Cases

The attorneys in Tannenbaum Helpern’s national Business Reorganization, Debt Restructuring and Creditors’ Rights practice have represented significant parties in many complex bankruptcy cases, including:

305 East 61^st Street Group LLC
ABR Builders LLC
Amtrol Inc.
ATP Oil & Gas Corporation
Atrium Corporation
Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC
Bristow Group Inc.
Buffets Inc.
Calpine Corporation
Chinos Holdings, Inc. (J. Crew Group, Inc.)
Dana Corporation
Delphi Corporation
Delta Air Lines Inc.
Evergreen Solar, Inc.
Fairfield Sentry Limited
Fairway Group Holdings Inc.
Federation Employment and Guidance Service Inc. (d/b/a FEGS)
FirstEnergy Solutions Corp.
FLAG Telecom Holdings Limited
Freedom Communications Holdings, Inc.
Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, Inc. (A&P)
J.L. French Automotive Castings, Inc.
Louisiana Riverboat Gaming Partnership (Legends Gaming, LLC)
Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.
Lehman Brothers International (Europe) Limited
McDermott International, Inc.
MF Global Holdings Ltd.
Nortel Networks Inc.
Premier International Holdings Inc. (Six Flags)
Purdue Pharma L.P.
Saint Vincent Catholic Medical Centers
Sears Holdings Corporation
SOMS Technologies LLC
Solutia Inc.
Toys “R” Us, Inc.
Vectrix Corporation

Representative Clients

Distressed companies
Investors and equityholders
Hedge funds, private equity funds and venture capital funds
Landlords and commercial tenants
Bank and non-bank lenders and lender groups
Directors and officers
Vendors
Contract counterparties
Indenture trustees and administrative agents
Professional services firms