Practices in London — Global Bankruptcy and Debt Restructuring

Orrick's global bankruptcy and debt restructuring lawyers are members of an integrated, international team with significant experience in handling large and complex cross-border insolvencies, restructurings and recapitalisations. Our team's experience, interdisciplinary skills and multijurisdictional scope allow us to add value to our clients in the most complicated transactions. Orrick's restructuring and insolvency practice in London is recognised by Chambers UK: A Client's Guide to the UK Legal Profession 2006, as an established presence in the bondholder and secured lender market. In addition, members of the group have been recognised as leaders in their field.

For nearly 20 years, Orrick's lawyers have been market leaders in representing bondholder committees, secured lender syndicates and unsecured creditor committees. Our group is internationally renowned for creating and implementing innovative solutions to the complex structural, contractual, legal and jurisdictional issues that beset these creditor constituencies in the restructuring of large, multinational corporations.

We also regularly represent hedge and private equity funds, investment banks and other financial institutions in their investments in the distressed asset class. Our team has many years of experience in negotiating, structuring and documenting new money investments in all parts of the capital structure of financially distressed companies. In addition, we have extensive experience in the buying and selling of distressed debt and trade claims, second lien and subordinated financing and distressed M&A. Our lawyers also represent financially troubled companies as debtors in bankruptcy and out-of-court restructurings, and have been involved in numerous insurance company restructurings and rehabilitation proceedings.

An additional distinctive feature of Orrick's practice is our extensive involvement in the area of emerging market restructurings. Our lawyers have represented several Asian governments in banking sector reform programmes, as well as distressed debt investors in corporate restructurings in both Latin America and Asia.

Recent representations in which Orrick lawyers have been involved include:

• EOS Partners and Mellon HBV Alternative Strategies as investors in the structuring and formation of a private equity fund designed to invest in distressed assets in France. The transaction required the creation of a Luxembourg-based, nonregulated fund and its financing through hybrid products that are considered debt instruments in Luxembourg and equity instruments in the United States.
• The ad hoc committee of hedge fund creditors of Eurotunnel in the Channel Tunnel operator's restructuring.
• ING in the restructuring of a £531 million securitisation of a hotel portfolio in the United Kingdom.
• Representation of the ad hoc committee of noteholders in the restructuring of Fantuzzi. This was the first successful negotiated restructuring of an Italian company with public debt.
• The ad hoc committee of bonding facility holders in MyTravel Group.
• The official committee of unsecured creditors in the Chapter 11 case of Stone & Webster, an international engineering and construction concern with 72 affiliated debtors having unsecured claims in excess of $2 billion.