Clients tell our team members how well our multi-office integration works. They say they value our model, which leverages the strengths of attorneys across our many practice areas, including our experienced Financial Services team. If our attorneys can’t answer a question on a client’s restructuring or bankruptcy matter, we pick up the phone and call an attorney in another office to get that answer, especially about issues unique to that market or industry.
The Adams and Reese Commercial Restructuring and Bankruptcy Practice is ranked Band 3 in Louisiana and Band 4 in Georgia by Chambers USA.
We reject the idea of “silos,” choosing instead this collaborative approach, which helps us devise and implement practical – sometimes creative – business solutions, while enhancing service delivery efficiency. We don’t have a bankruptcy lawyer in each of our offices; we have an entire team of more than 20 highly qualified bankruptcy lawyers in each office.
Here are a few examples of the many favorable outcomes we’ve achieved for clients:
- We represented bond insurers for a complex $3.2 billion workout in Jefferson County, Alabama, which included receiver litigation. Working with key members of our Governmental Relations team, we conducted comprehensive strategic negotiations with banks, hedge funds, general creditors, county and state officials and pushed legislative action to augment revenues to get the bond debt paid.
- Because our attorneys have experience with the players on all sides of oil and gas matters, we’re well-placed to handle bankruptcy cases in that very active industry. For instance, we counseled a $250 million oil and gas exploration company that was entangled in litigation and then a bankruptcy contest against a secured lender seeking to take over the business. Our team crafted a reorganization plan that paid all creditors in full and restructured the debt due to the lender.
- We serve the bankruptcy and workout needs of clients who operate businesses in continuing care retirement communities. Because we always track what areas may need our legal service, we anticipate that the next big wave of financial restructuring will manifest in this important service profession. With our experience and collective and diverse skill sets, we’re positioned to meet this imminent demand.
- Our workout and real estate lawyers combined to unravel a $75 million real estate fraud in Jackson, MS, and secured a very favorable outcome for our defrauded clients. The Court commended our lawyers for resolving what he considered to be an insolvable problem.
Summary
Commercial restructuring and bankruptcy matters are all about maximizing the value of distressed assets. Getting there requires a combination of business and litigation abilities which means bringing the right attorneys as well as collaborating with professionals in other fields. Through our membership in the American Bankruptcy Institute (including the American College of Bankruptcy, which has elected some of our lawyers to Fellowship) and other international organizations as well as our close ties to our communities, we’ve built an extensive network of other professional partners. They include workout specialists, forensic accountants, valuation specialists, investment bankers and financial services consultants.
Some of the attorneys on our team started their careers as document drafters and negotiators and others as trial lawyers. This range of experience comes together smoothly as we counsel clients on commercial restructuring and bankruptcy matters, and helps us reach our main objective: Maximize our clients’ value.
Defining Strengths
We represent creditors, commercial lenders, examiners, trustees, purchasers and commercial debtors in various commercial restructuring and bankruptcy matters, including:
Creditor Counsel and Representation: Our team acts as lead bankruptcy counsel and/or liquidation and committee counsel to recover funds, negotiate payment terms, sell assets or facilitate workout agreements and other restructuring.
Avoidance Litigation: We work to resolve court-authorized avoidance actions, pursuit of avoidance actions and fraudulent transfers.
Debtor-in-Possession Counsel: We help sustain debtors through appropriate restructuring and repayment to creditors or negotiating the sale of the company and assets and/or financing to repay debt.
Asset Purchases: We represent stalking horse bidders in acquisition of assets from debtor-in-possession.
